It happens to the best of us: we make lofty fitness and health goals with enthusiasm at the start of a new year or bikini season and within weeks – if not days – we have fallen off the Get Fit Wagon.
How To Not Fall Off The Fitness Wagon
Instead of getting back on quickly, we often berate ourselves and feel shame for falling off in the first place, prolonging our fitness wagon goals. What gives?
Instant Results Downer
We all start a new eating or fitness wagon program with gusto often because we think we’ll see results immediately. Six pack abs in a day? Wrong! I hate to tell you this, but instant results are by no means reality.
As you know, there are no quick fixes to getting the body you desire. It takes dedication, commitment and a strong desire to transform your mental and physical health. Support – often through a trainer, coach or like-minded friends and family – is a crucial aspect to sticking with a program.
Get Back On Track Tip: Make a list of the people who will motivate you to the finish line and make sure you check in with them daily!
Your Priorities Aren’t Clear
Happy hour with your girlfriends? Couch-bound through the weekend with your main squeeze? All great when done occasionally, but when you continually opt-out of working out or eating well because each occasion is trumped by something else, that means your priorities may need realigning.
Putting your health first is not only the most important aspect of a long life, but it also shows how much you value your time. Showering yourself with a healthy sense of self-worth shows respect and love for not just your physical body, but spiritual too.
Get Back On Track Tip: Create a daily list of your top 5 to-do’s, making fitness or eating in the top three! You’ll feel much more accomplished and confident as each day passes and you make time to complete what matters most.
You Become A Negative Nancy
“I can’t do this.”
“I’m too sore.”
“Fitting into a bikini doesn’t matter. I’m being superficial.”
These are just some of the ways we self-sabotage ourselves as we start a new program. It’s not just in fitness and in health, but also work projects, school projects or in relationships. Why do we start saying these negative things to ourselves?
Because change is scary. We are programed to avoid change because it once meant we may not survive. Our bodies often went through feast or famine, resulting in a biological response to keep the weight on. As we start to change the way we eat or workout, our bodies (and minds!) get a wake up call! Not to mention our egos, who are constantly looking out for us, want to make sure we don’t get too crazy with all those changes.
Get Back On Track Tip: Journal any emotions that come up and thank them, then keep at it! Journaling is a great way to express fears, concerns or worries. The more we bottle up, the more likely we won’t reach success!
Excuses, Excuses, Excuses
Isn’t it funny how, just when you are about to workout, cleaning your apartment or doing laundry suddenly becomes a priority? Or how you wake up with a small ache in your back and it obviously means you cannot workout at all in fear of injury?
We humans are great at making excuses and avoiding short-term pain even if it has long-term consequences! We know we are unhappy with our current state yet we continue to create barriers to our most amazing selves with silly little excuses.
Get Back On Track Tip: For one day, banish all excuses! Spend the entire day excuse-free. Don’t worry about tomorrow, just focus on the present day. As soon as one day is complete, vow to live another day excuse-free. Pretty soon your life – and everything you wish – will show up because you are no longer living behind reasons why you can’t do something.
Tell me, what’s your favorite way to get back on track when you fall of the fitness wagon? Share below and let’s inspire one another to stay the course!
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