How to Find Motivation to Exercise and Eat Healthy

Do you struggle with finding motivation to exercise or eat healthy food? You’re not alone!!

Many people have trouble finding motivation and use it as one of the reasons (aka excuses) for not hitting the gym or working out at home. As in “but I’m just not motivated”.

Want in on the secret? It’s pretty simple and boils down to one word: WHY

One of the most important questions you can ask yourself is why. “Why do I (want to) exercise or eat healthy?” The answers you give will help with the motivation to keep doing it.

Without understanding what’s behind the desire to exercise or eat well it’s easy to get discouraged or to have roadblocks get in your way.

Your reason why should also be deeper than just knowing it’s something you should do. “Because I should…” will not get you very far and will likely only last a while as a source of motivation and drive. Other “should-do’s” will creep into your life and will replace the time of spend exercising or preparing food so you have healthy options.

On the other hand, if you (want to) exercise and eat healthy because you want to be healthy, be better able to play with your kids, lose weight, strengthen your body, compete in an athletic challenge (run, triathlon, fitness competition, etc) and so on, you create a more solid motivation base.

Having a goal

Setting a SMART goal is an excellent way to develop your “why”. It creates a purpose and gives you a reason for changing your behaviours.

For example, last year around this time I decided I wanted to compete in a figure competition. I was looking for a challenge and liked the idea of getting in awesome shape. This became my “why”. About 6 weeks before my show date I started doing workouts twice a day. Let me tell ya, this gets tough!! And there were many mornings when I didn’t feel like going to the gym, but because I had a goal it was a lot easier to get out of bed.

Your goal doesn’t need to be so intense. Maybe it’s drinking more water, eating more vegetables, or doing a 5k race. Just be sure to follow the SMART goal principles, especially making it specific and time-bound.

I found this poster and thought it put things quite nicely.

Set a goal or two and use that as your drive instead of placating to your immediate needs.

YOUR TURN: What’s your “why”? Share in the comments!