Staying positive in your fitness journey can sometimes be just as hard as the journey itself. It’s all fine and dandy when everything is going great, the sun is shining, holy shit i’ve lost 5lbs this week after having the king of all cheat meals this weekend.

The big question is how do we continue to stay positive when we are having a bad self-love day, or shit I gained 1lb even though my food and gym have been on point?! These days can really throw us off guard, and really turn us into ‘negative nancys’ and we often miss how far we have come as we tend to focus on the 1 thing that has gone wrong!

I have mentioned before that I have suffered with mental health issues, and still do suffer from anxiety and body dysmorphia, and I find that I tend to have more bad days than good, especially when I am so focused with food and my weight, but I have been slowly trying to turn up the positivity in my life and thought I would share the tips that have really helped me to stay positive on a diet and fitness program!

1. Positive Self Talk – I have brushed up on this in my Helpful Thoughts post, but how you talk to your self makes such a big difference! A typical example for me would be if I gained on a weigh in, I would instantly want to call myself a failure or insult myself and call myself fat etc and thats not going to help anything at all, in fact it just makes me worse, so instead, I try to point out the whole journey. “Yes gal, We gained a pound, but in total we have lost 65lbs! It could also be water weight or my body just fluctuating a bit!” Positive self talk really can change the whole scenario around and it’s so important! Talk t yourself like you would your best-friend!
2. It’s baby steps – Remember it’s all baby steps! Don’t be upset when you don’t lose 10lbs in a week, or when you can’t lift massive weights when you first start! Take little steps each day and slowly you will get to your goals! It’s a lot more achievable this way and its easier to stay focused! Take each day as it comes!
3. Positive Exposure – If you find that you aren’t a terribly positive person anyway ( I know I’m not, my trainer calls me negative nancy) it really helps to increase the positive exposure in your life! Surround yourself with positive people, read books about self love and mindfulness, follow positive Instagram’s and it slowly impacts your own positivity too! Maybe start a ‘motivation wall’ full of positive fitness memes & positive fitness affirmations!
4. Consistency is key – Consistency is one of the biggest impacts of a positive mindset! If you consistently do positive behaviors (like calling yourself a badass chick or protein princess, or looking in the mirror and finding one thing you like about yourself a day) you will slowly start to believe it and soon you won’t even have to think about it! Even consistently working out will help, as you will get to the point where you won’t even think about it and it will just be part of your day and you get the bonus of feeling amazing after too! If you have trouble keeping yourself consistent, then you should consider looking out for help that can keep you accountable. For instance, if weight loss is part of your goal, then the guidance of professional weight loss training can make a big difference. When you feel like you’re letting not just yourself but your trainer down by skipping a day, you’re a lot less likely to skip that day.
5. Don’t be discouraged by set backs – Set backs happen, even when we have been perfectly on plan and smashed all our workouts and turned down a glass of champers for a tap water! The key is to recognise that every journey has obstacles, and ups and downs. It is never a straight process, but look at the big picture and you will see progress! If you look at my weight loss below, you can see so many points where my weight has increased a lot, but the overall picture is that the weight loss slowly improved and I am now at my lowest weight that I can ever remember!

Do you have any tips for staying positive in your fitness journey or staying positive during weight loss? Let me know below!

MFP Diary | Fitbit | Bodyspace | Fitness Instagram