Dear Cassey: I reached my goal and now I have no motivation.
Dear Cassey,
I began my workout journey back in April last year, and I was working out quite consistently until December. I think I was motivated by my desire to reach a certain weight, but now that I did, I realize I’m not as motivated anymore.
Working out truly does lift my mood, and it gives me soo many other benefits, but since December I’ve been taking WEEKS off working out and then deciding to ‘restart’ but that sudden motivation only lasts a week or two and I’m not really able to make working out a habit. And not exercising frequently also has a negative effect on my diet, and I’m now slowly starting to regain all that weight I lost.
I am not sure what to do right now, I will hopefully do just a 30 min workout today and we’ll see how it goes from there. But do you have any advice for me?
Sincerely,
Feeling Confused
Hey Feeling Confused,
THIS is the part of a fitness journey that no one talks about! Once you hit your goals… what’s next?
Because you can’t just stop. You definitely can’t go back to your old habits. Like you said, you know how much better you feel when you work out, and you notice your eating is derailed when you don’t work out. But maintaining your goals and finding new ways to challenge yourself can be soooo hard! So what do you do?
I can give you some tips based on my own experience after my 90 Day Journey, but first I want to point out that every part of your journey is personal. If you try to follow exactly what someone else did, you’ll end up right back here, confused and unsure what to do next. So that being said, here’s some advice!
Find something you actually ENJOY. I had to start here because this is the entire reason I got into fitness. Finding exercise that brings you joy is key to keep going. Something that makes you think less about doing it X times per week, and more about just wanting to do it. Start experimenting with different types of workouts. And have fun with it! Go into it with an open mind because who knows, you might love something you’d never expect.
Go back to your “why.” I’m gonna guess there was more to why you started your journey than just weight. You stuck to it and hit your goal, which takes A LOT of motivation. So think back to your thought process when you started. Besides weight, what got you fired up to start working out and change the way you eat? For me, I wanted to get into the best shape of my life. And I go back to that goal often, because I know I can always get better.
Take a break if you need to. Sometimes it’s just not worth forcing yourself to work out. If you really need a break, take it! Work on your mindset instead and keep moving every day, but keep it light with things like walking or yoga. Taking a week or two to reset and recharge won’t hurt you in the long run.
Find and lean on a support circle. Your circle = accountability and motivation. There are a lot of ways your circle can help you stay motivated:
- If you have a fitness tracker (Apple Watch, Fitbit, etc.), get a little competitive! But keep it FUN!
- Join fitness classes if things are opening up in your area and you feel safe.
- Meet up with a friend to workout or go on a walk, or work out “together” on a video call!
- Don’t hesitate to vent to friends and family when you need extra support. Sometimes hearing a different perspective is all you need!
Keep tracking your progress. I allllllways talk about tracking more than just weight! And that’s because I learned on my own journey that those other things were actually what motivated me! Things like how many pushups I can do, my running pace, drinking X amount of water every day, watching my muscles grow (take pics!), or challenging myself to try new foods. Anything you want to do… make it a goal!
Find ways to spark your motivation. Follow social media accounts that inspire you and unfollow anyone who does the opposite. Journal how you feel after you crush a workout or days when you feel super confident so you can go back and remind yourself on the days you need it most. Treat yourself to cute new workout clothes or a set of weights that will challenge you just a little. You know yourself best! Think of what motivates you and do it!
Hopefully, these tips will help you get the ball rolling to stay motivated and figure out what’s next on your journey. Remember – your journey is SUPPOSED to forever evolve! Keep your mind open, and I know you’ll find that spark.
Do you have any tips for Feeling Confused to stay motivated? Let’s hear them in the comments!
PS – If you have a burning question you want to ask me, leave your questions below! I may answer it in an upcoming Dear Cassey post!
9 thoughts on “Dear Cassey: I reached my goal and now I have no motivation.”
There are 9 comments posted by our users.
Dear Cassey,
So I have a question and I’m on the other end of the spectrum from Feeling Confused I think. I am a month into my 90 day journey and I’m loving it! I’m getting stronger, I’m feeling better, I’m a kinder person to my husband and kids, I’m seeing my muscles finally – but I’m not losing weight. I’m the same exact weight I was in the beginning.
I know muscle weighs more than fat, I know that weight doesn’t define you, but I have that goal in my journal that I set for myself and it kills me to not see it fulfilled. I want to be strong, I want to have muscle definition, I want to focus on what I can do and what I’ve included in my journey more than what I’ve excluded. But why can’t I shed the weight?
