Fall: Where Motivation Goes to Die

In case you live in a hole and have no concept of time, September starts on Sunday.

September. Of 2013. There are only four months left of this year.

And as fall approaches and we start craving pumpkin dishes, hot drinks, comfort food, and sweatshirts, we tend to slow down in our workout and healthy eating regimen that we have tried to maintain all summer long.

Why do we do that?

Because we can cover up our bodies with sweatshirts?

Because we are tired from the school-year activities?

Because the garden bounty of fresh veggies and fruits is done?

Because we are wanting to put on some extra weight for the cold winter months?

I really don’t know. But this I do know – being healthy is a year-round commitment.

It doesn’t help our bodies to gain and lose weight over and over again. It doesn’t help our bodies to get in shape for part of the year and then have to re-do it all over again because we quit when fall and winter come.

I always plan to run a spring race and a fall race (usually 1/2 marathons), but injury has sidelined me from running (for now), so the full marathon I wanted to do in October is off the table. Without the consistency of a training plan, I needed a new way to stay motivated.

A few friends and I started doing the Bikini Body Mommy 90-day challenge at the beginning of the summer. We have done pretty well, although the craziness of the last few weeks has caused us to miss a couple of workouts. It is a tough, but short, workout and we have really enjoyed it.

A couple of weeks ago we were trying to decide what to do next and we decided that we would just start the 90 days over again. Day 90 falls on September 2 and it happens to be the same workout as Day 1, so we said we would just start over again on that day. About two days later, the Facebook page for Bikini Body Mommy posted that they were starting a 90-day challenge on September 2. We took it as a definite sign that we had made the right call.

What’s nice about starting September 2 is that the finish is on November 30. It leads right into the holiday season. And after working for 90 days to get/stay in shape, odds are good that pushing on through December and January will happen. Particularly when a February race (in Florida!) is coming up for me.

So, that’s my plan. And with a little help from my friends, I’m sticking to it.

What’s your plan to get through the fall and into the winter without losing ground on your health and fitness goals?