Mondays with Coach Kourtney: Motivation. Part two.

Motivation has been the big topic lately, now that everyone’s new year’s resolutions have slacked off and the steam is being lost. People are losing focus or and not seeing results as fast as they would like. Etc, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. Same story, different year. You say,  "I’m going to lose it," but this is always what happens.

             

The first thing you need to do is ask yourself, "why am I losing weight? Is it for me? Is it because you found some new weight loss system, like HCG, to help you drop 50 in two weeks? Maybe the Sensa drops? Or maybe you and a girlfriend wanted to start, and you were doing well, and then, you started eating instead of hitting the gym.

No matter how you answer those questions, its important to remember, there is NO magic formula for motivation. No matter how much you ask me or any other fitness professional about motivation, we cannot motivate you if you are not ready. Weight loss is a hard journey. You HAVE to eat better. You HAVE to exercise more. You HAVE to get sweaty. And, whether you like it or not, you HAVE to make it a priority. You have to be mentally ready to take the plunge and start going. You have to be ready for people to make fun of you, to not believe in you, to eat the foods you want when you are changing over. No if’s, and’s, or but’s. That’s it.  I personally have to recharge my batteries every few months, and I have to commit to a program to keep me motivated. I have done P90X, Insanity, Insanity: The Asylum, and Turbo Fire. Rev Abs, The Firm… I’ve done them, because for me, it is easy to get a program, with a calendar, and a meal plan, and follow it. It is also easy for me to go to a gym and go to group exercise classes.

               

  And now, with social media, there should be no excuse. You have Facebook. Twitter. Pinterest, etc, etc. You can "friend" your trainers, chat with  fitness friends, find accountability groups and so on. So unless you are ready to move your butt from the couch, stop making excuses about why your job hours are keeping you from the video, and stop telling yourself that the chicken wing is too good to give up, you may not ready to make a change. Me, I like my calendar with my progress (um, 20 pounds lost since September? I’ll take it). I like my veggies and shakes to keep me moving. I like seeing people’s eyes drop out of their heads when they see me. I like the congratulations. I like being able to fit into regular clothes and go to Cedar Point and not worry about fitting into the rides. I like the sweat. I like the soreness. I like the accomplishment. Most of all, I like me. And that is what is most important. Because those naysayers don’t have your best interest at heart, but your mental mindset is all you need for YOU!

                Try these exercises; let me know if they work. Find me on Facebook; feel free to ask me anything, I’ll tell you. Find your motivation. Decide. Commit. Go.