Don’t want to get out of bed? Me too…
We are in the thick of winter now. Outside is bloody cold – and no thanks to the poor insulation of Shanghai’s buildings, inside is not much better. I’m constantly cold, hungry and low on energy. If I go out to eat after work, then it’s gonna be comfort food, and then followed up by curling up on the couch to watch DVDs. In the mornings, I dread getting out of my warm bed.
So where does exercise fit in during these miserable times?
Why bother training when my body is covered up in layers of clothing anyways!
You’re not alone. Everyone else is in the same boat; and that doesn’t help either.
How can anyone be motivated during these cold, dead months?
It’s no wonder people put on “winter weight” during this time of the year.
So how do you break out of this cycle of destructive behaviour?
First recognize that your body wants to do these things as a natural adaptation process to the environment. It’s a biochemical response and you should not blame yourself for letting yourself go and raiding the cookie jar. The added guilt you apply on yourself will only make matters worse.
During the winter months, the days are shorter, there is less sunshine which results in lower serotonin levels and lower vitamin D levels. Vitamin D gets manufactured by your body when the sun hits your skin. Both serotonin and vitamin D affect mood and appetite levels. Also, with less sunlight, melatonin levels increase which regulates your sleep by making you drowsy. This is why you should turn off your electronic devices prior to bedtime so melatonin goes up in preparation to sleep.
With lower serotonin levels, you will feel sluggish, and generally not as upbeat. This is when your cravings for sugar and carbs come in as it’s attempting to fill in that void. Sugar and carbs have been shown to trigger your nucleus accumbens which is the pleasure centre in your brain.
Sorry to bombard you with all this science, but it was necessary to show you how much of winter weight gain is controlled by your biochemistry. So when you beat yourself up over how bad you are, or how little self-control you have, you are really not being fair to yourself since you didn’t know the whole story and the underlying causes that are out of your control.
Okay, so you forgave yourself, you understand your body a bit better, but now what? You’re still not motivated to exercise and eat well! What else can you do?
The thing about motivation is that most people think like this:
Motivation —> Productivity
They think with the right motivation, they can begin that new project they’ve always wanted to do or finally begin that exercise program and can get into shape. They think motivation will breed productivity. I’m not saying that isn’t true, but what ALSO works, is the reverse:
Productivity —> Motivation
What I mean is, there will be times when I’m not motivated to workout. I don’t want to go to the gym, or change into my gym clothes and endure all that pain and suffering that is sure to come with high intensity training. Despite what some may think, I’m not a robot and I’m not always motivated to train. Like you, I have mood swings (and now we know how the mood can be impacted – see above) and dips in energy levels. If you recall from my previous post on Managing Your Highs & Lows, there will be times when your energy level and motivation level will be low.
The key is not to let it completely derail you from your goal to get in shape. Once you make an excuse to not go this time, the next time will be even easier for you to come up with another excuse, and then another and another and then you’ve caused a snowball effect. Stop that vicious cycle dead in its tracks by committing to doing something no matter how crappy you feel about it. The action of doing will result in an increase in motivation. Nothing motivates better than progress.
Tell yourself, I’ll go but I’ll only do one round; or tell yourself I’ll do it but I’ll lift only 75% of my usual weight. Anything to get the ball rolling is good enough because once you start, your motivation will begin to creep up. This is a psychological game and you have to manage your mood and energy levels by understanding that you are facing an uphill challenge to start and you need to know that your mood and energy levels can be manipulated by behaviour. (If you’ve read my previous post on training at 100% effort level, you may be wondering why I’m saying it’s okay to train below 100%. This is the only time when it is acceptable.)
Do something small, take the path of least resistance – anything to get the ball rolling, the blood flowing, the heart pumping.
In the end, what do we always say after the ACT class – “I’m glad I did it. I feel much better now”.
I’ll even give you an extra free tip – spend 2 seconds now and click on the ACT or TRX RSVP button in my newsletter and commit yourself to attending the class. See, you have just made it harder for yourself to back out because you’ll have to come up with some BS excuse to me now.
See you in class.