7 Ways to Break Out of a Motivation Slump

​​Recently, I offered some ideas for how to break out of a food rut.

This week, we’re talking about how to bust a motivation slump when it comes to your self-care and health-promoting habits!

Here are 7 suggestions:

Pro-Tip #1: Get Clear on Your Why

What’s your reason for wanting to make a change? In as much detail as possible, explore your current situation. What is and isn’t working for you? What will you gain and how will you benefit from making a shift to prioritize your health and wellbeing?

Go deep… when you land on your initial answer, trying probing further and asking yourself, “and why is this important to me?” Once you’ve got that answer… ask the same question again and possibly even again. Sometimes, I ask this follow-up question 4-5 times when I’m working with my superstar clients. Not to be annoying, but to help them uncover their most meaningful reasons for wanting to make a change.

This nugget of knowing is your guiding light. You can come back to it again and again, whenever you need help refocusing your energy and motivation.

Pro-Tip #2: Spark Your Energy One Small Choice at a Time

Even though it’s important to remember your big, powerful “why,” on a day-to-day basis I think it’s most helpful to focus on the choice that’s right in front of you. 

Ask yourself, “what’s one small thing I can do in this moment to feel good, boost my energy, and care for myself?” 

As Rebecca Scritchfield says in her awesome book, Body Kindness, “Each positive choice you make is a little investment in your health and happiness. When you use the power of choice, you can change how you feel in order to influence the next decision you make… Body kindness isn’t about making perfect choices all the time. It’s about connecting with your body to make loving and caring decisions that eventually take over your life in the form of enjoyable habits.”

Our days consist of dozens of individual opportunities to make a caring choice that honors our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. What’s the one that feels right for you in this moment? Looked at in this way, the end goal doesn’t become so overwhelming that we feel paralyzed. Plus, you infuse lots of feel-good energy into your day!

Pro-Tip #3: Celebrate All Your Wins

Success feeds success… plus, it’s so much easier to choose good when you feel good. So be sure to celebrate all of your wins, both big and small. Even small mindset shifts are important and meaningful to acknowledge.

Side note: This is one reason why I believe so strongly in the power of coaching! Good coaches help us see small wins even when we can’t see them happening for ourselves (usually because we want bigger results more quickly!). As a dietitian and Intuitive Eating coach, this is one of my most favorite parts of my job—holding space for all of my superstar clients’ wins while helping them believe in a future they’re still working to create!

Pro-Tip #4: Focus on Actions, Not Outcomes

There are so many evidence-based reasons why I work within a weight-neutral model of care that teaches my superstar clients how to shift their focus from losing weight to nurturing and elevating wellbeing.

One important one is that weight is not a behavior. The reality is that genetics, environment, illness, even our microbiome, all contribute to our metabolic functioning and weight. We cannot choose our weight; if we could, we’d all be the size we wish to be. 

Instead of focusing on the scale, I help my clients focus on individual, health-promoting behaviors—such as eating more vegetables, adding fiber, moving their bodies regularly, managing their stress levels, implementing good sleep habits, practicing self-compassion, and more.

If your motivation is waning, it might be helpful to do a check in and make sure you’re setting action goals, not outcome goals. We typically can't control the outcomes—but we can choose our effort and actions.

Pro-Tip #5: Measure Progress from the Beginning, Not the End

It’s really tempting to measure your progress against your end goal. But often this is self-defeating because, like the horizon, it may always seem just out of reach.

It’s far more compelling and motivating to measure change against your starting point. It’s so much easier to see and celebrate your progress and keep moving forward when you realize how far you’ve already come!

Pro-Tip #6: Find Your Tribe

It’s always helpful to have support when you’re focusing on changing behaviors and deep-seated thought patterns—friends, partners, or professionals you can turn to when you need guidance, support, or someone to cheer you on. 

Finding a community is especially important on the journey to opt out of diet culture and find food and body peace. The diet culture messages that make us feel badly about our bodies and question or frustrate our food choices are LOUD and everywhere.

Surrounding yourself with people who understand the harms of diet culture, who promote a more body-inclusive message, and who want to empower you to trust yourself and your food choices is so incredibly helpful!

Pro-Tip #7: Make It Fun

I know this sounds obvious. But how many times have you opted into a diet that had you eating a bunch of foods you didn’t really want… missing out on foods you loved… involved punishing exercise routines… or simply was so time-consuming that it took over your life and added stress?

I work to help my clients find a way of eating, moving, and caring for their bodies that is simple, sustainable, and most importantly, pleasurable. We work to implement behaviors they enjoy and want to stick with—because that’s where the forever food solutions and life-changing magic takes root and flourishes!