Basically, in this day and age most of us, if not all of us, know enough about nutrition and health that we are aware of our own, for the most part, and know when it's time to start working out. Whether we're trying to begin working out for the first time, or attempting to resume a once vibrant routine, the actual act of exercising itself is not our greatest obstacle, in most cases. What trips us up is our lack of motivation, or will power.
It's a complex and multi-faceted psychological block, tied into our deepest fears and insecurities about the final results, our doubts about our abilities to follow through, our fear of being exhausted, our already feeling exhausted, and on and on. Logistically, finding time to work out can feel like a nightmare. Getting up before dawn to find that extra forty-five minutes before the kids get up and that whole workday still looming in front of you. Or taking the extra hour and a half after work to drive to the gym, change, work out, change again? Drive home, shower...just the thought of it is enough for many of us to just push it to the back burner and let the chips (pun intended) fall as they may...
Yet, then we either feel or look less healthy than we desire and that nagging thought returns. "I need to start working out (again). It's been way too long. I feel/look so much better when I do."
The cycle begins again, the time is difficult or impossible to find, other peoples' needs are far more important, and, when you do have time for yourself, you're simply spent.
So here are my suggestions for re-energizing that will power and re-charging your motivation.
1 - Start much slower than you think you need to. This means, don't even call it a "work-out" at first. Just tell yourself you're taking a walk. It doesn't even have to be a long walk. It can be a walk to the store for milk, or with your kids at night to look at the night time winter sky. Just don't change your clothes, don't get all "work-outy" and intense with yourself. Simply step outside of your house and walk for a bit. The very act of doing this will get your blood circulating and make you feel better without pushing you into some kind of obsession about diet and exercise and losing fifty pounds by your son's birthday. Just. Take. A. Walk....
2 - Get your mind off of previous routines. Many of us live in the glory of our past fitness. I remember getting down to 120 pounds and doing Billy Blanks' Tae Bo DVD's every day. Well, sitting here at NOT 120 pounds, believe me, I wish I was there but I also recognize that: at that point in my life my kids were small and I was a stay at-home-mom. I had the entire morning to myself when they were in school and I had a routine of taking care of the house and the laundry and all the time in the world to work out, stretch, shower, prepare healthy meals, etc.
Now I work over 40 hours per week and life is very different. Of course I can't Billy Blanks myself every morning like clockwork. Also, to be completely honest, I am totally sick of work out DVD's. Don't get stuck in your past fitness routines. I can't do that one nowadays. I need to find something else. To tell you the truth, swimming is my favorite form of exercise as well as being outdoors, jogging, fast walking, stretching. It may not take the weight off as quickly this time but at least it's healthy and it's a start.
So change it up. If you were an athlete in high school and then suffered an injury, do another type of exercise that doesn't re-injure you. Give up the past fitness peak fantasies and accept your life as it is right now. Sometimes we can't get motivated because we can't let go of how awesome we once looked/felt and feel ashamed at how we've let it go. It's not too late.
3 - One Day At a Time -- not unlike 12 step programs dealing with addictions, exercising and eating right has got to be a one day at a time thing, otherwise we feel totally inadequate and give up, losing our motivation completely. While we KNOW it has to be LIFE CHANGE, that kind of thinking can actually cause us to go backward because it seems so totally overwhelming. Don't get caught up in the LIFE CHANGE piece of this; just take a walk today and eat some nice broccoli today; avoid a brownie today and have an extra glass of water today. Simplify your thinking around diet and exercise and you may find that it's easier to do it again tomorrow.
4 - Find something a little crazy and new to do. Whether it's a hip-hop dance class, a body combat class, playing laser tag with your kids, or horseback riding, find something new to YOU and little weird. It'll get you out of your comfort zone and out of the mindset that you must be DIETING AND EXERCISING which is, well, it can be, kind of depressing. Doing something interesting and different can cheer you up and attach some fun to the whole idea.
5 - Finally, enjoy your life more. Remembering that you are not a criminal is key to learning to find your motivation. For years I worked out with the mentality of the criminally charged, as if it were penance for the crimes I'd committed; I was my own task master, verbally abusing myself in my mind, accusing myself of all manner of sloth, decadence, sloppiness, worthlessness. My workouts were not really satisfying because they were never really good enough. Lo! The birth of the eating disorder! But that's another story.
Be kind to yourself. Your exercise and eating routines can and should be a reflection of your deep caring and respect for yourself, not a punishment for your unutterable inadequacy.
Aimee Boyle lives in CT with her family and writes regularly for EmpowHer.