Motivation To Workout:
Two Stories of Strength and Faith

Finding the motivation to workout, lose weight and get healthy is something that most people struggle with.  If there is one thing that I hear over and again is "I am just waiting to get motivated!"

Well, if you are going to WAIT to get motivated you may be waiting a LONG time - because motivation comes…..and goes. 

I can say this…..most people don't always feel super motivation to work out.  I know I don't!! 

But….I definitely feel better about myself when I am finished working out!!! I NEVER feel worse about myself - that's for certain.

We are all motivated at the beginning of a new journey.  We have dreams and visions of how it's going to be in the future.  What it's going to feel like when we finally succeed.  

But we all hit a hump.

A plateau. 

A wall. 

We all encounter obstacles…..problems…..disappointments.

Then motivation quickly fades and discouragement sets in.

This is when it gets real difficult to find the motivation to workout.

I mean….what's the point?  You don't seem to be getting anywhere.  You'd probably get the same results sitting on the couch eating chips and salsa!!

At least it seems that way.

But…..I can tell you it's not the case.

Stuff is happening on the inside - metabolic stuff.  And it will manifest itself - if you can persevere.  It always does. 

I PROMISE!!

A Tale of Two Motivated Women

Meet Rachel 

I love Rachel's story - not only because she is a weight loss success - but because her decision to do something about her weight and health brought about more changes than meets the eye.

You see, Rachel was (at that time) 23 years old….20 lbs. heavier…..sedentary….hanging around with the wrong people….low self esteem….jobless…..prior eating disorder….almost homeless….no job…..

And….she decided to lose weight at a very low time in her life. 

Yup….she chose now. 

She did not decide to wait for motivation to workout.

She didn't say she would get started when she had a job….a place to live….confidence…., etc.

No - she just jumped right in…..with a slight push from her mom who encouraged her to come train with me. 

So Rachel and I started and focused on building strength and learning to respect her body by giving it what it needs and deserves.  Which in turn developed into something so amazing.

Remember where Rachel was at?  She wasn't in a good place. 

But in a matter of THREE WEEKS she decided to:

Get a job

Find an apartment

Start running

And in two weeks - Rachel found TWO jobs, found an apartment and began running.

Then she applied for another job - as a paralegal. 

She applied for this position at least once before about a year ago.

And she was awarded that position too - and the person who hired her admired her PERSEVERANCE.

In a short amount of time Rachel literally changed the whole direction of her life.  Rachel did a 180 degree turn and put her life on the track she wanted to be on.

Today she is loving life - mostly because she is so proud of herself and who she has become.

For Rachel her weight was a symptom of where she was in her life.  Once she decided to change her life her weight changed.  It may have been the other way around - once she decided to change her weight - she changed her life.  But it's no matter because the end result is the same - success!!

So the point of Rachel's story is her motivation to workout came from making changes.  Once she started to change areas of her life her motivation started to snowball and it became contagious.  So my advice to you is to get moving - do something.  Change something.  Do something DIFFERENT.

After all ….. You know what the definition of insanity is?  Doing the same thing again and again while expecting a different result.

Do something different and most likely you'll get a different outcome.

Meet Janelle

I met Janelle through another client of mine.  She referred Janelle to me back in September 2013.  Janelle was obviously distraught on the phone as we spoke.  She explained how she was gaining weight even though she was eating a very low calorie diet and her stomach kept getting bigger and bigger.  She had gained weight in the past 4 months and could not seem to get the scale to go down.  She also complained of tremendous fatigue and her hair was falling out. 

She was worried that I would think she was crazy - but I had a feeling she wasn't crazy.  Instead I had a feeling she had dieted so much that it was now affecting her hormones and her metabolism. 

After getting to meet Janelle in person and being able to see where she was gaining her weight, I immediately suspected some sort of cortisol and hormonal issues.   

You see, Janelle was thin in her legs and thin in her arms but her center was bloated and puffy - this is a one key sign of women who suffer from cortisol issues. 

She continued to tell me her story and a few key details which led me to believe that it was definitely cortisol issues. 

