Finding your motivation

Sometimes it is so hard to find your motivation, you feel like you've tried everything, you keep creeping back to that packet of biscuits and your energy is constantly low.  So, what do you do?
In the past, my motivation was being thin, no matter what I did my number one priority would be to lose weight. I knew my goal, I knew what I wanted and I went for it. Did I succeed? Yes, did I do it the wrong way and lose it too fast? Yes. Did I regret the way I went about it? Yes and no. Yes, it was bad, but No because I learned so much from that experience.

Patience is definitely a virtue, and it's something you're going to have to learn if you want to stay fit long term. I am still learning to find my patience right now, I have been working out every day and watching what I eat but I still feel like I'm seeing no results. It is very disheartening.

One of my biggest problems is still that when one thing doesn't work after a few days, I change it, I hop from different eating habits to different eating habits. Then, I decide that my workouts aren't working, or I'm doing too much cardio, not enough weights and vice versa.

You would think after 4/5 years of doing fitness, researching and losing/gaining weight I would have enough knowledge to trust myself. But no, I am afraid my self-doubt and anxiety doesn't want to give me a break.

There are so many people in the media that are telling you to do different diets, that one thing is bad for you and that eating this will definitely make you fat. All I can say is this - do not listen to them. You need to find out what works for you and your body, what foods you enjoy eating and what your lifestyle and ethics are.

Again, I am so guilty of looking through my feed and seeing these people convincing me to change diet, and I used to take every word as gospel, now I see it and judge for myself if I think it's feasible.

I have learnt you need a balanced diet, you need every food group and cutting one is not a reasonable thing to do. Again, this is another thing I have to tell myself, over and over again. The demons we create never truly leave, they just get a bit less pressuring.

So, how do I find my motivation now? 

In all honesty, some days I don't...I will have days where I am so tired and mentally drained that I don't want to do anything at all - so I don't. Some days I think to myself 'could I go' if the answer is yes, I go to the gym or I do a home workout. 

My main motivation comes from being happy and healthy. I want to be strong and I want to be able to eat delicious food without some overhanging guilt. My family is not blessed with good genes or fast metabolisms so I have to work harder than most to lose fat. It sucks, yes, but I know I can do it and that's what keeps me going. I want to be confident enough to post 'progress pictures' or the workouts I do, but I haven't quite got there yet. 

Another form of motivation that works is talking to other people who are passionate about fitness and health food. It is amazing to feed off someone else's excitement and to swap advice on food and exercise routines. I must say though, you shouldn't rely on this as your only source of motivation, first and foremost you must be passionate about your goals.

There is something that can really help keep you motivated on those down days and that is being organised. Knowing your goals, knowing what workout routine you're doing that day and if you can plan your meals for the week so you know what you're eating. Keep track of what you do and if you want to, take progress pictures and measurements. On those days you feel like nothing is working you could measure your body or take a picture and realise you look completely different from when you first started. It might just give you a boost to keep going!

When it comes to food just know that it doesn't have to be boring, you don't have to eat chicken and broccoli every single day to see results. The basics are thus if you are in a calorie deficit, you will lose fat, if you are in a surplus you will gain weight (whether that is muscle or fat). The problem is balancing what nutrients you put into your body. Food is complex, there are many factors to consider, such as food groups, macros, micronutrients, amount, source etc but if you are interested enough you will learn everything you need to know depending on your own goals or if you want to seek an experts advice.

Please try not to get disheartened when you eat more than you need or you eat a 'bad' food (this term is relative) tomorrow is a new day and one day out of a week or a month is not going to harm you, at all. Just try and break the cycle as soon as possible to avoid a dramatic weight gain. 

Every single body is different, men have more testosterone which means they burn fat at a faster rate, women carry extra fat to support childbirth, some people are pear-shaped,  some have an hourglass shape, the list goes on. If you see someone who looks amazing, has abs, has copious amounts of energy, just remember that you CAN get there too but you may just have to take a different route, perhaps a slower one. But whatever you set your mind to you CAN do. It's all mental. Picture what you want and one day you will get there, I promise. Work hard, but still remember to play hard as well!

Thanks for reading, this was partially for everyone out there who are lacking motivation and also, a little bit for myself as well. It's time to work towards my goals but more importantly, whilst I am on my journey, I need to learn to love myself in the here and now.


Have a great day!

Namaste