Sometimes you have to give yourself an extra hour of sleep instead of going to the gym but… what if “sometimes” turns to “all the time”? And what if your one off day turns to ten days in a row?
How do you increase your motivation to workout and eat healthy when you have a so many other things happening around you? These are a couple of tips I’ve picked up…
1) Turn it into “me” time.
With a thousand things happening all day, everyday, it’s hard to keep track of your feelings, wants, and you in general. Make the hour that you spend at the gym sacred, it’s for your physical self but also mental sanity that you need to take the time to workout. Make your gym sesh extra special by downloading new music that you’ve been dying to listen to, bringing a magazine to read while on the elliptical, or even bringing your phone to watch Netflix while you run your heart out. My tip is really to make this time about what you want to do and focus on anything, just not all of the responsibilities that you’re facing. This is your time to be “irresponsible”.
2) Keep motivational phrases and pictures around you.
Last year, when I had completely lost my motivation (this was around midterms…), my roommate and I decided to create what we called our “motivational board”. Our board consisted of assorted pictures of Khloe Kardashian (because… body goals), inspirational quotes, and biblical passages that we felt were important to us. Having that board hanging in front of us motivated us every single time we looked at it… or at least most of the time. Hey, we’re human, right?
3) Reward yourself because it’s okay to indulge sometimes.
One thing to know about me is that I have a terrible, terrible sweet tooth- it’s my weakness. This is something I know about myself and it’ll never change. So, I let myself have 2 or 3 dove chocolates as a study break or (if I’m trying to really be healthy) I’ll have a frozen yogurt cup. On the weekend, I let myself have a free pass and usually will have nutella or ice cream or something that I’m craving at the time. All I know is that if you don’t let yourself indulge, you’ll go crazy and you won’t be able to stick to your healthy schedule.
4) Don’t think of it as an “all or nothing” deal.
Working out and eating healthy should be your life- it’s not some sort of phase that you pass through. So with that said, if you break your diet or you don’t end up going on that 2 mile run: don’t get discouraged. Tomorrow is always a new day. There is no reason to give up just because you let yourself have a bad week of eating junk food every night. That’s the thing: it’s ONE bad week. So, just pick yourself back up and switch your habits around. It’s not the end of the world!
5) Track your progress.
I’m the kind of person that needs to be able to see my actual results; therefore, I make sure to track my journey. I use an app to track what I eat (which I try to use everyday, but I slip up sometimes… and that’s okay!), I track my weight weekly (the trick is to do it on the same day and time every single week), and I also use various exercise apps in order to mix up my workout routine. Might as well put our smart phones to good, healthy use!