Let’s face it.  There’s a reason most gyms use contracts (usually a year or two) instead of month-to-month memberships.  They know that most people cannot maintain the motivation needed to make fitness a way of life so having a month-to-month, or pay as you go, membership option is much less profitable!  So, how do you take advantage of that membership you just paid to use their facilities for the next year or two?  How do you get and stay motivated? 

Let’s face it.  What motivates one person may not motivate another.  I have even heard the claim that people who are able to sustain their motivation do so because of a significant event in their life that motivated them to get started.  I would like to share a few things that keep me going back, day after day, to my gym and constantly counting calories.  Hopefully you will find some of these suggestions helpful.

1.  Regular Progress Pictures

I’m starting out with a tough one.  Obviously it isn’t tough because picture taking is a difficult task.  It is tough because if you are overweight, you probably don’t want to see yourself in a picture…much less a picture that is intended to just show you how overweight you really are.  The initial picture itself may be enough motivation for some to get started.  When I was over 300 lbs. I know I sure didn’t want to see a picture of myself and have to face just how fat I was.  Don’t stop at the initial picture.  Take pictures of yourself on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, etc) so you can compare them and SEE the progress you are making!  There is no better motivation, in my opinion, then seeing your hard work paying off.  Not to mention, it makes for a great story down the road.

2.  Have a “Get Rid of the Fat Clothes” Party

Once the weight starts coming off, you’ll obviously have to buy new clothes.  Make a party out of it!  Try on ever single fat pair of pants you have.  Seeing the progress you’ve made in this way really drives home what you are accomplishing.   After you try them on, THROW THEM OUT!  Keeping fat clothes in your closet just makes it that much more easy to quit and give up.  This way, there’s a financial penalty for putting the weight back on.  There is one more suggestion I have in this area.   Keep one pair of pants and pull them out every so often as a reminder.  They also make for great pictures down the road.

3.  Get Involved With Online Fitness Communities

There are quite a few popular online communities out  there  and they can be invaluable to your sustained motivation.   Get involved.  Get to know the other people.  NETWORK!  Use it as a tool!  Here are just a few of the good ones: 

Men’s Health Forums –  This is actually where I started.  The men’s health online forum is a virtual treasure trove of information from diet to nutrition to supplements to workouts.

BodySpace at Bodybuilding.com - This is like a MySpace/Facebook for the fitness community.  There are so many features, you really just need to check it out for yourself.  This is a VERY active online community and it is free to join!

DailyBurn.com - I actually just stumbled on this one lately.  I almost feel a bit ashamed that I haven’t found it before!  It used to be Gyminee but recently changed its name (for the better, imho).  This one is a bit different from BodySpace in that it includes a calorie tracker much like fitday.com.  It also has a TON of features and is very simple to use.

JP Fitness Forums - This has become THE forum for industry experts and is extremely active.  You can find just about anything on this forum from beginner to advanced information.  Plus, you get to interact with experts like Lou Schuler, Chad Waterbury, and many more!

4.  Get an Exercise Partner

Getting an exercise partner is HIGHLY recommended.  When you miss a workout, you aren’t just letting yourself down.  When one of you is lacking in motivation, the other can pick up the slack and help light the fire again.  Obviously, one problem can be if both of you are lacking in motivation.  If this happens, try something new together and get out of the rut!

5.  Change Up Your Workout

Trust me, staying with one workout can become extremely boring and it can cause a motivational valley.  The best workouts I’ve used change up the exercises you perform at least on a weekly basis.  Some of them I’ve used give you the choice to change them up per workout.  Not only does it keep your workouts from becoming boring and tedious but it also keeps your muscles guessing which has been proven to accelerate muscle growth.

6.  Have a Cheat Meal Every Week

Nothing can get you down like passing over the food you love for an extended period of time.  Just like keeping your muscles guessing to make them grow, you have to do the same thing with your diet.  Your body WILL adapt to your diet and weight loss will slow.  This can cause some serious motivation problems.  Cheat  meals are the way to combat this and it will help keep you motivated by allowing you to have your favorite foods once a week.  Cheat meals make your body say, “Hey, ok, I’m not starving…shewww!”  It is a ‘reset’ button so to speak and can help you bust through weight loss plateus.

7.  Get Plenty of Sleep

Getting 7-8 hours of sleep is ESSENTIAL to maintained motivation.  I work out in the morning…very early in the morning.  I get up at 4:15 and am at the gym by 5 every morning.  When I don’t get enough sleep my workouts lack the intensity that they normally have when I get plenty of sleep.  Your body AND mind need the rest.  If you’re like me, you have your favorite shows on TV that you watch on a regular basis.  Invest in DVR and record them!  Most of my favorite shows come on at 9 or 10 PM which makes it difficult for me to get enough sleep.  By recording them, not only do I get more sleep but it also creates a great family night on the weekends!

I hope there is something in this article that will help you stay motivated.  I would love to hear how you stay motivated as well.  If  I can get a few comments to this article with some new ways, I’ll post it again with your additions!  As always, if you want to contact me directly, just go the Contact Dave page and shoot me a note.