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Your fitness journey is a life-long marathon, not a one-time sprint, so it helps to have a few tools at the ready to keep you going when you feel miles away from the finish line:
1. Think Outside the Diet Culture Box
We live in a society that perpetuates Diet Culture which puts pressure on us to think we can only set goals around losing weight and getting thinner. But don't let diet culture hold you back. There's so much you can do with your fitness!
Set goals that make sense for you and your needs, and only YOU know what that is. This can take a lot of anxiety out of the process and help you actually enjoy the process.
Some suggestions: Feel confident in the gym, Build strong abs/legs/shoulders/etc, Do a pushup from the floor, Lift your kid over your head, Run faster, Be an overall badass
2. Identify Your Kryptonite
If you want to maintain your fitness for life, you need to plan for life and all its hurdles. It's inevitable: hurdles will come up and life will get in the way. Just don't let it stop you completely.
I encourage you to take a moment to dig deep on this. Try to reflect on what your biggest recurring struggles have been in the past so you can try to identify your true challenges - the ones you never plan for, but that always stop you. If you can identify these now, you'll know exactly what roadblocks are going to come up ahead, and you'll be able to make a plan to deal with them so they're less likely to frustrate or stop you.
3. Accept that Your Best Will Look Different on Some Days
I promise that you can show up for a workout and only do half of it, and you'll still be on track to achieving your goals. Consistency is always key!
Sure, it'd be nice if we could always feel like Wonderwoman in the gym, but that's just not the reality. If you're underslept, undernourished, overworked, experiencing hormonal fluctuations, etc. your 100% is probably going to feel more like 30 or 50% and that's ok!
Understanding this can help put things into perspective when you hit a roadblock (or your Kryptonite). There's no need to be hard on yourself when you're struggling. Do your best with what you have in the moment, check it off your list, then move on.
4. Choose Your Habits Wisely
It's temping to do everything, everywhere all at once with your fitness, but that can get overwhelming really quickly. Fitness does not have to be 'all or nothing' for you to be successful.
Start with 1 habit that is clearly linked to your end goals and is 100% doable. I repeat, 100% doable. This is KEY. Then once you become consistent with it, move on to the next one. Habit #2 will feel even more doable after already being successful with one. Then by the time you're onto the 5th habit, you'll really actually be doing all those things at once with very little effort. This allows you to break your bigger goals down into small, doable tasks so you can set yourself up for clear successes all throughout your fitness journey.
5. Set Up Your Support System
Talk to the people around you and #1. Let them know what you're working on, and #2. Ask them for help. The people who really love you will want to be there for you and cheer you on. Tell them your kryptonite so they can help you through it when it inevitably comes up, and you'll have someone else to be accountable to. There's absolutely no reason why you should have to do this alone.
If you spend more time than you'd like to admit on social media, make sure to make it supportive, too. Tune your feed! Get rid of the accounts that make you feel discouraged and lesser-than, and start following ones that make you feel seen, strong and empowered. This might be worth doing for real life too... :P
P.S. If you need some extra support and accountability, hiring a coach who understands your unique goals, needs, struggles and personality can always give you an extra edge with staying on track. Just sayin'!
Coach Dee
@deefitdot
*This is a fitness and personal training blog for information purposes only and shouldn’t be seen as health, nutritional, or medical advice. This site is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical or health advice, diagnosis or treatment. Any information you use from this site is at your own risk. Never disregard professional advice or delay seeking it because of something you read on this site.