“What happens if I get to the end of the month and my weight hasn’t changed. How do I keep my motivation going???” 

So, you’ve mentally committed to ‘getting fit’*. You have a set of spunky new Lululemon/Lorna Jane/Adidas threads that make you feel like your favourite Instagram spunk, you’ve thrown out the choc chip cookies, and you have a recipe for a new kale smoothie guaranteed to give you 5 times the kick of a double espresso.  

You start training. You feel amazing. You can take on the world after your second session.  

By the end of the week you are tired, a bit sick of kale, madly craving a chocolate chip cookie (maybe you’ve earned 1 or 3 for being so good this week??), but you are happy you managed to balance gym/work/partner/kids/dog/cat/social time. You are going to look fantastic next month at that work event/wedding/birthday/holiday.  

Then it hits you. What if you are slogging it out for the next month, and Nothing. Changes. How long is this really going to take? And how do you maintain the motivation?  

Let’s have a reality check.  

1. Make realistic permanent changes. Improve your lifestyle to incorporate healthier eating and exercise but make it achievable. It’s ok to have an event as a goal, but you need to be able to maintain past that goal. Post-event, you can’t just go back to old habits or in 6 months you’ll be back feeling crappy.  

1. Stay off the damn scales. Use measurements instead, or a pair of fitted pants to measure if your body is changing. You KNOW muscle weighs more than fat, so the scales not changing doesn’t mean you haven’t lost body fat.  

1. If you are a cardio bunny, you may need to incorporate some resistance training to burn fat and build muscle. Cardio is great for heart, lungs, etc but balancing that with resistance training is where it’s at for reshaping bods.  

1. Awesome that you’ve cut out sugar/alcohol/fast food but 4 weeks is not very long. Think about how many years it took to get to this point where you are unhappy with how you look. The good news is it may only take 6-8 weeks of good nutrition and exercise to see results. Realistically, anything faster than that (i.e. fad diets) are not sustainable or long lasting. 

1. The best way to fall off the wagon and devour 3 boxes of Krispy Kreme’s is to try to live on salad or deprive yourself of anything remotely tasty. You can still have pasta/cookies/ice cream, but limit your intake and educate yourself about portion sizes. OR if it’s just too hard, see a nutritionist.  

So when you get to the end of the month and your motivation is flagging, give yourself a big pat on the back (and ONE cookie) and set yourself another month. Then another. Then another. And before you know it, exercise and balanced nutrition have become part of your routine and you are setting a great example for your family and friends.  

Go you!!  

* ‘Getting Fit’ meaning whatever your goals are – losing body fat, building muscle etc.  

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