How to Stay Motivated and Achieve Your Goals

I have gotten so many questions about how I stay motivated to workout and eat right. The truth is, its freaking hard, especially on weeks where I work my butt off and see almost no results. With that being said I am going to share with you some of the things I have learned that help me stay on the right path.

• Accountability: Let everyone in your life know what your goals are. Put it on social media, tell your co-workers, your family, and your friends. The more people who know you're trying to lose weight the less likely you will be to grab a burger at lunch or skip a workout. Try and find a partner. Someone you know is in a similar situation and wants to lose weight. There is strength in numbers so it will be easier for you to exercise and eat right if you know you're not alone. I do understand that not everyone can find an accountability partner (I lost all 60 of my 90lbs without a partner at all) in that instance I suggest the things below.
• Visualize: Follow people on social media that you find inspiring or that you would love to look like, print pictures of your most influential people and put them all over the place. Yes, you may get some funny looks when you have guests but who the heck cares...it works! Our fridge and workout room is covered with pictures. If you see people you are super envious of every time you go to the fridge I promise you that you will reconsider what you're about to eat.
• Inspiration: Pinterest is the mecca for inspirational and motivational quotes. Find some that really get to you and write them down on sticky notes, posters, notebook paper, ect. and place them all over your house, car, desk. Basically, stick them where you will see something all day to keep you thinking positively and on the right track. One of the quotes I constantly run over and over through my head when I am dying during a workout and wanting to quit is "You can always go 30 more seconds." Simple as it may be, I repeat it over and over and it keeps me going. Find the words that drive you.
• Clean Out: Throw out all of your junk food and all of your temptations. I mean all of it. Take 30 minutes before you go to the store and plan your meals for the week. If you cook for a family there are plenty of healthy dishes you can cook that wont derail you or it is just as easy to throw an extra skillet on the stove next to your family's hamburger helper and grill you a chicken breast. There is no excuse for not eating healthy. I hate when people say they don't have time to make healthy meals or cannot afford to. Those two statements are excuses my friends and where there are excuses you will not find any success. A bag of apples costs exactly the same as a box of cupcakes at Wal-Mart..I checked. If you can afford junk food you can afford fruit.
• Prep: "Fail to prepare and prepare to fail." Another one of my favorite quotes. Meal prepping is not always easy or convenient but it is an awesome way to hold yourself accountable during the week and save you money! See my meal prep routine here.
• Schedule: On the Biggest Loser years ago Jillian Michaels told one of her trainees that going to the gym is like going to work or to a business meeting, you don't miss it unless its an emergency and you have to schedule it into your day. Do you think I want to get out of bed at 4:30am to be at the gym by 5:00am...no...but I do it because it is the only time I could schedule it where I knew it would not be canceled or interfered with unless an emergency came up. If you don't have a gym membership or hate the gym there is no excuse for not getting a good workout at home.
• Backup Plan: Always, Always, Always have a backup plan. If for some reason you cannot get outside for a run/walk or cannot go to the gym there are so many ways to get a good workout at home with absolutely no equipment. Jumping jacks, lunges, high knees, Russian twists, pushups, sit ups, planks, squats, ect. are all very effective forms of exercise and require nothing but your body to complete them.
• Be Realistic: Do not expect to drop 5lbs in the first week. Most people do not see those kinds of numbers on a weekly basis if ever. The first time I started trying to lose weight I did not lose one single pound or one single inch for the first 6 weeks then BAM 20lbs fell off. After that, another 6 weeks went by with no progress even though my diet and exercise were on pointe. Do not get discouraged. I used to tell myself all the time that as long as there were no gains I was succeeding. Learn to view the success as something other than the number on the scale or measuring tape. The success is the way you feel when you can run just a little farther or lift just a little more weight. The success is your husband, children, family, friends telling you theyre proud of you.

We do not live in a world that makes it easy to lose weight or live a healthy lifestyle but it is 100% possible and the bullet points above are some of the things that have helped me achieve that; I hope they help you too.

 

xoxo