I'm not gonna lie, its pretty easy to lose motivation! Last week I went on a business trip to Las Vegas and was blessed enough to get to spend some quality time with my family! The only bad part is with working all day and family time, I had ZERO extra time and energy to workout for the entire 4 days while we were there. Now that we're back there are tons of excuses I can use from my excuse archive:
I'm tired
My house is a wreck
My child was up crying for over an hour in the middle of the night
I need to do yardwork
I need to do laundry
I need to play with my child
I need to give time to my husband
I need to cook dinner
I need to work
I really just wanna sit here
All of these are extremely valid reasons as to why I don't have time to workout. I mean I should get a break too right? Wouldn't you wanna play with that little cutie? On the flip side...every time this happens I get in a funk! Why? I'm not feeling as strong or as confident as when I am taking care of my body. Anytime I take a few days off it is that much harder to get going again. It has been really difficult to get up early to go workout after having only worked out in the evening the past 4 weeks. I need to re-create my habit!
There is a lot of differing information as to how long it takes to form a habit, the most well known time period is 21 days. Where on earth did we get this number? It came from a book written over 20 years ago, but that's beside the point. New information tells us it can take anywhere from 18-132 days to create a habit and no you don't have to go that many days consecutively. 18-132 days! That's 66 days on average, a little over 2 months of consistency. What this means is, if you miss a day in trying to start a new habit, don’t put yourself on a guilt trip. Just keep trying; you’ll eventually get there, but don't let this be an excuse either. This is the ever popular saying of health and fitness is a "LIFESTYLE" not a diet. It takes some time to create a habit and on the flip side it can take JUST as long to break that habit. So whether you are trying to eat 4 servings of fruit everyday, or walk 20 minutes a day, keep trying. You will eventually get there. And don’t get discouraged if it takes more than 66 days. We hear all the time give it 12 weeks! Well.....give it 12 weeks of consistency and you WILL see results. Nothing fancy or magical about it.
Its easy to lose motivation when you have a million things going on, but use all your avenues! Posting gym selfies are motivating! You get to see your own results as well as use it as some type of accountability. Join a support group with your friends who have common goals. Make yourself a poster with motivating and encouraging words! If your partner is not on board with you on your journey you must pave the way on your own. Set reminders on your phone that give you a message of encouragement. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest for things like this as well! Ex. Take 2 jars, if your goal is weight loss then for every llb loss put the amount of marbles or something else in 1 jar and for each 1lb you lose move it to the empty jar! This gives you visual accountability. ! WRITE OUT YOUR GOALS If you do not have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish, it can be overwhelming and you will set yourself up to fail.
On another note, I've been on a salad kick this week, so we have been having salads for lunch! I've found a salad dressing that is not only healthy, its down right delicious! I highly recommend giving it a try! Salads can have hidden calories so be aware of how many "goodies" you're putting on your salad.
I put my workout for today in the workouts section! My intention is to complete it outdoors! Wish me luck!
Until next time, try to spend a full day without a single complaint...you will be amazed at how quickly your thought processes will change for the better! Happy Wednesday!!
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