Keeping Motivated

This time of year is tough for me to stay motivated, here are five things I do to help stay on track.

Start the Day as Healthy as Possible

Starting my day with a healthy smoothie and exercise really helps keep up the enthusiasm. When you start your day right it leaves less stress and less anxiety for the rest of the day. Both of which are dangerous culprits to “falling of the wagon” so to speak. It also help put a metaphorical “money in the bank” towards completing a healthy day. If you do overeat in the evening, or get less exercise than ideal, you have had a good foundation in which the damage is mitigated.

Record Everything Especially on a Bad Day

So you are not having a healthy day, or even week? Maybe it is not as bad as you think. Sometimes opening up to yourself about how you have been doing helps. Much like other aspects of life, ignoring the realities is never productive. Sometimes I find I am not as far off as I thought in my eating and that it really has not set me back as much as I was worried about. This can go a long way to overcoming feeling hopeless about the processes and rejuvenating enthusiasm.

Do Something to Gain Perspective

When I feel like my weight loss is stalled (which I do at the moment) I sometimes go out and do something that helps me see how far I have come. Do something specifically that was hard to do before. Raking leaves or going for a walk. Maybe putting on a shirt that used to be too tight. It can be easy to start to take for granted your progress. It certainly can be for me, so I always try to inject some perspective into things.

Watch Something Motivational

There is no shortage of motivational media to watch. It is a whole industry in itself, and while I think there can be issues with this I also think in proper perspective and moderation it can be helpful. Today with our media we are so bombarded with negativity that maybe a little uplifting “you can do it” media is not such a bad thing. If it helps me get out and exercise or eat better that day then it is a win in my books. It also while not primary motivator can be a little kick start to get things moving again.

Change Things Up

Sometimes I find doing the same routine over and over can be the cause of apathy and a little variety is all that is needed. Maybe switch your healthy meals up a bit with something new. Eat out somewhere that has nutritious food and invite some friends. Change the type of exercise you do, how long you do it for and the intensity of it. Anything to break the same old same old you may not notice has you down. It doesn’t have to be a permanent change, but it might help  build some enthusiasm.

I have found it pretty hard to stay motivated this time of year. The weather, the darker days and the cold do not help. I am going to do my best to stay motivated and to keep up the work I have put in. A healthy tomorrow today is one step at a time. Some of these ideas can help take some of those steps.