How to Stay Motivated to Lose Weight
If you are struggling to stay motivated to lose weight, then this article is for you.
Of all of the problems I run into as a personal trainer/online coach, the top three things people say they struggle with the most while trying to lose weight are time, money, and motivation.
We’ll save the first two for a different discussion on a different day. Let’s talk about motivation.
Do you feel like some people you know seem to have motivation coursing through every part of their body while you struggle to get the motivation to just get out of bed?
Well, fear not, nothing is wrong with you.
In fact, I used to struggle with this too…
Until I realized…the secret to staying motivated isn’t to chase motivation, but rather…
Reading this ENTIRE article 😉
I promise it’ll be worth it.
Where (You Think) Staying Motivated To Lose Weight Comes From
I cannot emphasize how important this part is…so please do not skip this.
Why is this part so important, you ask?
Because this is the single mistake most people (yes, including you!!) make when trying to lose weight.
They think this is how motivation with weight loss works…
You think that you’ll finally get motivated to take action and finally get the results you want.
You think that if only you can just wake up motivated enough one day, and then that motivation will just magically meal prep all of your food, get your ass to the gym, and put in the work and consistency, and then magically you’ll wake up 6 months from now with the body of your dreams.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it definitely not how it works.
Motivation has never been and never will be the catalyst for reaching your weight loss goals.
Now, you must be wondering, “then how do I succeed, Austin?!?”
One word that I say ALL the time: consistency.
But wait, don’t close the tab just yet. There’s more to it.
Where Staying Motivated To Lose Weight (Actually) Comes From
As you can see from the picture above, same three words, but in a different order.
This is how motivation actually works.
Motivation is not the driver of action, change, and results, but rather it’s the end product.
You look confused, here’s why:
Think about the last time you were motivated. How long did it last? (That’s what she said.)
Okay, but seriously, how long did your bout of motivation last?
Most likely not that long, right? I’m guessing like 2-3 weeks tops?
And then after those few short weeks of motivation, you likely didn’t experience the crazy results you wanted or found it difficult to stay consistent, got demotivated, and told yourself that you’ll try again next year.
All because you thought that motivation was the key to success.
But really, it isn’t. The real key is taking action.
Let’s dive into how this exactly works.
You begin your journey by taking action. These actions lead to results. You then see these results and get motivated.
You then say, “This is fucking awesome. I gotta keep going.”
This then leads to a positive feedback loop of taking more action, seeing more results, and becoming more motivated.
Okay, now what? How do I apply this to stay motivated to lose weight?
Now that you know the first step is taking action, let’s talk about what that entails.
1) Actually Starting
If there’s anything I’ve learned from being human, it’s that the single thing we hate the most is starting something new.
And it just so happens weight loss involves just that (lucky you right?).
But ironically, the best way to fight this hatred is actually start something.
Whether it’s getting your ass to the gym to workout, cooking a healthy meal, setting a new schedule for your newfound healthy lifestyle, or simply getting out of bed in the morning.
Truth be told, the hardest part of completing a task is the first 5 minutes of doing task.
Think about it, once you get over that hurdle of starting that task for 5 minutes and get into the groove of things, you realize it’s not so bad.
In fact, you start feeling accomplished and glad you made the decision to be productive.
Seriously, many clients and even I can attest to this fact. No matter how shitty we may be feeling on any given day, we are always glad to have done the workout rather than skipping it.
And 10 times out of 10 (I haven’t had a single person deny this so I can’t speak for everyone), they felt less shitty afterwards.
Now, how can we apply this to help you, the reader?
Every time you have one of those days, y’know, the days where you just want to say “fuck everything” and want to skip your workout, throw your nutrition plan out the window, and just want to sit on your couch with a bottle of wine?
Rather than immediately jumping to that decision, I want you do what you had originally planned to do for just 5 minutes.
One thing I tell my online coaching clients when they struggle with this is to implement “The 5 Minute Rule.”
This might sound like a fancy trick, but it literally just means that start the typical first 5 minutes of their workout routine.
This usually covers the warmup and you know what usually happens afterward?
9.9 times out of 10, they follow through and complete their workout plan!
As you can see, it works wonders.
“Okay Austin, I’m ready to start. What now?”
2) Starting Small
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when they try to lose weight is that they try to change too much too fast.
This eventually leads to a feeling of being overwhelmed, burning out, and eventually giving up.
And look, I’m not saying that you can’t make big changes in your life, but if you’re the type of person who isn’t in the ideal situation to wake up at 5am every day before work to get a workout in, meal prepping every single meal for the next week, and making sure you get 10,000 steps every single day, it’s probably not in your best interest to develop such an overwhelming plan from the get go.
Instead, start small.
Whether that’s…
Going on a 15 minute walk.
Starting off with movements that you’re only comfortable doing in the gym.
Replacing just one of your snacks with something healthier throughout your day.
That doesn’t so bad, right?
It probably sounds much less daunting and overwhelming than sticking to a gym routine 5 times a week and meal prepping every single meal.
Because here’s the thing, whenever you look up to those who are successful to get your source of motivation, you often think that you must do every single thing they’re doing if you want to be successful.
But in reality, you don’t (yet).
To put things into perspective, everyone who has ever embarked on a fitness journey has started from ground zero.
What others may seem to do and balance effortlessly might have taken them years to figure out and achieve.
They likely started off where you are at right now.
They started small. Slowly built up the momentum and confidence to do more. And that eventually evolved and compounded into their current lifestyle.
Because truthfully, here’s how it works:
You start off your day with a 15 minute walk.