This was a great post and gave me lots to think about. Years back when I was in the best shape of my life, exercise was definitely part of my day and my week. Healthy eating was also all part of it. I had forgotten that until just now when this post reminded me that the single goal is good for motivation (e.g. weightless for a summer holiday), but the real overall goal is to make fitness part of my life again. How to do it with a full on job, 2 young kids and everything that comes with running a house and trying to have a social life is my main challenge. Some great tips in here to help me on my journey, along with your fab workouts which I find really motivating since I love your energy! Thanks!
Dear Cassey, I began my workout journey last year july to be healthy and to tone up, however I use my weight as a goal to reach. Whenever I reached my goal weight or it surpass my goal (Lower than what I aim), I will try to push myself to maintain that weight. I also have constipation and bloating issues that I use Enzyme Detox or carb blocker to try to solve these issues. Fast forward to recent weeks, I realise I may have Anorexia Nervosa. I weight myself everyday and if my weight doesnt stay the same as the day before or goes higher, it affected me mentally. I feel very guilty when I indulge in food over the weekends and I will only eat fruits for the weekdays in hopes my weight will go down. I’m also afraid to eat sometimes. I go for 2 miles jog everyday and my body isn’t tone up as I want it to be. My upper body is all boney but my lower body is still big. I want to accept that weight fluctuation is alright and resting my body for a day or 2 is fine but it somehow affects me. Please help.
Dear Cassey
Im only 20 years old, but man do I feel so behind in life. I took a gap year from college because I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life. Doing this was a good decision for me but all of my friends are in relationships and moving while i’m still here. I get targeted sometimes for being so slim and skinny. I’ve always followed your workout videos not to lose weight but simply for the fun of it! How do I overcome feeling so down in life and feeling like I have no purpose and not feel down about being slim?
Sincerely, Lost
Dear Cassey,
How do you stop yourself from mentally beating yourself up when you eat too much? I’m currently on my 90-day journey to lose fat and get healthier, but every time I eat too much or slip from my eating plans I feel so, so guilty. I end up binge eating even more out of shame, and then I feel like I need to exercise for hours to burn off the excess calories. How can I break out of this cycle of hating myself for eating badly?
Dear Cassey,
I’ve been working out consistently for a year, but now I like my body less than before starting my fitness journey. I feel like everyone gets into fitness to hit goals, get fit, have a snatched waist, but to me it only feels like I’m bigger now. I love following your workouts, you give me so much joy, and after them I feel better mentally, but I’m not satisfied with my body: now I don’t fit into my old clothes, which theoretically should be due to muscles, but when I look at myself in the mirror it seems to me to have bigger thighs and a bigger butt, but it’s not toned (which to be honest was my only one goal).
The only thing which really has changed is my abs since I can now see them, however, I feel so not proportioned: my upper abs are extremely defined, while my lower abs barely show, despite me working out every part of them.
I wish I could hit those “goals” everyone talks about, but every time I try on the pair of jeans I used last year and I see how it doesn’t really fit me anymore, I almost regret what I’ve done these past months.
I think your advice would be really beneficial.
With love
A girl who has regrets
Dear Cassey
I have so much trouble finding new healthy recipes and I need some tips. I’m trying to eat in a more balanced way. But often, I find myself eating raw veggies with my food because I have no idea how to incorporate them into meals. It also doesn’t help that I can be a picky eater at times. Do you have any advice to help?
Sincerely, Needs Help
Dear Cassey I’ve been trying to exercise I get into exercising for a month then when it’s that time of the month I tell myself after the 4 days I will work out and I keep it up for a week and the I fall back into a cycle of promising myself and not doing it and when I try and cut off a bit on eating my parents keep calling me out on it saying I’m trying to starve myself which im not I’m trying to only eat when I’m actually hungry which they don’t get and I’m tired of waiting telling myself ill be happy and confident with my dream body in college I want that in high school which is coming soon and I want to be confident I also want to start an art insta acc and I hear “your life doesn’t begin after you lose 40 pounds” but why is it still not going through why am I putting everything on one thing and it’s still not motivating me and is it wrong my motives are also me not wanting to be the chubby girl I know having real friends doesn’t revolve around that why am I trying to get out of a room where I keep building the walls
XOXO please help me Cassey
Help with my hips!
Cassey please help! I was born with hip dysplasia, which doesn’t really affect me much except that I more frequently get some low grade pain or sometimes clicking. Whenever I do any sort of ab exercises like double leg lifts, I get really bad pain. I adjust my pelvic tilt and try so hard to keep my back on my mat, but the pain is inevitable. Is there anything I could do to help? Do I need to strengthen my core a little more so I can press my back to the mat? If so, which exercises. Thank you! I love you!