• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to footer top navigation
  • Skip to footer bottom navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Skinny & Fit is Always Delicious
Display Search Bar
Follow me on Facebook! Follow me on Pinterest! Follow me on Instagram! Follow me on YouTube! Contact Cart

Skinny Fitalicious®

Because skinny & fit always tastes delicious

  • Weight Loss Coaching
    • Weight Loss Coaching / Free Consult
    • Client Testimonials
  • Free Class
  • Podcast
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Hormone Weight Loss 7-Day Meal Plans
    • Protein, Fiber, Calorie Calculator
    • Free Resources for Fat Loss
    • Megan Recommends
  • Podcast
  • Cookbook
  • About
    • About Megan
    • Policies
    • Contact

BONUS!

3 Smart Strategies To Stop Cravings So You Can Lose Weight!

Home » Blog » Weight Loss

How To Motivate Yourself To Get Healthy

Published: Dec 27, 2016 · Modified: Apr 13, 2025 by Megan

The number one question I get asked about my 80 pound weight loss is how I found the motivation to start exercising and eating healthy and stick with it. How to get healthy is a common theme with my clients and one I consistently read in last month's survey too.

How To Motivate Yourself To Get Healthy is not as tricky as you may think. This one tip is critical to unlocking the key to your motivation!

Here's some things people are saying. I'm sure many of you can relate.

​I am a yo yo dieter! I have lost and regained weight too many times to count! I lose motivation once I've lost the weight. And I think that is because I have never learned to lose weight correctly. To me it has always been a chore. I want it to become a lifestyle.

My response -> Motivation is lacking because you don't like what you're doing. To make it a lifestyle, you need to build healthy habits slowly. 

More...

​Constant yo-yo dieter - strict then get bored and lose it all. Will power cycles from being very strong to non-existent. I gain back everything I lose as I suddenly think I'm capable of eating ice cream 3 times a day if I'm smaller. Consistently making good choices is my aim. 

My response -> It's not a matter of willpower. Eating ice cream should be part of your weight loss meal plan. Restricting makes foods more attractive leading to binging.

​My biggest challenge is staying motivated. I start to work out for a week and slowly fall off track due to headaches and fatigue from chronic illness. But I have a hard time starting back up again, I just don't feel the need to when in fact I need to! I feel full of life when I exercise.

My response -> You're doing too much at once which is why you're not able to stick with it.

Motivation Is Easy When You Let Go Of Dieting

For me, the question of how to motivate yourself to get healthy is always a hard one to answer because truthfully, motivation is quite simple once you let go of the diet mentality. That's not to say motivation isn't tricky business, but the problem is most of us go about it in the wrong way. Let me explain.

How You're Un-Motivating Yourself

How many times have you said to yourself, "I should lose weight, I should eat better, I should exercise," etc? The key word here is should. When you say to yourself that you should do something this means you don't really want to do it. 

The Bottom Line....You Don't Really Want To Do It

When you say these things to yourself, they're coming from an external place of motivation. By this I mean, you want to lose weight, fit into a certain pant size, look a certain way, or are following a doctor's orders. 

​

The One Thing That Prevents You From Losing Weight

When motivation comes from an external source, we are less likely to do the things that support getting us to a specific goal. Working out and eating well feel like a chore, something you "have to do." It took me a lot of years to figure out that's not what healthy living is about and is what prevents most people from losing weight.

Finding Internal Motivation

Looking back on my 80 pound weight loss, my motivation was not external, it was internal. At that time, I was at a low point in my life feeling depressed. One day after work, I went to the beach to clear my head. It was that day I saw people walking on the beach that decided I needed to walk.

Ironically, walking was supposed to be a way for me to figure things out, but that wasn't what happened. As I walked, I started feeling better on the inside which led me to desire more walking, wanting to experiment with exercising and eating better. Walking made me feel so good on the inside that my love for it motivated me to find more ways to live healthier. It was an addicting feeling!

