If you are part of Team Fitfam, you’ll know that the hardest part is definitely staying on the wagon and keeping up with the healthy habits that got you on the train. Here are 5 ways to keep motivated on the journey to a healthier, fitter you.
1. Record your starting point and celebrate your small wins: The reality for most people is that you won’t lose weight as quickly as you thought. There are many reasons for this – It could be age, changes in your body metabolism, a sedentary lifestyle or some other reason. But, if you’re doing what you should be doing – exercising regularly, eating the right kind of food, watching your portion sizes and the rest of it, then you’re going to see a change. So, rather than waiting for the dial on the scale to move faster than a speeding bullet, why don’t you celebrate the one notch that it has moved from? Yes, I get that your progress seems slow but girl, you’re not where you used to be! Change your perspective and celebrate your small wins. Keeping positive this way will only fuel your fitfam journey.
2. Keep inspired: For a friend of mine, she wanted to fit into this dress that she had bought. So, bringing out the dress from time to time and seeing how much closer she was to her goal kept motivating her along the journey. For someone else, it could be the desire to run a marathon or reach some health goal. Vision boards help with this. You could put up a picture that symbolises a healthy you, or one where you were at your ideal weight. Remember not to get discouraged when you look at it – The idea is to remind you of where you’re going to and not of where you are right now. You’re a work in progress – so, keep the faith!
3.Find an accountability partner or group: Like the saying goes ‘Two heads are better than one’! Accountability is such a powerful thing. When you find someone who has similar fitfam goals as you do, you can motivate each other and provide the strength the other person needs when the going gets tough. To be honest, this whole fitfam thing is hard enough on its own. Who doesn’t need the added push from a well-meaning friend? Even if you don’t have one friend in particular, joining a group of like-minded folks also serves the same purpose. It could be an aerobics group or a Zumba dance group, but human dynamics will play out and you’ll find that those who you gravitate to within the group will help motivate and check up on you.
4. When you don’t feel like getting up, get up anyway: Whoever invented the phrase ‘No pain, No gain’ was not lying. There will be a lot of pain, especially at the beginning! You just need to remember that you’re training your body and teaching it new habits, so it will be tough. Push through the pain- that hot, smoking body you want so badly is on the other side of pain. Again, having accountability helps with this – you’ll be forced to get up and keep going if you know some people are waiting for you to show up. If you’re reaching for similar goals within a particular time-frame, the fear of getting left behind should also help you show up!
5. Do an activity you love: Most people associate exercise with pain and being uncomfortable, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can actually do an activity you really like. As long as you get your body moving and your blood pumping, you’ll be fine. So, you can swim, dance, play tennis, go on walks and so on. It’s easier to keep motivated if you find pleasure in what you’re doing.
How do you stay motivated, #teamfitfam member? Leave a comment!
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