*Intense cardio exercise on a very low calorie/low carb diet

*Lack of sleep

*Type A personality

*Years of dieting

*Possible food allergy/intolerance 

Test results eventually confirmed what I thought - cortisol issues. 

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to cortisol issues and it takes time….and lots of patience. 

In Janelle'scase there was a lot of damage to undo before she could begin to lose weight.  She had adrenal glands to heal, cortisol levels that needed to come back to normal, hormones that needed to settle out, a metabolism to kick-start and food allergies to uncover. 

In fact, she gained about 8 lbs. before she could actually start losing weight.   

I would say it took about 8 months before Janelle started to see some success - but what she needed to lose weight was anything BUT what you would read about when it comes to weight loss.  Since she had cortisol issues and a damaged metabolism - cardio was a major NO NO!! 

In fact, it only would have made the situation worse.   

But sadly, many people do not realize their situation when they start on a weight loss program and unknowingly do things that make their progress stall or they may actually gain weight. 

The thing about Janelle that made her come through this OK was her perseverance and her motivation to workout.  She didn't do what many people do when they hit a wall - most people jump from one fat loss program to another without understanding what is going on with their body.   

They don't trouble shoot or address hidden food allergies.   

They usually stop and start their programs - making absolutely NO HEADWAY. 

Janelle stayed focused….determined and  full of motivation to workout.   

Was it easy?  No way.  There were days and weeks where she was utterly frustrated and RIGHTLY SO. 

I mean it's crazy to feel like you are doing EVERYTHING RIGHT and the scale is not budging.  But hormones and food allergies will do that. 

So I felt my role was to keep her balanced so she could ride out the storm :-) and help her see the light at the end of the tunnel.  After all….nobody is truly RESISTANT to fat loss.  

Some just hit major walls…..but they can get past it.

So what does all this have to do with finding the motivation to workout? 

Well, Janelle and Rachel both had some pretty big obstacles that were not easy to overcome.

Their challenges would easily steal anyone's motivation. 

Their barriers would certainly make most people give up. 

But they focused on where the road would lead…..and stayed the course. 

I always tell my clients…..SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE.  EVERY TIME.

Motivation To Workout Tips

  • Set a minimum baseline of what you will do each week NO MATTER WHAT -   Just like brushing your teeth and paying your taxes.  We aren't quite motivated to do either - but we do it because we don't want our breath to smell :-) or lose our home!! So set your baseline - such as committing to doing a 30 min. walk 4x per week. Or maybe you will do a workout DVD 3 x per week. Or maybe it's doing pushups against your kitchen counter and squats on a chair. 

        Just get started and commit to something. 

  • I'm someone who needs stories, quotes and motivational books to keep me focused and inspired.  Find something that resonates with you and post it where you will see it ALL THE TIME.  Some of my favorite quotes are:
  • Nothing motivates me more than making a list of my "to-do's" and then looking back on it to see everything checked off.  Think about it…..you make a list of small goals (30 minute run, make my menu plan for 3 days, take dogs for a walk, etc.) then look back at the end of the day to see how much you completed.  It just makes me feel so productive which then boosts my confidence which then just makes me feel great about myself - then I want to do it all over again (hence internal motivation!!)

 

  • If I tell someone I am going to meet them for a workout, I tend to follow through more because someone is counting on my  being there.  When I think about it, it's kind of ridiculous because I am willing to let myself down - but I don't want to let someone else down!!! I mean, that's crazy!!! But….it works.  So find a workout partner and make committed workout times - you are less likely to back out.  We can listen to our own excuses but it's different when we try to convince someone else of why we aren't working out!!
  • Subscribe to a daily quote email.  If I wake up with the right frame of mind and I have a positive message in my mind I function WAY better during the day.  Keep that message in front of you and focus on it.  I like the Abraham-Hicks daily emails or a free app that text motivational quotes to your phone.

Once you have some motivation going....then you have to work on building the discipline to make it a habit.  From this point, the motivation to workout will no longer be an issue because then it will be like brushing your teeth - a healthy habit!!

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