This is the time of year where motivation for fitness starts to wane. When January hits, people are extremely motivated to start the new year off on a positive note. After a couple of months or so, old habits reappear, excuses arise, and work and other obligations start to take over your life again pushing health goals aside. If you are finding it difficult to sustain your new healthy lifestyle changes, think about these following points:

Remember WHY you want to be healthy

What makes you get out of the office and off your butt to the gym on days you really don’t want to go? What makes you choose grilled fish over a slice of pizza? Everyone has a different reason that motivates him/her to exercise and eat well. Be honest with yourself and figure out your motivation and constantly remind yourself of that reason.  Surveys have shown that there are some reasons that are more likely to motivate people to sustain a healthy lifestyle long term. Here are a few:

I always feel so much better after working out.
It’s “me” time where I can de-stress.
I am training for a 5K, 10K, triathlon (for fun or fundraising).
I want to have energy to play with my grandkids.
I no longer have to take meds for blood pressure or cholesterol.
I look forward to exercising with friends in group ex classes!

These are positive reasons to exercise and will easily encourage you to continue working out regularly! Forcing yourself to the gym because you “have to go” or “should go” because you dislike the way you look makes exercise feel like punishment and puts a negative spin on it. It’s difficult to motivate yourself to go to the gym if you view it as a must do chore, vs a fun and enjoyable activity.

It’s never a lost cause

So you ate cake instead of fruit. It’s not the end of the world. All big goals are met by meeting smaller goals. There are times where you might slip up – forgive yourself and move on. Moving towards your goal is like a ‘good’ stock market graph: there will always be ups and downs, but the general trend is that it is going UP. The key to adopting a healthy lifestyle is to replace one “not so great” habit with another “better” one slowly over time. Small changes are easier to sustain compared to a massive 10-habit overhaul. This applies to your diet as well. You will meet your goals as long as you don’t give in and let the few slip-ups drag you back into your old ways.

Are you mentally and physically prepared for these lifestyle changes?

Now that the excitement of starting a new exercise program/diet has faded, how do you maintain your momentum so you don’t undo all the work you’ve achieved so far? If you’ve seen results from your efforts, that alone usually will inspire and motivate you to continue on your path of wellness. Usually, it’s those who don’t see instant results that start to lose motivation. Most people start their journey of health because they want to lose weight to look or feel better, or there’s a special event on the horizon. But, it can be depressing to put in time and effort into exercising and healthy eating and not see results. Losing weight and keeping it off is an extremely challenging task. You have to be prepared for setbacks or “lack of results” and be mentally strong to stay on the right path no matter what. Every day you exercise and eat well (no matter what the scale says) is making you a healthier person. Without the mental willpower, it is very difficult to not veer off the path towards your goals. Think of Olympic athletes: they aren’t just physically strong, they are also mentally strong and committed to their goals. Do you have that mindset?