8 Innovative Ways To Stay Motivated To Exercise After Your McDonald’s Meal

Exercising is painful. There are days where I’ll feel so pumped up to head to the gym for a killer workout and days where I just feel like perhaps the fat life is meant for me.

My motivation usually lasts for a week before I start getting lazy and cooking up reasons as to why I am unable to head to the gym.

So believe me, I understand your pain of trying to stay motivated but I’ve found that the few ways below really helped in keeping me inspired. So I hope that they might serve some purpose for you guys too.

1. Follow inspiring fitness people

For me, following inspiring fitness enthusiast makes me motivated – especially those with a story to tell. The fact that they weren’t skinny to begin with, and they truly had to work hard for their body makes me inspired to put in the same effort.

I also love saving encouraging photos on my phone to look at during my moments of weakness.

2. Get a workout buddy and plan workout dates

I hate working out alone. It’s not horrible, just that it can get rather boring at times. But when you plan a date with your friend and sign up for a class together, there’s no getting out of.

You have to go, whether you’re in the mood for it or not. Unless, you’re fine with wasting $30 or so, in which I’m not.

3. Always try something new

Don’t keep sticking to the same old routine – you’re bound to get bored. There are millions of ways to exercise out there so don’t feel the need to keep running every single day. Even activities like jumping to Kinect workout videos counts too (in my book).

4. Buy new workout clothes

I’m sorry, but this totally helps me. I mean, working out in simple FBT shorts and home shirt doesn’t really scream ‘let’s exercise!!!!!’ It’s more of ‘bummer, gotta exercise again’.

This might sound superficial, but shopping for cute gym clothes and decking yourself in them does help in boosting your confidence and motivation to work out.

5. Set a benchmark

No really, do it. I understand that everyone says that but there’s a reason why they do. Figure out what you really want to achieve and work towards it. Whether it’s to have a nicer ass or toner arms, work towards it and don’t stop until you’re proud. Plus the satisfaction of seeing your progress never gets old.

6. Do prep work

When you’re trying to lose weight, having a good diet is imperative. And by that we don’t mean eating salad all day long. Being healthy doesn’t mean forgoing all your junk food, but merely eating in moderation. One thing I love doing is scrolling through Pinterest for easy and healthy recipes. And when I eat healthily, I’m more inspired to work out so as to achieve my ideal body shape.

7. A little is better than nothing

I know a lot of people who feel that working out equals to running for half hour and spending the next two hours doing weight training.

They spend as much time in the gym on a daily basis, to the point that they get so worn out. You are not going to lose weight overnight, and training 5 days a week might help in speeding up the process, but you’re just going to burn yourself out.

Don’t feel the need to push yourself so much, especially when you’re just starting out. Even half an hour of working out is perfectly fine. Take it easy.

8. Mark your calendar

Reserve days to workout. Don’t just say I’ll go for a run after work, because most of the time you’d be too tired and your mind will psycho yourself out of running.

Instead, do a detailed plan of which days you’ll be working out, and what kind of workouts you’d be doing. And every single time you’re done with the workout, reward yourself with something you love.

Like getting a new sweater, or indulging in ice cream – that’s the reason for working out, no?

Feature Image: shuttershock.com

This post was first published on Goodyfeed.com