How can you get motivated to lose weight, go to the gym, improve your nutrition, learn that new skill?  It takes more than wanting it. 

Olympic athletes don’t just “want it more”.

The ‘best’ athletes, the most fit people, have the same struggles you do.

The difference? They know how to get motivated (and what to do when they don’t feel motivated at all.)

Ask anyone at the highest levels of fitness: sometimes they don’t feel like working out. And those folks with ripped abs? They want a slice of cake.

So why do they work out anyway? Why do they stick to their meal plan when things get tough?

Here’s how they stay motivated – and the great news is that you can use the SAME strategy they do.

1.Get a coach.

You need to be accountable to an objective third party. Your spouse will let you off the hook. Your friends don’t want you to change at all.

You need someone to:
Remove the guesswork
Get results FAST (you’ll see why in the next step)
That means you have to pay for coaching. If you don’t, there’s no real penalty for failure…and you’ll backslide. Your coach will hold you accountable and provide a “pain” for failure. You can “ghost” someone over text, but you can’t miss appointments with your coach. 

2. Get a really fast result.

Our brains are wired to reward quick wins and novelty. If we don’t see results quickly, we lose motivation.

It’s key for someone to say “You did really well at X, and mean it”. Apps like Strava and Garmin Connect are great at giving you little rewards when you accomplish something for the first time. But a coach will take care of this for you too. Your coach will know you and point out your “wins” to keep you going when you don’t see them yourself. 

3. Set up a short-term “challenge” for yourself…

but have a plan for after the challenge ends.

A six-week sprint, a 30 day Keto diet, is great for motivating yourself to get started. But most people drop off the edge when it ends, and many actually wind up worse than ever. The unsustainable nature of the diet, plus the long-term damage to their metabolism, actually leaves them less healthy.  If you want to try out a safe short term challenge, have the second step all lined up and ready to go before you take the first. If not, people usually gain back the weight they lost and far more.
Again, a coach can build this plan for you.

4. It will eventually just become a habit.

It won’t always be hard to go to the gym, or shop for groceries, or prep your meals. It WILL get easier, but only if you keep the habit going. Usually it takes around 90 days for our behaviors to become habits; and then for a few more months for our habits to become “just what we do.”

5. Track everything.

Track your workouts.
Note your personal bests.
Track your food intake.
Note your wins.
Track your sleep.
Note how they all tie together.
Example:  If I sleep less, I want more caffeine. When I drink more caffeine, I want more sugar. When I eat more sugar, I lose motivation to work out. When I don’t work out, I get more stressed. And when I get more stressed, I sleep less.
Then I get dumber, fatter and sad.  Because I’m creating an unending vicious circle.

6. Use your tools to plan.

For example, instead of just putting today’s food in MyFitnessPal before bed, enter all of your meals in MyFitnessPal in advance. Then add or subtract carbs, fats and protein to make your macros, and voila – you have a food plan for the next day!
Trust me: it’s far better than cramming dry Rice Krispies into your mouth at 8pm because you’re not hitting your carb goals. Uh, at least that’s what my friend tells me…

7. Check your progress.

Look, you’re not going to have a personal best on every workout. But that matters ZERO percent. What really matters is consistency. People who show up every day, even if they put out 50% of their best effort, get better results than people who crush it once a week.

The people who “sprint and crash” usually get amazing results, and then they gain the weight again. Or they get strong, and then they get injured. The people who just show up for their appointments get strong, lean and happy for life.

I want you to know this: the days when you feel the LEAST motivation are the days you’ll get the BEST results.  

Consistent, imperfect action always wins.

 Click here to chat with one of our coaches who will keep you on track!