Afterwards, you felt “results.”
And no…I don’t mean suddenly dropping 20 lbs after a 15 minute walk…
But the results of feeling great, accomplished, and confident in your ability to do more.
Next thing you know, that 15-minute walk turns into 20 minutes, then 25, then 30, and eventually you’re hitting 10,000 steps effortlessly.
And when you apply this concept to all other components of your lifestyle routines, you’ll start to find this weight loss thing much simpler and less daunting.
More On The 5 Minute Rule
I wanted to go into some more detail why it’s so effective and why you should give it an honest try if you find yourself struggling to stay motivated.
If you recall the neat little picture I posted above, it goes like this: actions -> results -> motivation.
Quite frankly it doesn’t matter in the long run if you “only” do 5 minutes of warming up.
You still took the initiative to actually get to the gym and warm up.
You still took action. Action is doing something. And doing something will always be better than doing nothing.
And you can take that to the bank.
Something I constantly harp on is that consistency is the biggest predictor of success.
Whether that’s fitness, business, academics, sports, or any other area of life.
The more consistent you are at doing something, the more likely you will succeed at that given task.
Whether or not you completed that workout, you made the initiative to stay consistent to your plan.
And that will be the ultimate game changer in your success.
What sounds better, 5 minutes of warming up and moving your body or 0 minutes of activity?
With all that being said, here’s the bottom line.
Take. Action.
Of course, that’s easier said than done…
Taking Action Won’t Be Easy
Look, I know I basically spent the entire article talking about how to make taking action easy, but here’s a fair warning: it won’t be easy.
Taking action will be tough.
Some days it’ll feel easy peasy while other days your mind & body will play tricks on you and fight against your every decision.
These are the days where you’ll want to skip the gym and lay on your couch all day.
These are the days where you’ll want to ignore all the calories you put into your mouth.
But also, these are the days that will determine your success because they will require your ability to make the decision you will be most proud of no matter whatever or whoever else may be telling you different.
This isn’t to say that you can’t or should never have these days. They’re perfectly normal to experience from time to time, but not consistently.
(Oh look, there’s that pesky consistency reminder again 😏)
That being said, most of the time, in order to be consistent you must do what you feel will best serve the weight loss goal you are trying to achieve.
Which will require sacrifice to some extent…
Success Requires Sacrifice
Remember when I said that in order for you to be successful at something, you must be consistent?
Here’s the thing, oftentimes, consistency in one area in life will mean sacrificing consistency in other areas of your life.
For example, if you want to lose weight, some habits you may need to stay consistent with are:
- Sticking to your weekly scheduled workout plan
- Meal prepping your meals for the week
- Making sure you get to bed on time and get quality sleep
- Learning the process and setting time aside to track calories including measuring, weighing, and portioning out your food
With that in mind, you may have to give up some consistent habits like:
- Eating whatever you want whenever you want and however much you want
- Getting your workout in only “when you feel like it”
- Staying up until midnight binge-watching your favorite Netflix series or scrolling through social media
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what’s worth more of your time and money.
And just in case you need a reminder, here are some reasons people have said in my years of coaching which made say, “the sacrifice was worth it”:
- Feeling confident in their own bodies
- Having family and friends notice their weight loss
- Getting into the best shape of their life long after their 20s
- Their doctor announcing the good news that they no longer need medication for blood pressure and/or insulin
- Being able to sport a bathing suit
- Improving both the quality and quantity of years of their life to come
Now of course, this list isn’t all inclusive. It’s just a few of the most common things I’ve heard.
Again, with all this being said, the choice is up to you.
Do you think setting 3 hours a week aside to workout is worth getting told that you’re finally off blood pressure and insulin medication?
Do you think taking an extra 5 minutes every day to weigh, track, and portion out your food is worth feeling proud and confident in your new body?
Do you think being able to get takeout less frequently and preparing your own meals is worth an extra 20-30 more quality years to spend with your friends and family?
I can’t speak for you and say anything for sure, but just something to think about.
And I’m not saying this to shame you for your current decisions, but rather, remind you of what you probably already know and have said yourself.
Sometimes, we all need a fire lit under our butt to get things going again.
Sometimes, we forget the reason we started something because we get caught up in the moment of struggling, feeling demotivated, and wanting to give up.
But I just want you to remind yourself of why you started, using that as a reason to take action, and using that action as momentum to keep taking action, stay consistent, and keep going.
And one day…
Whether that’s 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years from now, you’ll look back and say…
“I’m so glad I stayed strong and consistent because it was all worth it.”
Final Thoughts On Staying Motivated To Lose Weight
Not to sound like a broken record, but if there’s anything you should take away from this article it’s that:
Action -> Results -> Motivation
And look, I know it doesn’t sound as easy or appealing as…
“Just buy my program and have all of your problems fixed forever for just 3 easy payments of $99.99!”
But I can guarantee you that these tips are proven to work if you apply yourself with enough effort and consistency.
And again, there’s only ONE thing you need to do to get started…
By taking action.
As always, I would love to hear if this article has helped you and if you know someone that is struggling with motivation, please send it to them to help them out too.
Until next time,
-Aus
Coaching Opportunity
I am currently taking on new clients for online coaching.
A few benefits of this program include:
- Customized nutrition plan tailored to your individual needs and goals
- Customized training plan to help you build muscle, lose fat, and get fit
- Daily accountability and support to ensure that you never feel “alone” or “stuck” on your journey to bettering yourself.
The best part: you can do this from anywhere in the world.
You can apply here for more info.
