How to stay motivated on your fitness journey when it’s just so easy to quit? Many people start off the New Year with a resolution to lose weight or start a healthy lifestyle. However, they either don’t follow through on this promise at all or start off hot and heavy then eventually give up. A common factor as to why people give up so easily is not staying motivated enough to go on.

Why do you lose motivation on your fitness journey?

Motivation depends on your outlook and how you are mentally and emotionally processing the world around you. If your heart and mind are not fully committed to a cause or a goal, you don’t feel driven or excited about getting it done and simply give up or let yourself fail. Here are some reasons why a person may lose motivation when it comes to committing to their fitness journey.

Having unrealistic expectations

Almost everyone is guilty of this when it relates to fitness. We expect to lose weight and look shredded practically overnight. Social media and clickbait also have a part to play in how we expect to look with very little changes to our lifestyles. Losing weight or achieving fitness goals takes time. You may not see any physical changes until 3 or 4 weeks of consistent work and dieting has passed. The first sign of progress is usually internal. You feel more energized, you become stronger and build more endurance. If you are only focused on aesthetics, you lose motivation when you aren’t seeing the number on the scale drop or if you don’t have a 6 pack in two weeks.

Doing too much too soon

Being zealous about working out and eating healthy is commendable. However, starting off too hot and heavy can lead to you encountering setbacks which demotivate you. For instance, you may push yourself too hard without learning proper form for exercises and injure yourself. You may also obsess about your diet and end up either not eating enough or compensate by binge eating. Doing too much too soon essentially means that you lose balance and therefore make things difficult for yourself which may lead to you quitting.

Not making your fitness journey a priority

If you really want lasting and sustainable results from your fitness journey, you need to make it part of your lifestyle. Making fitness a priority is important. When you start skipping workouts, mismanaging time and straying from your nutrition guide, you set yourself up for failure and jeopardize your goals.

Struggling with changing habits

Sometimes, getting fit involves a lot of compromise and giving up bad habits that you may find hard to let go of. To lead a healthy lifestyle, you need to give up unhealthy habits. These habits may include things such as smoking, eating junk food, not getting enough sleep, procrastination, alcohol or substance abuse.

Environmental factors

If you start a fitness journey and face regular situations where friends or family have a negative attitude, it can affect how motivated you become. Peers who made comments such as “you’re too fat”, “your workouts aren’t working”, “who do you think you are” or “you won’t stick to this” can be demotivating remarks that affect your mental outlook.

What to do when you feel like giving up on your fitness journey?

Work with a personal trainer

Sometimes you don’t know where or how to start your fitness journey. Signing up for a personal trainer is the perfect way to get you started. You will receive expert tutoring, positive reinforcement and guidance on how to achieve your fitness goals. Personal trainers help you to create structure, motivate you with their coaching and push you to your best potential.

Believe in yourself

Shut out all negativity in your life and believe that you can achieve good health and fitness. Take pride in how much your body can do for you, how strong you can be and motivate yourself to always keep improving.

Embrace your fitness journey as self-care

Think of fitness as a form of self-care. You aren’t doing it for anybody but yourself. To be healthy and happy. Your workout session can be an escape from the stress in your life, a way to release negativity and help you to take control of your lifestyle.

Don’t believe social media

Don’t feel like you aren’t doing well just because you don’t look like models and influencers on social media. Understand that social media is edited, photoshopped and doesn’t depict real life at all. Try to avoid clickbait online that promote fad diets, unhealthy ways to lose weight or ads for pills and supplements that may do you more harm than good.

Set realistic goals

Take your fitness journey one step at a time. Set realistic milestones such drinking 2 litres of water daily, or aim to go from holding a plank for 15 seconds to 30 seconds. Keep it simple and continue to challenge yourself. If you are a total beginner, you have to work your way up slowly and safely to become better at working out and perfecting your form.

Stay consistent

Don’t skip your workouts and don’t go ham on your cheat meal days. Some days may be hectic and you may find it hard to find time to fit in 45 minutes for working out. On days like these, try to keep your diet in check and exercise for at least 15 minutes. It’s better to do something than nothing at all. You also cannot shock your system and need to eliminate bad habits in a slow and controlled manner.

Understand your fitness journey

Keep motivated by never forgetting why you started your fitness journey. Remember that you are trying to keep fit for health and strength instead of trying to look a certain way. Everyone is built differently and we all have different fitness needs. Fitness isn’t a short-term activity. It’s something that you should adopt into your daily lifestyle to keep yourself energised, healthy and happy. Contact Fitness NC today to find out more about how you can make fitness part of your lifestyle. You will receive professional advice and learn about how to embark on a fitness journey and remain motivated and consistent!