Has the spark gone from your workout routine? Having trouble finding the motivation to lace up and sweat it out?
Danny Wood, pastor of Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, said that slipping willpower shouldn’t slip by unnoticed — it should set bells off in your head.
“As soon as you see your progress slipping — more tired, clothes fitting tighter, etc. — let that be an alarm to get back on track,” said Wood, whose church has had a wellness emphasis for more than a year. “If you lost 20 pounds to meet a goal and now you have gained 5 pounds back, take action now. Don’t wait until the 5 becomes 15 — that will only make it harder.”
Certified personal trainer Paige Waehner says on About.com that most people fail at living healthy because “they’re waiting for something spectacular to happen.”
Reality is, though, that you might lose a little, gain a little and then lose a little more, she said. “There are no shortcuts to weight loss, so even if you’re frustrated that your body hasn’t changed, don’t give up.”
4Get pumped.
“Maybe it’ll be difficult to replicate the excitement you felt on [Jan. 1],” Waehner said. “But you can get a little more fired up by going back to your original goal … .
“Remind yourself that what you do today has everything to do with where you’ll be in six months.”
- Have a short-term goal to shoot for.
Wood trained 18 weeks to run a marathon last March and was “probably in the best shape of my life,” he said. But later, after a few months of reduced exercising and increased eating, he said he found himself feeling sluggish. “I attempted to resume a schedule of running but was having a hard time maintaining any consistency.”
So Wood set a goal: the Mercedes Half Marathon, which took place Feb. 10. But he noted that a goal can be anything — to fit in an outfit by a special occasion, compete in a tennis tournament, lower your cholesterol, etc.
Waehner said the important thing is that you find something that works to motivate you. “Every day is different. What motivated you yesterday may not work today, so sift through what inspires you to find that one thing that will get you out the door.”
- Keep it in perspective spiritually.
“Stop and think about the marvelous gift of your body,” says Patricia Hart Terry, chair of the department of nutrition and dietetics at Samford University in Birmingham. “Man, as meant to be, is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Every Christian is the priest of that temple. We have the responsibility to take care of it.”
And Debbie Moss, minister of health and wellness at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham, said her church is using a spiritual focus to encourage members to keep at their exercise programs.
“We’re trying to walk from Dawson to Jerusalem by Easter,” she said, noting that the church has hung a giant map and is charting its progress on the 6,569-mile trek.
“People are turning in the miles that they’ve jogged, walked, biked, hiked, used the elliptical or even walked their dogs,” Moss said. “There’s a weekly devotion that goes with it, and everyone is encouraged to make prayer a part of their exercise time as well. That way, we work towards becoming spiritually fit and physically fit at the same time.” (TAB)
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