“Chaz, how do you stay motivated and on track all the time??” VERY common question that I get on a daily basis! Staying motivated, especially when going at this journey of health and fitness alone, is probably the hardest aspect of the whole thing! When I first did P90X 2 years ago, I had no idea that there was a massive community of people doing the same workout. It was simply my burning desire to get healthy and in shape that kept me going for those 90 days.

Now days, I’m in a LOT better shape and self motivation is something that I really don’t struggle with anymore. The transformation period is honestly THE hardest part of losing weight/getting in shape. It’s so easy to start working out, eating right, then 4 weeks down the road, look in the mirror, and get discouraged that you aren’t super tight and thin like you have envisioned. Here are some tips I have for staying motivated.

Goals

Hands down the most important part of any transformation! It is SO important to have a future event or goal in mind that will make TODAY accountable. The more days that pass, the closer you get to that future event, the more realistic it is that time FLYS by. Week after week can pass and your body/health will remain the same. Set your main goal. Run a marathon, lose 20lbs, get a six pack by summer, whatever it may be. From there you break that goal down into SMALLER, more realistic goals. Weekly or monthly. Example, I started my journey at 225lbs. My goal was to get below 200lbs. Looking at a 25lb weightloss goal is a huge deal. But if you break it down and make it realistic, it can be accomplished MUCH easier than you think. I knew 2lbs per week was a healthy weightloss so that is what I set my smaller goal to. Each week pushing hard in the workouts, MAKING TIME to put in the work that I knew would get me to my goal. I hit the 10lb weightloss mark. Felt amazing. 15lbs down. This is where my motivation started to dip. It was phase 3 of p90x. Last 30 days. I slacked for a week, stepped on the scale, and saw 4lbs gained:-/ Talk about a wake up call. I just simply had to remember my goal and get that FIRE burning again. Those last 3 weeks flew by like always, only difference was I DID something during those 3 weeks. And I hit my 199lb mark. Guess what you do once you accomplish your goal….MAKE NEW ONES! That is honestly the main reason I am so motivated all the time. I have a list of goals, big and small, that I know I WILL accomplish, as long as I do what it takes. Simple as that. Put in the work, see the results.

Support/Accountability

Also a huge aspect of staying motivated. Going week after week pretty much by yourself it tough, I’ve been there many times. The key here is first, find an accountability partner. Someone that you can either workout with in person, or someone you can at least talk to on a daily basis. KNOW eachothers goals, weaknesses, strengths. Simple things like a daily text asking “Hey how is your diet today?” or “Wow I just kicked butt in that workout! When are you doing yours?” These kinds of messages have helped me out on numerous occasions. If you can find a friend/family member in person to physically be there to workout with everyday, even better! As for support, make it public that you are on a mission to lose the weight, get in shape, run that marathon, whatever your goal may be. Family, friends, co workers, hair stylist, massage therapist, everyone should know what you are up to. I use hair stylist/massage therapist as examples because those are types of appointments that you have time to talk/see this person once a month or so. If you are truly sticking with it week after week and go back to see that person, they will notice the changes, they will ask you everytime, “How’s the training going??”

Plan

Have a written plan. Very simple to create, very tough to stick with. Don’t wake up everyday and ask yourself “Hm what workout should I do today” or “What should I have for lunch”. Sit down, make a written plan, and follow it day by day! For myself, I use a whiteboard that has a big calendar on it. The 1st of each month I will sit down and write out which workout I’m doing for all 30 days of that month. I wake up, look at the calendar, and know exactly what workout I need to do. Then it is just a matter of MAKING time during that day to kick some ass. As for food, one method I love to use is prepping my meals ahead of time. For those of you that follow my facebook, you’ve seen me post pics of the containers. I will grill up a bunch of chicken, make some brown rice, and steam broccoli. Then I divide it all up into 6 containers. Bam. There’s my lunches for the week.

Hopefully these tips can help you out with your journey. I know how hard it is to keep the fire alive and putting in the time to workout 5-6 days a week, WHILE putting healthy foods in my body each day. Its no walk in the park. It takes extreme dedication to accomplish weight loss goals. From here, my challenge for you is to sit down, write out one big goal that you want to accomplish in the next 6 months. Then break that goal down into smaller, more realistic goals that you can accomplish on a weekly basis. After that I want you to write out a written plan for the next 30 days. Finally, I want you to reach out to someone and ask them to be your accountability partner. Someone that will be there with you each and everyday. It can be a friend, co worker, family member, or just someone you know on facebook. Reach out. Get out of your comfort zone. To get the results, you must put in the work. Simple as that. If you need help with making a plan, setting goals, anything at all, visit the “Contact” page and get in touch with me anytime!

Filed under: Diet • Fitness • Insanity • Marathon Training • Nutrition • P90X • Running • Shakeology • Weightloss

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