Everyone always talks about the difficulty in starting and maintaining New Year’s resolutions but one thing no one ever seems to mention is how difficult it can be to get back into your fitness groove in the new year.
Months of traveling and eating rich foods and everything that comes along with the holiday season can seriously throw you off track with your fitness goals, and that’s okay. Everyone deserves to cut themselves some slack everyone once in a while; but when you’ve been steadily making gains all year it can be discouraging to feel like you’ve set your progress back during the holidays.
It’s no secret that sticking to a routine is vital to seeing results when it comes to your health and fitness. I don’t know about y’all, but traveling and big family meals always interrupts my exercise routine, sometimes even making it hard to find time to workout at all. On top of this, all of the family meals and eating out while traveling puts me at the mercy of everyone else’s eating schedules and diets. If you’re anything like me you feel this struggle.
January is also the coldest, most miserable month of the year to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a full advocate of appreciating every season and there are some good things about January. Football and basketball are at their peaks, some awesome people are born in January, and you get to rock your favorite warm jackets. However, it can also make it extremely hard to get out of your warm, cozy bed at all, much less go out into the bitter cold to the gym or for a run. It also makes us want to drink hot cocoa and sugary coffee drinks and bulk up like a bear going into hibernation on comfort foods. Your body also expends slightly more calories due to the cold, which can lead to overeating.
So how do we muster up the motivation to get back into our fitness routine after the holidays throws us off track in the miserable winter month of January?
Here are the motivation tips that I use to get me back on the grind:
1)Cut Yourself Some Slack
It may feel helpful to guilt-trip yourself over not exercising and eating right, but it’s actually the opposite. The more you ruminate in your mistakes and failures, the more you feel like a failure. This leaves you with absolutely zero motivation to… not fail. Instead, move past it and be nice to yourself. Remind yourself that everyone loses track of their goals and it’s totally normal to feel like a lazy bear in hibernation in the dead of winter.
2) Get sunlight first thing in the morning
Listen, during the coldest months of winter I honestly forego my usual morning walks in the sun. It’s just too F-ing cold to go outside and try to walk, not to mention the sun is barely up when you’re waking up early in the morning. However, sunshine and lights first thing in the morning is essential to waking your body up and getting motivated to start your day. It’s literally a biological fact that humans are driven by sunlight since up until about 200 years ago we literally rose and shined with the sun, as there wasn’t good artificial lighting technology. So I make sure to open my curtains and blinds and let as much sun in my windows as I can, from the comfort of my heated home of course. It also helps to just step outside for a minute on the porch, just to get a hint of fresh air. Then head right back inside.
3) Start Slow
One thing that also helps when getting back into your routine is to slowly ease yourself into it so it doesn’t seem as daunting. For instance if you used to run a mile 3 times a week, start by running a mile just one day a week and work your way up, or even a half mile. Your body will adjust faster than you think. Or if you cut back to a 200 calorie deficit a day, try cutting back by 50 or simply get back into tracking your calories again. If you used to eat a salad every day for lunch, try eating one a day or two out of the week and work your way up. If you used to try to cook healthier meals at home instead of eating out, try getting back into it one or two days out of the week. You get the point. Just start. It doesn’t matter how small you start. Don’t feel like you have to jump right back into your old routine immediately.
4) Write Out a List
This might not be for everyone, but my OCD ass loves a good list and the satisfying feeling of crossing things off of a list. Write out a list of daily goals each night before you go to bed in your planner if you look at one often. Or do what I do and get a small white board or chalk board to hang on your wall with a list of daily goals to check off each day. This way your goals are constantly within view and your brain feels motivated by wanting to satisfyingly check off the goals on your list.
5) Get on a good sleep schedule
Sleep is one of the most important things for your health. When your sleep schedule isn’t good, you can pretty much guarantee that your wake-time schedule won’t flourish either. Going to bed at the same time and waking up around the same time every morning helps to create routine. Another tip is to always make sure you’re getting no less than 7 hours of sleep. I know we all think we can function on less, but believe me you aren’t running at 100%. In fact, new research has come out to suggest that women actually need more sleep to feel completely rested. So just one more thing we ladies have to do the hard way. Check out the link to this article from the Clevland Clinic on why women may require more sleep than the previously universal 7-8 hours a night. Why Women Need More Sleep.
If you’re like me, and a good sleep cycle doesn’t necessarily come easily to you, or you’re simply stubborn and refuse to acknowledge the benefits of sleep, check out this article dedicated completely to the benefits of sleep and tips for creating healthy sleep habits. Even if you can function on 5 hours of sleep, why go through life giving less than 100%? Who wants to be at a constant disadvantage when you can so easily be better. Check out my post Why Am I Always Tired for tips to help you get your best sleep to live your best life.
6) Reward yourself
Create a reward system for yourself. It can be anything, but don’t go too extreme. The trick is to use simple rewards so you don’t end up spending a ton of money or completely ruining you’re healthy eating and exercise by binge-eating a tub of ice cream because you “can because you deserve it.” Think for instance, tell yourself you get to watch your favorite show while you eat a healthy meal or cook a healthy meal. Turn on your comfort music while cooking to make cooking at home fun. Tell yourself to look forward to a piece of chocolate, a beer/glass of wine, and/or a nice bath after your workout. You can also pick out your favorite podcast or a book you really enjoy to listen to while working out that will motivate you to get out there because you get to listen to something you enjoy.
Reward systems aren’t one-size-fits-all. Everyone enjoys different things, so find something (that’s not totally destructive, like getting plastered after a workout or something) that works for you and roll with it.
If none of these suggestions sound particularly appealing to you, that’s totally fine. I get it. This is more like a set of guidelines to get your started. I encourage you to go out and experiment and do your own research to find what motivation tactics work for you.
These motivation tips aren’t just limited to fitness either. Apply this to nearly anything you are trying to re-motivate yourself for this January. Go forth and thrive, my friends!