7 Ways to Keep Your Motivation High While Losing Weight

If you’re like me, motivation is something that is hard to maintain and throughout my weight loss journey it has ebbed and flowed. When I hit a low patch of motivation here is how to stay motivated when losing weight!

I’m a real person—it is hard for me to motivate myself to get up early for a run or pass by the doughnuts. It’s hard to keep going even when the results are coming in 21 days or 6 weeks or as fast as I had hoped on January 1st.

But this is where the rubber meets the road! Will we give in and give up or will we refresh our motivation and keep at it!

How to Stay Motivated When Losing Weight

1. Remember Why

Why did I start doing this in the first place?  I started to lose weight because I wanted to feel good about myself again!  I also wanted

to do my part to ensure that I had a healthy, active, meaningful life.

I never wanted to be sidelined. I didn’t want diabetes; I didn’t want to feel winded chasing my child; I wanted to be lighter.

I wanted to be a more confident, stronger, more vibrant me.

For you that are still on the fence here is a practice I recommend.

1. Make a list of all the personal benefits of getting healthy like being a more active parent, fitting in that dress, avoiding disease, how you will FEEL knowing you are making healthy choices for your body and mind.
2. Next make a list of all the negatives like finding room in your schedule, figuring out what to do, sweatiness, feeling uncomfortable or out of place.

I believe you will see that the positives far outweigh the negatives. And if you need help with your list just say so in the comments—I love making lists!

2. Sign Up For An Event

Awaken your competitive streak by signing up for an event!  Try a local 5K, an online challenge, an app like Gympact (it pays you to go to the gym!), even a “bet” with a coworker, spouse, or sibling to see who can get the most days of exercise or lose the most pounds in a month!

Put your money or pride on the line and you will dig up some motivation fast!

3. Get Back to Basics

Think like a rookie!  Remember back to your first weeks in your healthy living journey…tracking religiously, finding little ways to move more, eating super clean, start acting like a newbie and you’ll start losing like a newbie– which is great motivation!

Journal about your journey and review past journal entries for added inspiration.

4. Try Something New

Check out a new class or activity. Try hot yoga, Zumba, a kickboxing class, trail running, swimming, tennis or disc golf!  Get moving in a fresh way!

Whenever I’m feeling burnt out on my strength, running, yoga routine I mix things up with a bike ride, walk, or kickboxing video.

Even changing up a little thing like lifting lighter weights for higher reps will shake up your brain AND your body which always gives me new motivation.

5. Find a Friend

Enlist a friend to be your new workout/healthy eating buddy!  When their motivation wanes, you can cheer them on—and when you are feeling burnt out their energy can give you a zap!

When my motivation is low, especially with healthy eating, I check in via text with my  mom or sister.  Knowing that I’m being held accountable by a real live person who won’t take my crap is powerful motivation!

6. Read Healthy Living Book, Watch an Inspirational Movie or TV show or Browse a Fitness Magazine

Last week I got a total surprise of the latest Weight Watchers magazine in my mailbox!  I have no idea how that happened, but (after checking my billing history and online banking) it gave my ability to make healthy choices a midweek boost.

If you are on a tight budget (like yours truly!) you can check out books and browse magazines at your local library!  That’s where I got Drop Dead Healthy and if you have an awesome library like mine they might be in the midst of a summer reading program which gives you a chance to win some pretty neat local prizes.

Or you can watch an inspirational movie, like Soul Surfer or a movie like Brittany Runs a Marathon (which is available on Amazon Prime, grab a free trial here!) Seeing others overcome difficulty and achieve their goals is so challenging!

7. Check Out Non-Traditional Media, like Blogs and Pinterest!

If you need a quick boost or fitness pick-me-up check out your favorite healthy living fitness blogs or instagram pages or podcasts!

Here are a few of my favorite motivating online sources:

• Syatt Fitness, especially love his instagram and podcast! *language warning for kids*– Great practical tips and love his workouts!
• Corinne Crabtree, Losing 100 Pounds podcast. *language warning for kids* She is the queen of mental work for weight loss!
• Healthy Is the New Skinny instagram — Great mindset work and body love!
• Madeline Moves instagram — She also has a great workout group I’d love to join!)

I’m sure there are more I’m not listing here! I don’t follow as many blogs day-to-day as I used to, but I’m so thankful for other ways to engage with content and stay motivated like podcasts and instagram and Facebook pages!

My one additional advice for this source of motivation is to set a timer!  I could spend hours browsing the blogosphere and probably even longer bumming around Instagram! When your timer dings your time is up and you need to start implementing your motivation! (<<<that’s another post for another day!)

If you’re needing a pick-me-up of fresh motivation for your healthy living and weight loss goals I hope these tips for how to stay motivated when losing weight are super helpful and impactful to your journey!

How do you stay motivated to reach your healthy living goals? 

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Thanks, as always, for reading, commenting and sharing!!