Living a consistently healthy lifestyle is something that so many of us struggle with. If I’m being honest, it’s something that I’ve struggled with a lot!
This is how it goes for me: I get it in my head that I want to live healthier. I’m really motivated in the beginning and I make a bunch of healthy changes. I stick to them for a while but eventually, I end up falling off the wagon and giving up. Then later, the cycle starts all over again.
The year is still young and most of us are still feeling the enthusiasm to stick with our New Year’s goals and resolutions. But the excitement might be slowly beginning to wear off.
I’m determined to stay motivated for my health and fitness goals, though. And if you’re in the same boat, trying to stay motivated yourself, here are some tips to help you keep going!
Here’s how I’m trying to stay motivated to live a healthier lifestyle.
Here's how I'm trying to stay motivated to live a healthier lifestyle! Click To Tweet
Be kind to yourself.
Being too hard on yourself isn’t going to get you very far. This goes for negative self-talk and treating your body badly. To be honest, this is something that I struggled with for SO long. It got me nowhere. It definitely didn’t keep me motivated and I actually think it’s what ultimately caused me to give up.
When I stopped hating myself and started loving myself the way I was, it made my health journey so much easier. Don’t restrict yourself, don’t push yourself too far, try to keep a positive attitude, and be sure to rest when you need to. And don’t beat yourself up if you get off track. Be kind to yourself and respect your body!
Set a goal and make an action plan.
As with anything else in life, having clear goals and plans in place will drastically improve your chances of success. So instead of just trying to “get fit” or “lose weight” try setting a clear goal for yourself. Maybe you want to lose 20 pounds, maybe you want to cut sugar out of your diet, or maybe you want to get a six-pack.
After you have your goal, create an action plan. Remember that when it comes to our health, small steps add up. Don’t try to jump into a new diet, working out 5 days a week, and drinking 8 glasses of water a day all at once. That’s how I would get burned out. Instead, make a list of everything you can do to achieve your goal and take it one step at a time. Get used to one lifestyle change before you add another one in. That will help you make lasting changes.
Keep a clear “why” in your mind.
So many people have health and fitness goals, but for different reasons. The people who actually STICK to those goals are the ones that keep those reasons in the back of their mind at all times, for motivation.
This “why” behind your goals should be more than just aesthetics, too. Whether it’s because you want to have enough energy to play with your children or because you want to avoid heart disease, have a good reason behind wanting to live healthier and hold onto it!
Make things more fun.
If you’re running on a treadmill 5 days a week but you hate running, it’s safe to say that it’ll be hard for you to feel motivated to work out. If you want to stick with a workout plan, make things more fun. Try different workouts until you find one that you like. Involve a friend or family member in your workout every once in a while.
Changing things up every now and then will help to make things more exciting and get you looking forward to a healthy lifestyle. The same goes for your eating habits too! Find healthy recipes that you like, eat new foods, and try out new healthy restaurants. Healthy doesn’t have to be boring!
Seek out inspiration.
There is tons of inspiration around us if we choose to look for it. Find new healthy recipe blogs, follow fitness accounts on Instagram, and watch YouTubers that talk about healthy lifestyles. Find a role model or someone that inspires you to be healthy. Watch movies that inspire or motivate you to change. Seek out inspiration and you’re sure to find it!
Track your progress and reward yourself.
We often lose motivation when we don’t see clear progress. One thing I struggled with was weighing myself every day and getting frustrated when I didn’t see weight loss. Which is pretty ridiculous! This time around, I’m going to be tracking my monthly progress so I can see more noticeable results and stay motivated to keep going. And I use MyFitnessPal to log my workouts/eating habits and keep track of my overall progress with my health.
Also, create milestones and reward yourself for reaching them. These milestones depend on what your specific health goals are, but the promise of a reward can do a lot to help you stay motivated. If you want 20 healthy reward ideas, check out this post here. You can also reward yourself with cute workout clothes or health items that you can use on your health journey!
Do you have any tips for staying motivated to live healthier? Leave a comment and let me know!
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