5 Ways to Stay Motivated

Especially at the beginning of the New Year, everyone has good intention to exercise, eat better, get healthy, and take better care of ourselves.  We all do have good intentions.  No one sets out to fail at their New Year resolutions.

Easier said than done.

In an effort to stay motivated to get my workout in, I've come up with a few tricks.  I do these things to encourage myself or motivate myself to get my butt in gear rather than make excuses.

1. Change clothes.

As soon as I get home, I change into my workout clothes.  A while back a preacher shared  sermon encouraging women to stay "dressed" for their husbands after work.  He said many women come home, take their makeup off, throw their hair on top of their head, and put on baggy sweats.  This is what their man sees when he walks in the door.  So, I tried that for a while - I made an effort to greet my husband with a fresh face and all.  But, I noticed that those evenings were the ones I didn't work out.  Now I change into my workout clothes as soon as I get home.

If I don't work out, I feel a little bit of shame as I change out of those unused workout clothes and into my pajamas at the end of the night.

2.  Pamper yourself post-workout.

I used to dread working out because of the fact that I would have to wash, re-dry, and style my hair all over again.  Now, I use it as an excuse  to pamper myself for 10-20 minutes.  I take a nice warm shower, put a mask on my face, lotion my dry skin, and paint my fingernails.  It's not much, but it seems like a reward

3.  Take measurements. 

Don't rely on the scale to show your accomplishments.  Often we don't lose pounds as quickly as we lose inches and it can be very discouraging.  You will lose inches in your arms, waist, upper arms, and thighs before you see the number drop.

4.  Set mini-goals.

If the goal is to lose x amount of pounds, reward yourself along the way.  Sometimes the end goal can seem so daunting and we need to be rewarded along the way to keep ourselves on track.

5.  Join a friend or a group.

Have a friend check in with you each night or each morning.  Start a "morning club" where you set your alarm at the same time to work out.  Join a group workout at the gym.  Participate in one of my challenge groups.  The more people that are counting on you, the higher the chances of you actually completing your goals!