What to Do When You're Feeling Unmotivated
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Hello all and welcome to this week’s blog post! In this particular post I will lay out some causes for lack of motivation as well as some steps for you to take to get back on track.
First, it’s important to establish that a lack of motivation isn’t always tied to laziness. Sometimes, you need more than just willpower and a structured routine to get you up and exercising. In recent years, scientists have discovered an important link between the ‘feel good’ hormone dopamine and its affect on motivation. Dopamine is also often associated with feelings of accomplishment or reward. Some things that trigger a dopamine response you may already be familiar with include: listening to music, meditating, eating dark chocolate and cheese, and finally, exercising ;).
However, sometimes the dopamine receptors in the brain are not working the way they should, and without the pleasure signals from dopamine we’re not going to feel good, or feel motivated to workout. Doing the activities that normally trigger a dopamine response (as the ones I listed above) could now be dulled, or worse, be seen as a “negative” experience. “Either way, without dopamine, our brain is going to try to stop us from working out and reaching our goal as it sees exercise as something bad” [1]. This new discovery is fascinating in that it addresses a much deeper cause for motivation, and further proves that our bodies really do work as one unit. They are incredibly delicate and complex machines, and we have quite a bit of influence on how they function.
So, what’s going on in our brains and why wouldn’t our dopamine receptors be working? “Aside from neurological disorders, diseases, and syndromes, some common things within our control can be addressed to help return dopamine back to its normal function.” Perhaps the single biggest influence on our brain health is diet. While there are many diets out there to choose from (Keto, vegan, paleo, omnivore, etc.), I do not advocate any particular one, and will not do so here. What I do suggest is eating whole, minimally-processed foods, and cooking your own food whenever you can. Take some time to find which foods make you feel good and perform well and then stick to those. The better the fuel your body has to run on, the better it will function.
Aside from cleaning up your diet in general, there are a few foods to avoid if you want to get your dopamine receptors back on track. These foods include: anything too sugary (candy, milk/white chocolate, soda), processed bread (really steer clear of white bread as it’s been linked to higher amounts of visceral fat in the abdomen), fatty foods (hamburgers, bacon, sausage, cheesecake) [2]. These foods trigger a high, and artificial, dopamine response in the brain, which will only do more harm to the receptors. Instead, try to find ways to program the receptors naturally, such as: meditating, listening to music, eating whole healthy foods, and exercising. Once you train your body to feel good about things that are good for you, you win :) Exercise is just one of those ways, but it’s free and can be done anywhere so it seems like a pretty good place to start.
Now that we’ve laid out some of the reasons why you’re feeling unmotivated, let’s look at some suggestions to get you back on track.
1. Change up your routine. If you feel like you’re in a rut with your workout/ fitness routine, it may be time to try something new! You should look forward to your time being active, not dread it. If you belong to a gym try a group class, or boxing, and if you prefer a more free style, try going for a run or experimenting with bodyweight/ calisthenics training. With so many options to choose from, you should be able to land on one that inspires, at least for a while, before you mix it up again :).
2. Get a workout buddy to keep you accountable. Sometimes motivation is hard to find when you are the only one pushing yourself. Try recruiting a friend to workout with a few times a week. Having another person there will make it harder to cancel/ back out of the workout.
3. Remember your deeper “why” for wanting to be fit. While the first two factors I included here are great, they only address the external motivators, and are potentially only short-term fixes. In my previous blog post Beginner’s guide to the gym, I wrote about the importance of establishing a deeper “why” when it comes to being active. Some of the reasons I listed included: being able to play with your kids, not waking up with pain, or just feeling strong and confident in your skin. In times when motivation is lacking, remembering the deeper reason for wanting to be strong, fit, and healthy will help to keep you on track. This goes beyond aesthetic goals (i.e. six pack, bigger chest, rounder butt) and touches on the desire to live a healthy life in which you perform at your highest level possible.
4. Remember that your fitness is not only your physique. As someone who is still recovering from a foot injury, and was subsequently not able to walk or workout for more than a week, I can tell you that fitness is more than just how you move your body. There are plenty of ways to stay healthy that don’t involve movement (as I’ve had to learn during my week of bedrest). A few of these ways include: taking cold showers, meditating, reading a good book, spending time with those that make you feel good, and cooking nourishing meals. All of these things are good for our overall health and when we have rested sufficiently and are relaxed is when our bodies can make progress in our physical goals. Don’t worry too much about missing a workout or two, there is no deadline to being fit and sometimes your body needs a break. Not to be corny but in the case of reaching optimum health, it really is a marathon, not a sprint.
Thanks for reading this week’s post! If you have any blog topic requests please shoot me an email or DM me on Instagram.
xoxo,
Alexandra
Disclaimer: All material on this website is provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this information; instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.
Sources:
Light, Zuzka. “A Deeper Reason Why You're Not Motivated.” Zuzka Light, 28 May 2018, zuzkalight.com/health-fitness/a-deeper-reason-why-youre-not-motivated/
2. Harmon, Katherine. “Addicted to Fat: Overeating May Alter the Brain as Much as Hard Drugs.” Scientific American, 28 Mar. 2010, www.scientificamerican.com/article/addicted-to-fat-eating/