Motivation is a tricky thing. It can be hard to come by and is in limited supply. There are tons of resources out there that claim to help you get motivated and stay that way, but not all of the common methods are as helpful as you might think. These four tips for getting motivated don’t always help you stick to your health and fitness goals.
Hanging Up Pictures of Others With Your “Ideal Body”
Okay, here’s the thing: your ideal body might not actually be a realistic body for you. I’ve always admired women with narrow shoulders and a larger behind, but I will never have that body type, since I have shoulders as broad as my brothers and narrow hips. Posting photos of a body that isn’t attainable doesn’t help you lace up your sneakers. It only makes you feel discouraged when your body doesn’t look like that.
Post-it Notes on the Fridge That Say “Step away, fatty.”
You see this kind of thing all the time on TV or at someone’s house. These negative notes, however, aren’t motivating or inspiring in any way. In fact, they pretty much make you feel like a bad person for being hungry. Humans need to eat in order to survive. I quit using these tactics to change my eating habits a long time ago and simply started purchasing healthy foods to eat instead of the junk I was purchasing before.
Rewards for Exercise
This might work for some people, but I’ve found that it’s not exactly a reliable way for me to get my butt to the gym. I’ve also learned it doesn’t work if the reward is food, because then I’ve just overshadowed all of my sweaty work.
Stepping on the Scale
Stepping on the scale constantly to track your progress isn’t always the best method of motivation. Your weight fluctuates throughout the day, and what you wear and eat that day can also change the scale. Instead of trying to pump yourself up about the gym by seeing how much you’ve lost or not lost, use a tape measure to measure the inches of your body. Measuring your arms, thighs, waist, and butt to see where you’re losing fat or gaining muscle is way more exciting than using the scale.
