The Unf*ck Your Fitness Podcast

149. Staying Motivated + On Track with Your Fitness Goals During the Cold, Winter Months

• Kristy Castillo

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I don’t know about you, but this time of year is HARD for me.


I’ve never been a fan of winter - I also live somewhere that gets super cold, so I look forward to warm weather and summer even more!


I also know how difficult it can be to stay motivated during these cold, winter months. I personally struggle with seasonal depression, and sometimes that makes it even harder to want to commit to my fitness goals. If you can relate, today’s episode is for you!


Thankfully, there are plenty of things you can do to help with motivation during the winter. One of the most helpful things you can do is plan ahead, and set clear goals during this time. Visualize what you want to look AND feel like in the upcoming spring and summer months, journal about it, and/or put it on your vision board!


While I always recommend you follow a set workout plan/routine, this can be a great time to try some new + different workouts. Find a friend to work out with, too!


Since you’re most likely inside more, this can be the perfect time to experiment with some new recipes, and even refresh + brighten up your workout space. 


I KNOW the cold weather makes it harder to stay active. Motivation can for SURE be a struggle, but at the end of the day, this is your health, and your LIFE. This shit is NOT optional, so you need to figure out a plan for your fitness, and take action. You’ll be sooo glad you did when warmer weather arrives!!


In this episode, we cover:

  • My ongoing struggle with seasonal depression
  • Tips to help you with ‘finding’ motivation during the cold, winter months
  • Changing up your workout routine + trying different workouts that interest you
  • Experimenting with fun + creative recipes at home
  • How to stay focused on your long-term goals
  • Refreshing + ‘brightening up’ your workout space


Links/Resources:

Send me a text with episode ideas or just to say hi!

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Un-Fuck-Your-Fitness Podcast. I am your host, Christy Castillo, and I'm here to give you real talk and cut the BS so you can actually enjoy building a body you love. I'm a personal trainer obsessed.

Speaker 2:

What's up? Welcome to today's episode. I am going to be talking to you in this episode about staying motivated, creating motivation, being motivated ways to continue to make progress in your fitness journey, even when the weather gets cold, and hopefully some of you are somewhere that it's not cold, but here I'm in Michigan. It's post holidays. Right, it's the end of January, which seems like the longest month of the year, and like I wish summer months felt like they lasted as long as winter months. It goes so slow January and February. It seems like and I know it's because there's nothing to really look forward to and the days are short. It gets dark here so much earlier in the day, like 6 pm, which is actually about an hour later than it used to, but you would think the days would go fast and they just drag on and on and on. And these months are dragging on and on and on. And it's after holidays. Like I said, there's not much to look forward to. We're not as busy, the days are freezing, the days are dark, the sun isn't out a lot. I just I don't do as well, I don't do well at all some of these days, honestly, in these winter months, that I do in summer months and I know a lot of you are also like that.

Speaker 2:

I struggle with seasonal depression and I know a lot of you do as well, and I have struggled with that probably my entire life. I didn't know that that was a thing, or probably did I even really pay attention to how I was feeling. And I think, just when you're younger, obviously we just go about life and don't really question much, right, until one day we do question things. And I knew that. I was always tired and I wouldn't have called it depressed, but I didn't wanna get out of bed. I was seriously always tired. I could just sleep all day, no motivation, no, nothing. I hated the winter months and I still do hate them, because there's no sun and I can't get outside and things are just different. And I remember hearing the term. Now my daughter is she'll be 19 very, very soon and even before I was pregnant with her, like before she was born, I remember struggling with it and I heard the term seasonal depression before she was born and thought, yes, I have that and I talked about this in the SoulFit, so go check out. On Patreon, which is an app or website in the soul fit. So go check out. On Patreon, which is an app or website. You can go to patreoncom or to the App Store, type in Patreon and type in soul fit. So l f I t.

