Stay Motivated to Lose Weight: Top 5
As a personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and yoga teacher, I hear a lot of excuses. Excuses from clients or class participants to skip their workouts. Skipping workouts, having a poor diet and poor sleep are sure fire ways to stop you from reaching your goal to lose weight. Don’t get me wrong, the excuses I hear are almost always very valid. Work runs late, babysitters fall through, illness happens. However, I sometimes hear, “I can’t stay motivated to lose weight.” The lack of motivation to complete your home workout or head to the gym is REAL. I understand that. Even as a fitness professional, I experience a lack of motivation to complete my own scheduled workouts or runs on a weekly basis. You are not alone in that feeling. Feeling unmotivated to exercise is normal and common. Fortunately for you, I reveal the top five hacks you can use to trick yourself to exercise to lose weight and stay motivated.
Hire a Trainer
You probably saw this coming right? After all, I am a personal trainer but let me explain! This recommendation not only comes from me but from feedback I get from my clients.
Often times when I get an in-person or virtual personal training client, they tell me that they have worked with a trainer in the past. When I first started training, I assumed the majority of my clients would be newbies that wanted to learn how to exercise. Turns out, that many of my clients worked with a trainer in the past and have a great foundation regarding their movement patterns but they lacked the motivation to continue on their own so they hired a trainer again! I often get the feedback from these clients that a trainer helped them stay motivated to lose weight or gain muscle. Why is that the case?
Working with a trainer means you have a scheduled appointment that you are spending money on. So even if you are feeling unmotivated that day to workout, you do it anyway because you don’t want to lose that appointment and waste the financial investment.
On the flip side, some folks believe that having a trainer is a luxury they cannot afford. As a trainer, I work very hard to remove barriers for folks that truly want to get healthy. This is why I offer virtual personal training. For my virtual clients, not only do I schedule their workouts and hold my clients accountable to complete them on a given day, I also offer virtual, live sessions for my clients to schedule. I encourage clients to schedule live sessions if they are new to working our or need even more help staying motivated. Having a virtual session is a fraction of the cost of an in-person session, plus it saves saves you commuting time to go to and from the gym. And yes, 50-minute home workout is challenging! Outsource your motivation, hire an in-person trainer in your area or contact me for online personal training.
2. Join Group Fitness Class
I cannot express to you the incredible benefits working out in a community has on not only your physical health but also you mental health. I highly encourage you to find an in-person class in your community that speaks to you. I recommend finding a gym or studio that is closest to your house or workplace if you plan on going before or after work. Check out the studio or gym’s website and sign up for the class that appeals to you. Purchase a class pack and put it on your calendar as a recurring event. Yes, it may feel like the first day of school the first day you go to the class but over time the habit begins to stick. The great thing about joining a class is that you don’t have to be motivated to complete the workout, you just have to show up and be told what to do. This increases the likelihood that you will complete the workout. Also, you’re not aimlessly wandering the gym for 20 minutes deciding on what to do before ulimately allowing the lack of motivation to send you packing.
“Do what you can with what you’ve got!”
One of the best things about joining an in-person class, is that you will begin to notice other regulars in the class and you form community. I’ve met some of the best people of different ages, colors, and sizes while taking group fitness classes. In a world where we work from home in solitude a lot more, it is essential for our mental health to connect with other people. An added bonus is that your new group fitness class buddies become accountability buddies. You may end up thinking “hmmm, I won’t miss class today because Cheryl will be there and I’m low-key proving to her that I’m just as dedicated”. All in a healthy, competitive sort of way, of course.
3. Join a Virtual Class
While an in-person class is great, don’t sleep on the motivational powers that a virtual class has! Similar to online personal training, signing up for a virtual class puts an appointment you paid for on your calendar. So even if you are feeling unmotivated, you made the time and financial investment so you are more apt to follow through on it.
Also please keep the following in mind. Saying something like, “oh I’ll sign up for the virtual class if I feel like it the day of the class” is not good enough. Take a moment to sign up for the classes you want to attend ahead of time, so when the class date and time rolls around you have to take an extra step to cancel the class. Perhaps that studio has a policy that you cannot cancel within 24 hours notice. Whatever the case may be, pre-schedule your virtual group fitness classes. Think of it as an investment on your future self and a safe guard against your future self sabotaging your intent to stick to your health goals!
Best thing about virtual classes is that they tend to be very affordable and more accessible since you don’t have to leave your house. Additionally, a virtual yoga class or group fitness class is a great option if you have health concerns about being around a lot of people or are shy or self-conscious. One of my favorite things about a virtual class is that one minute you’re following along to the class, the next minute you leave the live class and are laying on the floor in your very own living room. Pure bliss!
4. Find a Workout Buddy
If you want to stay motivated to lose weight, find a workout buddy! Find a friend in the same boat as you. Perhaps they are a neighbor, co-worker, friend, partner, or family member. With your workout buddy by your side go to the gym or workout studio and sign up for group fitness classes or find a trainer that can train both of you at the same time. Very likely the personal trainer offers a reduced rate per person, per session. As a personal trainer, I know I do! I actually love this option for in-person training because not only does my client have me to support them on their weight lose journey, my clients have each other.
You can also do simpler activities with your workout buddy such as having a standing appointment to meet at the park and go for a brisk walk or jog. You can follow along to a YouTube video together at home or the park. In an effort to support your journey with your workout buddy, I encourage you both to download my free e-book.
5. What Is Your Why?
If you want to stay motivated to lose weight or reach other health goals you first must ask yourself “why?"
“Why do I want to lose weight?”
“Why do I feel my body needs to change?”
There are no right or wrong answers here. I encourage you to ask yourself these questions without judging your reasons why but owning them, understanding them, and most importantly remembering them. Having our goals on the forefront of our brain helps us remember why we are putting in the work to reach that goal. So when you are feeling unmotivated remember your “why”. Place a physical reminder about your “why” somewhere you can see it.
For example if you want to lose weight to fit into your old favorite pair of jeans; hang the jeans on a hanger on a hook over your bedroom door. If you want to lose weight to improve your lab results from a previous doctor's visit, place the lab report on your refrigerator. Remember to give yourself grace and compassion when you see these visual reminders. The intention is not for them to make you feel guilt or shame. Instead they are intended to light a fire in your belly to stick to your healthy practices and stay motivated.
Conclusion
Ultimately, you have to decide for yourself that you are serious about losing weight and achieving your health goals. Once you have made that decision, use the hacks in this post to help you stay motivated to lose weight. Notice how a lot of these methods are ways to trick your future self into exercising even though you may lack motivation that day.
Life events happen - we get ill, we have family obligations, we may have to work through the weekend - these are all valid excuses to shorten or skip a workout. Don’t let lack of motivation be your excuse. Hire a trainer, join a class in-person or virtually, reach out to a workout buddy, make friends in your group fitness classes, dig deep to understand your “why”, and watch yourself stay motivated and lose weight. Please comment below what has worked for you in the past to stay motivated and share this post with your future workout buddy.
