How to find your motivation

Creating healthy habits

Finding your motivation can sometimes be challenging.  

Whether you are wanting to lose weight, increase your strength or fitness, eat healthier or just to have more energy for the day, it can be anything, but the most important thing is that you are doing it for YOU.

Now, your motivation may be what gets you started but it’s how you keep yourself motivated that is the hard part. These tips will help you create and kick start those healthy habits

Buy new workout clothes
This may seem like a silly tip, but when you buy yourself that new outfit you get that excitement to do your first workout. Also, knowing you have a proper outfit to workout in means that you won’t get stuck on the day of your first workout with the ‘I have nothing to work out in’ situation and wanting to quit before you have even started.

Find a workout style that you enjoy
If you find a style that you enjoy, you are more likely to stick to it. There is no point doing something you hate because in a few weeks you will give up and you are back to square one. So, take a few classes, test out what you like. You may enjoy group classes, exercising on your own or even just home workouts. Find what also fits into your lifestyle, if you are someone who doesn’t have time to get to a gym, a quick workout you can do from a park or home may be a great option.

Find a workout buddy
This can be anyone; your partner, friend, parent, sibling or even someone you meet at the gym. Having a workout buddy can help keep you going to your training, it keeps you accountable for yourself and because you don’t want to let the other person down either.

Make small changes
When starting a new healthier lifestyle, you can get too excited and want to change everything at once. Try not to do this as it will make it harder to stick to in the long run. Progress can be a slow process and you want to make sure the changes you make are sustainable. If you focus too much on fast results by making big changes, you are not as likely to stick to it and will fall back into your old habits.

Try making small changes first, for example, start exercising for one or two days a week, don’t jump straight into exercising five times a week, it might seem like a good idea, but your body needs to adjust to this new change. Same with your diet, don’t completely cut out every bad food at once, start by cutting back on things or swapping to a healthier alternative, or even just smaller portion sizes at meals.

Follow a plan
I understand you won’t always feel up to exercising, and yes you will need to have days where you need to listen to your body and rest.
Try not to skip workouts because you have had a long day at work, don’t feel the best or just in a bad mood. We have all been there but working out can make you feel so much better and give you a bit of an energy boost you need to get through your day. The more you push yourself through these moods, the more exercise will become part of your week and you will look forward to your workouts. The hardest part is getting to the gym or starting your home workout. Once you start you will feel better and you will thank yourself when you finish.

Overall, don’t be too hard on yourself.
Change takes time, and you may have some trial and error to find what works for you, but don’t give up! Set smaller realistic goals rather than just one end goal and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You may fall short of your goal, or hit an obstacle, this is not the end of the world, it doesn’t always go to plan. Just keep going and work around the obstacles until you reach where you want to be.
Even when you reach your goals, continue your healthy lifestyle to keep yourself feeling better for your day to day life.