It’s Monday which means it’s time to lace up my shoes and get back to my weekly exercise routine.  I am such a believer that working out on a Monday sets the tone for the rest of the week.  I may be a little sleep deprived and frustrated by the lack of results I’ve seen, but I am determined to get this post-baby body in check.  Here are 5 ways I stay motivated:

1. I step on the scale.  Every day.  I know a lot of people don’t believe in numbers on the scale, but it keeps me honest.  If I indulge in that second helping or bowl of ice cream and “neglect” to log those little calories in to My Fitness Pal app, I still have to answer to those numbers the next morning.  On the flip side, when I have been rocking my fitness game and step on the scale to see the numbers shifting down, I do a little victory dance and tell myself to keep up the hustle.

Another tip: Gear up first thing in the morning or right when you get home from work!

2. I think positively.  When I wake up in the morning, while wiping my blurry eyes open, I tell myself I’m going to have a great run.  As I am brushing my teeth, I start thinking about the high I will have once I finish the work out. While I am getting dressed and lacing up my sneaks, I think about the music that will fill my ears and force me my feet to keep moving.  I don’t stop thinking about my work out until it’s over, even if that means 7 p.m. after a long day at work.  During my cool down, I make sure to acknowledge the accomplished and strong feeling I have.  When those “but I don’t wanna” thoughts creep in, I dig for those good post-run feelings.

3. I buy music and books.  90% of the time I run on our treadmill.  It’s not the same as running outside, but with 3 kids and busy schedules, it’s my best shot of squeezing on in.  While I run, I read books on my Kindle app on our iPad and listen to power songs with my Beats by Dre wireless earbuds.  When I am deeply enthralled in a book or new playlist, I view my time on the treadmill as an escape and look forward to zoning out for 40  minutes.

4. I talk about it.  Not in an annoying, boastful way that makes someone else feel guilty or bad about their own work out regimen.  I talk about it here or with other exercise enthusiasts.  If you talk about it, you will be about it.  I would hate for anyone to think I was a fitness fraud.

5. I schedule it.  I write down in my planner my daily exercise game plan for the week.  I know that I wrote “run” each day while I was in a rational frame of mind so it holds me accountable when I am I trying to excuse myself from the activity.  Plus have you ever had to cross something out in a planner?  

I have 11 pounds of pregnancy weight to shed and it ain’t gonna move itself.  Start your week strong, find your motivation and keep it movin’!

*Xx