How to keep yourself motivated and on track

As I approach the one year anniversary (does this mean I get cake?) of me taking my first steps to becoming fit and healthy, I've been looking back on my progress and can't help but feel proud of myself for such a steady weightloss and fitness progression. There are definite months where I can tell, from my progress, that I was in a bit of a slump but these are usually followed by months where I lost the most weight or got the most new Personal Bests in at the gym.

It led me to think about what keeps me motivated and what pushes me to keep on reaching for my Nikes and my gym pass in the morning in favour of an extra hour in bed, and I thought I'd share a few of the things that have helped me along the way.

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE WHO MOTIVATE & INSPIRE YOU.
I doubt I would have gotten this far in my journey if it wasn't for the help and support of others. From everyone who follows my blog/twitter/instagram and leaves comments of support and congratulations, to my friends and family who listen to me talk health and fitness constantly and tell me that I've inspired them to become fitter, to the never-ending supply of motivational quotes that can I found on Pinterest - I'm grateful for them all as they keep me going.

Waking up and checking Instagram to see that Rosie has completed a massive run all before heading off to work that morning has gotten me out of my comfy bed and out in the cold to the gym more times than I can count. Texting my personal trainer to tell her I reached a new personal best and having her congratulate me and spur me on to do even better next time gives me determination to succeed that I never knew I had, and sometimes even just reading a cheesy quote or two can give me a boost!

STRIP IT BACK TO THE BASICS.
If you're losing sight of your goal and relapsing back to your old habits then strip things back a little. As we get into a new routine and lifestyle it's normal to let things slip a little after a while; that 'no chocolate' rule changes to 'a few squares every so often' (and quite rightly too - no one is going to quit chocolate for life, are you mad?) but sometimes when we have moments of weakness we need to reign ourselves in a little before those few squares turn into a full bar.

I gave up logging my food intake into My Fitness Pal once I had settled into a routine of healthy eating (because who wants to log every single thing they eat into an app every single day of their life?) but after a few months found that I was sneaking in a few more chocolate bars and unhealthy foods than I should have been. I simply took things right back to "day one", started logging my food intake again and within a week I was back on track.

Sometimes we need to remember where we started, the time when we were usually feeling the most motivated and determined, in order to succeed.

BUT DON'T BE AFRAID TO CHANGE THINGS, TOO.
Sometimes I find myself losing motivation because I simply lose interest and feel like I'm stuck in a rut with things. I know deep down that I'm capable of getting the body I want, but sometimes I get bored sticking to the same meal plans or the same work outs and need to shake things up a little to bring my motivation and drive to the surface again.

I recently started trying some new group fitness classes because I was feeling like visiting the gym by myself all the time was getting a bit monotonous and not only have I met new people, I've fallen in love with new types of exercise (circuits all the way!), gained more knowledge and added some of the lost spark back into exercising!

DON'T FORGET THAT LIFE IS FOR LIVING.
Sometimes though, my lack of motivation comes from working myself too hard and that's where we all need to take a step back and enjoy life a little. I'll always remember the day I admitted to my personal trainer that I felt bad because I hadn't been to the gym in 4 days, simply because I didn't feel like going, and do you know what she said? It's okay, and not to let it get me down because it happens to everyone and the important thing was that I was there, that day, back at the gym with my motivation back.