Tuesday, June 10, 2014

When you lose your motivation...

I have been staring at my blinking cursor for over a week trying to decide what to write this week.  I rarely get writer's block (or any block in the ability to communicate lol), but I set out to bring you quality, well-thought out content each week.  I didn't want to write a post for the sake of just having something to post.

I titled this blog "When you lose your motivation..." because that's what I did this past week.  I let life get in the way a little bit, didn't exercise as much as I normally do, and in general have just been in a funk.  I'm admitting this because like you, even trainers lose their motivation from time to time.  We are human, we get distracted and overwhelmed.  

It is normal that when you've been exercising for a while, or have been on a weight loss journey for any extended period of time, to hit bumps in the road.  I'm not talking about true plateaus, where you're furiously working hard and the scale or inches don't move.  I'm talking about plain old boredom.

I have successfully maintained a 50-lb weight loss for a year.  I've improved my muscle tone, lost 4 pant sizes, improved my blood pressure, lowered my blood sugar and have more energy than ever before.  But after getting to this point and finally loving my body, every inch of curve, muscle, fat and cellulite (gasp! yes I said it and it's normal), I hit a wall.  I lost the motivation to go further.  And it didn't just start a week ago, but that's when I finally realized what was happening.

The point I want to make is it is OK to be right here where I am.  It's OK to be right where you are.  

I read a blog post this week from someone I admire in the industry, Erin Brown.  She talks about why she's no longer going to tell people that she's a work in progress. A light bulb went off for me.  I'm not going to say that anymore, and I don't want you to either.  I still have goals for myself, but it's OK if it takes me a lifetime to achieve them because fitness and wellness is a lifestyle, not a short term solution.

So, my advice for getting out of your rut (and advice that I am taking for myself):

1. Ask yourself why you haven't been working out.  For me, it's because I've been battling a running injury and instead of rehabbing and changing my regimen to give it some rest, I've been doing hardly anything.

2. Find someone to motivate you.  I also realized I really missed working out in a group setting.  As a trainer and business owner, the hours that classes are taught are not always congruent with my schedule.  So, I found a workout buddy that is committed to meet three days a week so we can hold each other accountable.

3. Stop beating yourself up when you eat less than healthy food.  Several years ago I started Weight Watchers to help me get back on track with healthy eating.  Though I'm no longer a client, my leader said something that has stuck with me to this day: you have 21 meals in a week (3/day, 7/days a week).  If you splurge and have ice cream or a cheeseburger and fries one or two meals a week, that's only 2 out of 21.  That will not make you gain weight.  The key is to make a good choice at the next meal, and let the guilt go.

4.  Remind yourself of how far you've come. This is a big one.  I keep my before photos close to me all the time.  Not to engage in self-hate about the person I physically used to be, but to remind myself of all the things that have improved in two years.  It's easy to look in the mirror everyday and get caught up in all the things you don't like about your body.  But I think of all the things my amazing body can do now that it couldn't two years ago, and that makes me smile.  Smiling is sexy, and so am I.  So are you.

Want more help or individual coaching?  I offer long-distance and online coach for very affordable rates, and I'd love to help you.  Email me, message me on Facebook, send me a DM on Twitter, or post here and your email will be sent to me privately.  

Hope my post this week helped you find your motivation.

Yours in health,
Stephanie

2 comments:

  1. I needed to hear this! I've been feeling so run down lately and even though I'm powering through my workouts, I feel like they're not as enjoyable as they used to be. I've got one week left on my current program and then I'm switching it up to get some fun back into it!

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    1. Thanks for your comment Brittany. Boredom will kill your motivation so I'm glad you can recognize it and add some fun. We have to work out for the rest of our lives, so it might as well be enjoyable.

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