​

​How To Motivate Yourself To Get Healthy

Healthy isn't about how much you exercise, how much weight you lose or how much good food you eat, it's about finding healthy things you love and making them part of your life! This means getting in touch with the inner you. Not the image of who you think you should be on the outside. See, there's that word again.

We too often focus externally and not internally. Those internal demons are what hold us back from doing great things. When things come from a place of should, it means we don't want them. However, when they come from a place of want they never feel like a have to.

 

​The Key To Unlocking Your Motivation

Today I never think about what I should or should not do to be healthy. I get up at 5am to workout everyday because I love how energizing it makes me feel. While most days I eat healthy, there are some days filled with more cookies than others. Instead of trying to be perfect all the time, I focus on doing healthy things consistently most of the time. Ironically, this shift in perspective is what's helped me keep the weight off now for almost 7 years.

Instead of forcing yourself to do things you don't enjoy, do the things you love. If you don't know what you love, then this takes some trial and error but believe me, once you find something that clicks with you it will become your motivation. It will no longer feel like something you must do. Instead, it will become a matter of "when and how do I fit this into my schedule." Because it's energizing and feels so good, you will want to do it. This is the key to unlocking your motivation. 

​How Do You Find What You Love 

Experimenting with a lot of different things is one way to do it. For lack of better words, I think a lot of people are too busy to take the time to do this. That's where a health coach can be helpful. They can provide you with suggestions on how to assess your likes and dislikes and define for you how you can easily incorporate different things into your lifestyle so you're not playing the trial and error game, getting frustrated and giving up. A health coach also keeps you accountable to what you commit to. Most people are more successful when someone else holds them accountable! 

Want to learn more about willpower & why it isn't the answer?

I'm offering two FREE webinars on How To Get A Body You Love Without Dieting!

The webinar gives you 3 essential steps for getting the body you love & explains why willpower is not effective for reaching goals.

Register Here!lorem ipsum dolor

[AdSense-A]

Do you rely on willpower? Have a question you'd like answered like the examples above? Drop it in the comments or email me!

[Tweet "This one thing is the key to motivating yourself to get healthy!"]

Linking up with Amanada for Thinking Out Loud

About Megan

Megan is a certified nutrition practitioner, author, freelance food photographer and fitness instructor living in Phoenix, Arizona. On her blog, Skinny Fitalicious she shares EASY, gluten free recipes for weight loss. Follow Megan on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates.

< Previous Post
Next Post >
  • Share
  • Tweet

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment

    Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Recipe Rating




  1. Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says

    December 28, 2016 at 12:23 am

    I love all of these, but especially fining something you love. If you aren't passionate about it, you'll never stick with it!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      December 28, 2016 at 7:15 pm

      Exactly! I think you love things more too when you realize how good they make you feel.

      Reply
  2. Courtney Bentley says

    December 27, 2016 at 5:33 pm

    Completely agree 100 percent and I love how up front and honest you are with your journey and story! Great post and inspirational to all of us!

    Courtney Bentley || http://www.courtneyvioletbentley.com

    Reply
    • Megan says

      December 27, 2016 at 7:32 pm

      Thanks for that support Courtney! Even I need to hear that sometimes.

      Reply
  3. Laura @ Mommy Run Fast says

    December 27, 2016 at 11:55 am

    Such great words of wisdom, Megan. The internal WHY that will keep you going when no one else is watching, and when there are a million excuses not too... that is key!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      December 27, 2016 at 7:31 pm

      Exactly! That's what gets me out of bed at 5am every day. Glad you liked the article Laura!

      Reply
  4. Leslie says

    December 27, 2016 at 10:40 am

    "motivation is easy when you let go of dieting." - so true. When I first wanted to lose 50 pounds, I got to nowhere in the first 6 months because I was dieting. I believed it was a willpower game, my willpower was being crippled every minute because of how I ate/lived. It turned out to be weight loss is not a willpower game, and instead of subtracting food only, you need to also think about adding pleasure - whether this is making delicious and healthy food, running, or walking as you did. Thanks for this great article!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      December 27, 2016 at 7:30 pm

      Oh, you so know it girl! This is exactly it. It's about ADDING not subtracting. I'm so happy you found your way.

