How to Stay Motivated
The results are in: most people quit their new exercise regimen within six to twelve weeks or even less depending on what life throws at you. Most folks have either sunk back into the sofa with a bag of chips of Krispy Kreme donuts in one hand and a TV remote in the other. or started focusing on work, home improvements or life's curve balls (yea we all get a few). Don’t be a statistic! Stick with it! The question is "But…how?" How do I stay motivated and disciplined when the endorphin honeymoon is over and day-to-day reality sets in?
Let’s look at some factors that keep me motivated.
I focus on the Long-term, the lifetime lifestyle change. You may not realize it, but you might secretly believe that you’ll only need to exercise for a while to get the body you want, and then you can go back to your old ways of sitting and eating everything in sight. You must get it into your head: this has to be a permanent lifestyle, no exceptions.
I stopped obsessing over the scale. This is only one way to measure success, and it isn’t the most accurate. Water retention, hormones and believe or not, the time of the day you stand on that scale are factors that make the bathroom scale an unreliable measure of your progress. A more accurate gauge might be how your clothes fit, and better still is your tape measure. Or try measuring your progress by how much better your body works and how you feel instead of how it looks.
I get myself new workout gear. This is by far my favorite way to stay motivated, when you see some progress get yourself a new pair of gym shoes, or a nice tank with a 'fitspiration' quote on it, or even a nice pair of leggings or hoodie that compliments the gains that you have gotten.
l stopped comparing myself to others. This trap! If no one else will say it to you, I will. It’s okay if you don't look like the Instagram models. Focus on your own gains and successes and not the person’s next to you. Many times, this is just an excuse to quit.
Some factors that have slowed me down
Working too hard. If one workout a day is good, then two or three are better. Right? Often starting a new exercise regime needs to be gradual. New exercisers think they can get better results faster by going from a completely sedentary lifestyle to the habits of an soccer player. The results? Injury. Exhaustion. Frustration. Giving up. Look at the long-term: start easy and work your way up. Give your body a break and it will thank you by not breaking down.
Not working hard enough. On the contrary, sometimes people don't take their intensity high enough to promote results. Talk to a trainer to find out how to monitor your intensity to obtain optimal results.
Giving up too soon. Results are inevitable if you work out and it is part of your lifestyle. It’s that simple. Don’t fool yourself into believing that you’re the only person in the world who’s felt that it was not working. Even if you don’t see results yet, focus on the ones you feel: more energy, better sleep, clearer mind.