Lately, I have been falling off of the fitness bandwagon. Okay, if I am being honest, I have completely fallen off and am just occasional thinking about getting back on.
At the peak of my fitness craze, I had lost 17 pounds. During this peak time, I felt like I sat atop of the bandwagon. At times I was so confident, I believed I was driving the bandwagon. I was hyper motivated and determined. The sheer will power I had not to eat unhealthy was insane. I had never felt anything like it before. It taught me how much I was capable of.
Getting back to the point, for the last few month (okay, like 6) I have been bad. Really bad. Eating all of the things. To top it off, I have been half-heartily going to the gym. Which has all led to me gaining back 5 pounds. I know, many of you will scoff. Five pounds is nothing.
Yes – 5 pounds is nothing when you have a will power of steel – unbreakable by any donut, cookie or Chipotle burrito bowl. But once you’ve fallen off of the fitness bandwagon, 5 pounds is a lot of weight.
I keep telling myself, I will start tomorrow. Or I will start at the beginning of next week. But I know if I keep telling myself this, sooner more than later, the 5 lbs I gained back will turn into the full 17 pounds I had worked so hard to lose.
Then I will have to start from square one, again. Square one is not a fun place to be.
In order to try and catch back up to the bandwagon, I am weighing myself every morning. Even though I know that fitness experts say that you should not do this, it is super effective for me.
Because every time I see the number on the scale I either feel great that I lost more weight/maintained or I realize I have to push myself a little bit more. Seeing the number on the scale sparks an emotional response. This emotional response whether good or bad, keeps me motivated.
If you don’t believe me, it is back by science and common sense.
Think of all of those to-do list, bucket lists, chores, and other things you need to get done but never actually get done. It is because there is no emotional pay off at the end or emotional tie in the moment.
Procrastinators (like myself) are a prime example. You postpone doing something that needs to get done until you HAVE to. You start feeling that pressure nag at you. The voice in the back of your head yelling at you. This is the emotional motivator that finally pushes you get things done.
If you ever get in one of these unmotivated states, tie what you need to do to an emotion. Figure out what rallies your emotions.
Smile. Get frustrated. Be happy. Get Mad. Get excited. Feel all of the feelings to get things done.
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