      Reply
  5. Erin @ Erin's Inside Job says

    December 27, 2016 at 9:36 am

    Yup - love all of this. It really has to come from that internal place if it's going to stick!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      December 27, 2016 at 7:25 pm

      It does, but I think a lot of people don't take the time to tap into that.

      Reply
  6. Renee Benda says

    December 27, 2016 at 7:33 am

    I've been in a bit of a funk since I gave up teaching this summer. I miss having a posse of fitness workout ladies and feeling like a part of something. Not that I need other people to motivate me but I enjoy that structure and it makes working out less boring. I need up update my lifestyle. Great tips Megan!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      December 27, 2016 at 7:26 pm

      Thanks lady! I think part of it is just having a structure and routine. When that goes away, it's easy for the habit to stop. Hope you get what you want soon!

      Reply
  7. lindsay Cotter says

    December 27, 2016 at 6:35 am

    such great responses! motivation is a lifestyle choice to thrive! not just change. it's a desire to live and be more. YES!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      December 27, 2016 at 7:27 pm

      Definitely! Glad you liked it! xoxo

      Reply
  8. Julie @ Running in a Skirt says

    December 27, 2016 at 6:08 am

    I agree that you have to have a plan that is not too restrictive and allows for some balance. Such good tips and motivation. Hope you had a good Christmas.

    Reply
    • Megan says

      December 27, 2016 at 7:28 pm

      Thank you Julie! Happy holidays to you as well!

      Reply
  9. Susie @ SuzLyfe says

    December 27, 2016 at 4:45 am

    To me, it is all about finding your why. The why that gets you up and out of bed, the why that makes you do one more; and then the support of friends and family that you aren't alone when you struggle!

    Reply
    • Megan says

      December 27, 2016 at 7:28 pm

      Yes! Unfortunately it's that why that many people don't put the time and effort into finding.

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Megan is a nutritionist, author of the Low Calorie Cookbook and podcast host of the Dish On Ditching Diets. Megan helps women over 35 stop dieting, heal their relationship with food and lose weight sustainably. Megan lost 80 pounds herself. Here you get healthy, lower calorie recipes!

More on my weight loss coaching here

Popular

  • Healthy High Protein Burrito
  • A hand dipping a cracker into a healthier buffalo chicken dip with cottage cheese.
    Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip
  • four pancakes stacked on a white plate with a fork.
    Low Calorie Protein Pancakes
  • Healthy Crockpot Buffalo Chicken with just 4 ingredients! Chicken slow cooked in a secret high protein sauce make super tender and juicy shredded chicken. An easy recipe for meal prep. Low Carb + Low Calorie + Gluten Free
    Healthy Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

Healthy 4th of July Recipes

  • Shredded BBQ chicken crockpot served on a bun with a jar of bbq sauce in the background.
    Shredded BBQ Chicken Crock Pot
  • A bowl of healthy broccoli crunch salad surrounded by small bowls of ingredients.
    Broccoli Crunch Salad with Greek Yogurt
  • A bowl of healthy French onion dip on a plate surrounded by chips and veggies.
    Healthy French Onion Dip
  • Healthy potato salad in a tan bowl on a table with a linen napkin underneath.
    Fresh and Healthy Potato Salad

Some links on this site are affiliate links for which I am compensated a small commission if the link is clicked and a purchase is made. There is no cost to you. For a full disclosure policy, visit my Policies.

My Cookbook

low calorie cookbook

Follow me on Facebook! Follow me on Pinterest! Follow me on Instagram! Follow me on YouTube!
  • Weight Loss Coaching
  • Free Weight Loss Class
  • Podcast
  • Recipe Index
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility
© 2025 Skinny Fitalicious® Design by Melissa Rose Design Development by Once Coupled