“I know how to eat healthy, I just don’t do it.”
“I don’t have time to cook.”
“I feel like I’ve tried everything…I always end up gaining the weight back.”
Any of these statements sound familiar?!??!?
Strong cravings, lack of energy, “falling off the wagon” – WE’VE BEEN THERE. The good news – you don’t have to stay there!
Below, we’ve provided some tips for getting and STAYING motivated!
1. Take time to think. Sounds simple, right? But you’d be amazed at how many people don’t do this!!! How can you know what you want if you don’t take the time to think about it? How can you work towards achieving your goals if you haven’t set aside time to develop them? Start with 10-30 minutes on one day of the week when you’re not as busy (for us, it’s Sundays), and start thinking! You’ll be amazed at how developing this one healthy habit will start to change how you prioritize your responsibilities and begin making changes!
2. Speaking of thinking – reshape it! Headed to a workout? You can think, “Ugh, I really don’t feel like working out today.” OR, you can think, “I’m going to feel so energized and strong after this workout!” The choice is yours. Attitude is everything. Keep your end goal(s) in mind. A grateful attitude also helps. We have the privilege of building stronger muscles and improving our stamina. Remember that.
3. Take action. As the well-known Nike slogan puts it, “Just do it.”
4. It’s okay to start tiny. Seriously! Small successes lead to bigger ones. There will ALWAYS be room for improvement in one or more areas of your life. Make the next small change! It helps to develop SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely). Instead of your goal being to eat more fruits and vegetables (you cannot measure your success here), your goal could be to eat at least one fruit or vegetable with each meal 6 out of 7 days this week. At 901 Nutrition, we truly believe in the power of small, incremental changes when it comes to overall health. Crash diets/fad diets are not sustainable. It’s about progression, not perfection.
5. Plan ahead. Failing to plan is planning to fail! We make time for what is important to us. Healthy eating goes a lot smoother when we take time each week to develop a plan!
6. Take care of yourself. We’re talking adequate sleep (recommendation is 7-9 hours), stress management, exercise (150 minutes/week minimum), and hydration. In other words, a holistic approach (physical, mental, spiritual, emotional). If one or more of these things is missing, it is going to be much more difficult to achieve your goals. Set a bedtime! Find what brings you to a place of relaxation, and schedule it in each week. In terms of physical activity, there are many ways you can get exercise without feeling like you are exercising – find something you enjoy! Your urine color can tell you a lot about your hydration status – aim for clear or pale yellow.
7. Address the potential barriers ahead of time. As an example, you get stuck in a meeting when your goal was to walk for 15 minutes outside during your lunch hour. Have you already thought about what your plan will be if this occurs? Is there another 15 minute window available for your walk?
8. Each day is a NEW day! Show yourself the same grace you show others. Had an unhealthy meal or snack? Keep moving forward. That unhealthy meal or snack does not define your overall health. More importantly, it does not define your ability to achieve a healthier physical, mental, and emotional state! What you do consistently over time adds up! Remember to add the next GOOD thing!
