Even though consistency is key in my world, I often find myself getting into a rut. I get into a rut with food and start slowly loosening the reigns on my nutrition for no other reason than I’m bored.
To be clear – I’ve got not problem eating cake and other delicious things for special occasions or indulging a bit during family dinners, in fact, there is no food that is “off limits” for me (minus gluten, obviously) and I have ZERO guilt when I do splurge.
Loosening the grip on my nutrition out of boredom looks more like eating little things here or there that I know I don’t need or even really want. I’m just bored and it’s my mind’s way of rebelling against my routine.
Me & my mom working out in her building’s gym
The same thing happens with my workouts – even though I rarely do the EXACT same workout twice (I may do variations of a workout that are very similar but not exactly the same), I find myself not pushing as hard as I know I can simply because my mind and body are bored.
I’ve begun to be aware of when this is happening and will intentionally switch up my workouts. For example, last week I didn’t step foot in my regular gym for most of the week – instead, I worked out at home and with my mom at her building’s gym and it was just want I needed.
I did go to the gym this Sunday to set a post-stress fracture back squat PR
For the past two weeks or so I’ve felt like I was hitting a plateau. I was getting frustrated with myself and couldn’t think of a way to bust through it, in a sustainable way – crash diets and working out for hours & hours aren’t sustainable – until I realized that I was just bored. I figured out what was getting boring – the same workouts, same schedule, same food – and started making some small changes. Now, that I’ve changed some things, I feel like I’m breaking through it and frankly, I’m going to crush it.
I’ve recently started jump roping again – it’s fun & a killer workout
Here are my top tips for changing it up to beat weight loss boredom:
1. Admit your bored/plateaued/whatever: Admitting it is the first step and for me, it’s the hardest part. I used to get down on myself and tell myself that I just need to go harder/faster/more and then I burn out and get injured. Now, when I feel like I’m getting to that place, I step back, assess why I’m bored/plateauing, and make a plan to change it. The human body & mind are incredible things – they adapt quickly and that’s okay – it doesn’t mean you’re not doing “good enough”, it means your body is working.
2. Make small diet tweaks: I play around with my nutrition frequently by making small tweaks here & there to see what works. I take the approach of a detective, not a dieter. I pay attention to how I feel, my energy levels, and my body and make changes from there. For example, lately, I’ve been trying to get more quality calories in (I always struggle to eat enough) and focusing on what foods keep me satiated & give me results. I’ve been eating much larger afternoon snacks and that’s helped me stop the endless post-work snacking.
3. Try new workouts & step out of your comfort zone: I’ve been trying tons of new workouts lately.
- I’ve been doing my HIIT cardio at home lately via videos, workouts I make up, or workouts others post and I love it.
- I also tried out STOTT Pilates the other day thanks to a free session at Balance Pilates from soon-to-be instructor Liz – it was a ton of fun and made me aware of my weaknesses.
- I’ve been doing CrossFit and think I have officially chugged drank the Crossfit kool-aid. I love the small training aspect of it and it’s been pushing me way past my comfort zone.
4. Focus on making SMALL changes, slowly: Change one thing a week, or every two weeks, and make it small. This helps create more lasting, sustainable change and is also easier to handle psychologically. It’s much easier to focus on drinking an extra glass of water for 2 weeks than overhauling your nutrition, workouts, and entire life in one day.
5. Remind yourself how far you’ve come: Pat yourself on the back every once and awhile and remember that boredom happens. Be a detective, investigate, make a plan, and crush it.
And because it’s WIAW, let’s talk food. Here are some small changes I have made to my nutrition to help beat boredom and crush this plateau:
- I’m focusing on lots of protein, fruit, & fats in the morning – I feel like this gives me the most energy and refuels me after my workouts
Patriotic grain free crepes for 4th of July
- I’m trying to getting more creative with dinners – chicken breasts & salads get old, fast.
Eggplant rolls with ground turkey & spinach, smothered in homemade tomato sauce
Catfish with kale, green beans, summer squash, fresh tomatoes & basil
- I’ve been trying new recipes to keep me interested and have fun in the kitchen
Cauliflower crust BBQ chicken pizza
Happy Wednesday! It’s almost the weekend – woohoo!
What do you do when you’re feeling bored and/or plateaued? What are you favorite ways to break through a rut?
Tagged: fat loss, fitness, healthy living, plateau, weight loss, what i ate wednesday, WIAW
I'm Gabby. A 24 year old gluten-free kitchen explorer, Crossfitter, and freelance recipe developer and food photographer sharing my life one recipe, workout, and photo at a time. 
Grain free crepes sound delish! Totally agree with the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone in order to stay motivated. Getting bored does nothing for weight loss or reaching your fitness goals.
Thanks! They are definitely one of my favorites
Stepping out of your comfort zone is hard, but it’s so rewarding. I need to remind myself to do it more often.
I hear you with the getting bored and starting to slip without noticing it! I think I often do the same thing and just don’t notice. I tend to get into food ruts where I just eat the same thing all the time because I like it, my body likes it and it easier!
I think noticing it is the hardest part – it took me a loooong time to be able to recognize that I was just rebelling against my routine,
Yeah the tips rock but mooooooore than that I adore you workout with yer MAMA!!!
Thanks! My momma is one fit lady and I love working out with her – we keep each other motivated
I must agree with Kelly, those Grain free crepes sound amazing. Thanks for sharing your fabulous recipes! I’m still enjoying the Banana Souffle!
Thank you! So glad you’re enjoying the souffle
When I get bored and feel like I’m in a rut I sign up for a race and/or change my strength training routine. Joining a time specific challenge is always a fun way to switch things up too!
[Fitness, Health and Happiness]
I agree! I always like having a goal and I find that times things are super motivating to me – probably why I enjoy crossfit so much!
you will probably laugh but I still have my Stott VHS tapes from when she first started, when she was Moira Stott. Best pilates evr I think. Your doing great, don’t be too hard on yourself:) xoxo
I love it haha! Pilates was actually really fun and definitely helped point out some of my weaker areas.
This was a great post, I constantly get bored with my food/workout routine. Not that I don’t enjoy them, I just get serious gym and food ADD. Whenever I get bored at the gym I find another challenge to work on (training for a new race, taking new fitness classes, etc.) I’m doing the LiveFit trainer right now and it was re-motivated me. Food-wise I buy a new healthy ingredient I’ve never tried before and start playing in the kitchen.
I love playing with new ingredients – I always try to pick up new veggies at the frames markets. LiveFit is a fun program, hope you’re enjoying it!
I completely agree with all of these points… I love to change things up too cause I get bored.
BTW, did you see that one of my WW buddies tried your grain free crepes recipe and left a nice message on my food blog post about them… she has reheated them and had them as a wrap with salsa for lunch and loves them.
Tweeting and FB sharing this post, Gabby.
I didn’t see that – I think my trackballs aren’t working – but I’m so bald she loves them! Salsa wraps sound like such a delicious lunch.
*trackbacks – thank you autocorrect!
I easily slip into ruts, too – I think being GF makes it even worse b/c I stick to my same safe foods. This week I’m trying new recipes from various blogs to get my food mojo going again, and for the last couple months I’ve been working on a 5K running program – just one workout left! The changes feel great, I just have to constantly remind myself to make them
Congrats on just about completing your running program! I do think being GF can make it tough – it can take a lot of mental energy to make sure you’re eating safe foods. Blogs are such great places to find new recipes – I love trying fellow bloggers’ recipes.