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.
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
I love all of these, but especially fining something you love. If you aren't passionate about it, you'll never stick with it!
Exactly! I think you love things more too when you realize how good they make you feel.
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
Thanks for that support Courtney! Even I need to hear that sometimes.
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!
Exactly! That's what gets me out of bed at 5am every day. Glad you liked the article Laura!
"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!
Oh, you so know it girl! This is exactly it. It's about ADDING not subtracting. I'm so happy you found your way.
Yup - love all of this. It really has to come from that internal place if it's going to stick!
It does, but I think a lot of people don't take the time to tap into that.
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!
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!
such great responses! motivation is a lifestyle choice to thrive! not just change. it's a desire to live and be more. YES!
Definitely! Glad you liked it! xoxo
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.
Thank you Julie! Happy holidays to you as well!
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!
Yes! Unfortunately it's that why that many people don't put the time and effort into finding.