Your mind is like a muscle. And when it comes to improving your health, cleaning up your eating habits and reaching your fitness goals, it might be your most important muscle.
“Getting your mind right” with the use of self-talk and mantras has been consistently linked to improved mood, less stress and superior motivation. What’s more, research published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise reveals that regularly engaging in self-talk during your workout makes exercise feel significantly better. Exercisers who tell themselves certain motivating mantras are even able to push themselves harder and longer before tuckering out. Put another way, you need to start talking to yourself for better health.
Not sure what to say? Here’s what 11 trainers, nutritionists and health experts tell themselves for a powerful dose of motivation:
‘I cannot change yesterday, but I can change today.’
“If I’m feeling guilty for eating something indulgent the day before or if I haven’t worked out in a couple of days, it’s really easy to fall into the trap of ‘Oh well, I messed up yesterday, so I might as well keep going.’ That’s when I remind myself, ‘I cannot change yesterday but I can change today.’ That simple sentence helps me prevent those ruts and get back to my healthy habits.”
– Wesley Delbridge, a Phoenix-based registered dietitian and spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
‘What can I do that adds to my life?’
“My overall healthy-living mantra could be summed up by ‘What can I do that adds to my life?’ This plays out both in the gym and in relation to the foods I eat. Instead of looking at exercise as something to do to change who I currently am, and focusing on foods I shouldn’t eat, I look forward to how my workouts will make me feel and what yummy, healthy foods I can add to my diet. With this mindset, I’m able to develop habits that not only make me healthier: They make me happier, too.”
– Amy Dix, personal trainer and online strength and nutrition coach
‘I am my only obstacle.’
“‘I am my only obstacle’ is my favorite health mantra. It’s important for me to remind myself that I am the only thing standing in the way of my next goal – health or otherwise. Our abilities far exceed our confidence in our abilities. Knowing that the only hurdle I need to get over is me gives me the power to continue to move forward. I no longer doubt my ability to go faster, get leaner or stress less – because nothing else stands in my way.”
– Dr. Michael Smith, internal medicine physician and chief medical editor of WebMD
‘It’s what I do most of the time, rather than what I do some of the time, that matters.’
“I’m not a perfectionist. And it’s important with health and fitness not to focus on being perfect. I often tell myself, ‘It’s what I do most of the time, rather than what I do some of the time, that matters.’ This allows me to have dessert occasionally or skip a run once in a while – guilt-free. But it also allows me to consistently practice behaviors that improve my health and performance.”
– Jason Fitzgerald, head coach of Strength Running and a 2:39 marathoner
‘I am always more effective at work when I stop and work out, or just take an activity break, every day.’
“When I think about stopping to go to the gym and taking time from work when on a deadline, I remember this, ‘I am always more effective at work when I stop and work out, or just take an activity break, every day.’ Eating-wise, I focus on the same thing: I know how I feel if I eat healthy foods and how I feel if I eat less-healthy foods. I want my brain and body to feel good.”
– Atlanta-based sports dietitian Marie Spano
‘Remember my why.’
“I tell myself, ‘Remember my why.’ When motivation wanes during an exercise or healthy-eating plan, I focus on why I started it in the first place. Placing my ‘why’ in strategic places like by my running shoes or on the refrigerator door can give me the positive motivation I need in that critical moment when I feel like slipping.”
– registered dietitian nutritionist Jennifer Christman, clinical nutrition manager at Medifast
‘No one can be you. That’s your superpower. Now use that superpower.’
“So much time and energy is wasted wishing we had other things or wishing we could be other people. ‘I wish I looked like her, had her body, a nicer car, house, relationship, job.’ That line of thinking is so easy to get into. We become so focused on our negative attributes we aren’t looking at our positive ones. We have to stop focusing on what we wish we could change and celebrate what we have right now. Own it. Embrace it. Use it.”
– Jenny Schatzle, Santa Barbara-based celebrity trainer
‘I am so lucky to have a body that can move the way it does; it shouldn’t be wasted!’
“I always say to myself, ‘I am so lucky to have a body that can move the way it does; it shouldn’t be wasted!’ That reminder pushes me to show up to yoga when I really want to stay home or do something else. It keeps me consistent and makes me appreciate my body, looking at exercise as a way to care for it.”
– Keri Gans, New York City-based registered dietitian nutritionist and author of “The Small Change Diet”
‘Love yourself enough to lead a healthy lifestyle.’
This mantra reminds me that I’m taking care of my body because I love myself, not because of physical results. It’s important to show my body the respect it deserves. I need to move my body. Eat whole foods. Sleep well. Laugh each and every day. Since my goals aren’t focused on how I look, but how I feel, this lifestyle is much easier to stick with!”
– Sophie Gray, holistic nutritionist and personal trainer
‘Never, never, never give up!’
“Whether it’s fitness, health, motherhood or business, perseverance is the key to success. So I tell myself, ‘Never, never, never give up!’ When I’m pushing through a really tough workout and want to quit during those last three reps, or when I’m trying to eat clean, but I’m starving and it’s so much easier to grab something fast and unhealthy, I repeat that mantra in my head. It helps me stay on track and achieve my goals.
– Lauren Boggi, personal trainer and creator of the Lithe Method
‘You can quit … or you can quit complaining.’
“Mantras help me during stressful times to focus and get emotionally connected to my task. I say them to myself during some of my most difficult workouts, when I’m at the breaking point from the fatigue, because they bring me back to times when I was an overweight teenager, bullied a lot for being ‘fat’ and struggling to lose weight. I remember when I wanted to quit, but that voice inside me that wanted to change my body and my life, wouldn’t let me stop. The voice would say, ‘You can quit … or you can quit complaining.'”
– celebrity trainer Brett Hoebel, creator and author of the “The 20-Minute Body”
Written for US News & World Report