As I write this it’s January 29th. For those of you who set out those lofty “New Year’s Resolutions”, how are they going? Are you feeling the same energy towards the goals you created at the beginning of the year? This is not to bash New Year’s resolutions; I believe whatever helps someone make positive changes in their life is a good thing. Reflecting on the past year and setting intentions for the New Year is also something I think we should all do for personal growth.
However– from my work with clients, I’ve learned a few things about the “motivation” we all like to lean on when it comes to predicting health change and success. This comes not only from my time as a dietitian but also from a decade in fitness working as a personal trainer. Motivation will always wax and wane. It’s typically what gets someone to start something new, but it will be short-lived. What will see you through those times when you don’t feel motivated? It’s an absolute guarantee you will have unmotivated days, in fact, until something truly becomes a habit you might have more unmotivated days than motivates ones. When you meet someone who is already embodying the type of habits you are working towards, I can guarantee they do NOT always feel motivated. What they have become masters of is consistency. They don’t allow themselves to over think it. They take action and allow positive, reenforcing thoughts to arrive.
The uncomfortable truth is being an adult and developing new habits means sometimes we do things we don’t want to do something in the present moment for a desired outcome in the future. This is similar to saving for retirement or flossing our teeth each night (or in my and Monica’s case – our extensive skin care routines!)
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are developing new habits around nutrition and fitness that don’t necessarily revolve around “motivation”:
- Every meal doesn’t need to be Instagram worthy!
- A healthy, tasty meal can be ugly! You can eat similar meals day after day if you enjoy them and they help you towards your goals. Use convenience items like frozen fruits/veggies, canned beans, instant oatmeal, rotisserie chickens, smoked salmon, meal delivery plans, etc.! Be realistic with your life demands and don’t expect to chef it up every night.
- Some movement is better than no movement
- Not everyday is a day where you will feel like Jane Fonda and motivated to go workout, but something is better than nothing while you are working on building a habit. Don’t have a full hour, just 20 minutes? Do what you can in 20 minutes! (Crossfit has taught me A LOT of work can happen in 20 minutes). Didn’t sleep well? Maybe decide to go for a brisk walk instead of the spin or HIIT class. Really exhausted? Use 30 minutes to work on mobility/ flexibility on the living room floor. Bonus points for a judgemental pet observing.
- Don’t take more than one off day in a row (unless you are sick or your body is truly not able to handle it, intuitively..)
- This really helps with building momentum! We all will have off days, whether it is converting to old eating habits, or missing a movement session. Just do your best not to let this happen more than one day in a row (illness and mental health days not withstanding…) because then one becomes two.. which becomes three.. etc. Of course, life happens, but it’s easy to use one day as an “excuse” instead of a legitimate reason (again, we are ALL about intentional rest days with the idea of “okay, I’ll get back to my routine as SOON as possible!)
Don’t let perfection be enemy of the good!