Speaker 2:

That is the podcast that I've been doing with my friend Aaron, who is a therapist. But we kind of dive into seasonal depression and a little more of the mental aspect over there in on the soul fit podcast and we did that very recently. So go check that out. But I talk about how, when I was pregnant with my daughter, she was due in February. I was due in February, whatever you want to call it and I remember thinking, oh good, I'm glad she's due in February, because Christmas gives me something to look forward to in the dreary month of December, and then in January I can be planning her birthday party, which will give me something to do and look forward to in the winter months because I am so down in the dumps. So I remember, with her being due in February 19 years ago I'm now 43, just so we're on the same page here thinking, good, I need something to do in these winter months to keep my mind busy.

Speaker 2:

So it's been years that I've struggled with this and I didn't really start my fitness journey and get into health and fitness until after my son was born. He is 16. So all of this happening newer in my years of being pregnant and being a new mom and having toddlers and struggling with seasonal depression, it's a lot. So if you're in that season of life, I hear you, I feel you, I see you, I've been there and I'm still there mentally in the seasonal depression part. Now my kids are older, so there's that. But it's something that I think we always struggle with if we are that type of person. I need sunshine and I need activities and I need something to do, and that's just kind of my personality. I'm even currently on anxiety and depression medication and I still struggle with that. So it's just kind of how I'm wired. But we can still work on creating motivation. We can still be fit. We can still do the things that we need to do. Right.

Speaker 2:

Bringing it back to fitness, unfucking your fitness here there are things that I'm going to talk about in this episode that we can do to stay fit, stay motivated. That way every spring doesn't come and you're like, oh my God, I didn't do anything this winter again, right, I just was down in the dumps and I wasn't physically active and all the things so let's talk about in this episode. I'm gonna be talking about tips to stay motivated, create motivation. I'm gonna be talking about how to keep your workouts interesting. We're gonna talk about maybe trying some new recipes, different things you can do in the kitchen and in the home to keep yourself moving and grooving, maybe make those days go a little faster, have a little fun and then staying focused on long-term goals. So let's dive in talking about finding motivation in these cold months, in the cold weather, I guess Setting clear goals is so important.

Speaker 2:

So, visualizing how you wanna look and feel by spring and these are tangible tips which I'm really excited about so you can pull from these, write them down if you're not driving, or pause and go to your notes section and say talk to yourself and put it in your notes section so you can do this Because these are tangible things that you can do. So, whatever speaks to you or if you're like, maybe I should try that that kind of sounds weird, but maybe I should try it because I'm desperate Go for it, right. So visualize how you want to look and feel by spring, because it's going to come pretty quickly. It does every year. All of a sudden, it's March and we're like, oh shoot, I have to put on a t-shirt or I've put on a tank top and a pair of shorts and I haven't moved my body in four months, right? So set clear goals, visualize, create a vision board or journal. So write down how you want to look and feel and go back to that Maybe every single night instead of snacking. You're opening this journal and just writing to yourself, talking to yourself, how you want to look and feel.

Speaker 2:

As far as creating a vision board, I have never created a vision board. I talk about it every year. I actually talked about it with my daughter last week, week before, or something. We kind of talked about doing it, but we never do. But what I have been doing as far as vision, for creating that vision for myself, I've been going on Pinterest in the evenings, which I love to do. It's mindless scrolling, but I can't do TikTok at the moment, and Pinterest is something that I feel like. It's not just doom scrolling where, it's just different. You get it.

Speaker 2:

Anyway, I've been going into Pinterest and you can now create a collage, so I've been searching cute workout outfits, cute gym girls, gym hair, gym aesthetic, gym whatever, fitness girlies, anything. You want to search just to find some cute aesthetic, the things that I want, find some cute aesthetic, the things that I want. So, and you can I think you just like tap and hold the photo and it copies it and you can paste it into this little collage right there in Pinterest. It's so nice. I don't do anything with these collages. You could probably screenshot it and save it as your phone background, which would be really, really fun for some motivation. I haven't done that yet, but it's kind of what I've been doing in the evenings, just kind of getting on here scrolling, and it's keeping my mind on fitness and I'm creating a collage. So I'm visualizing. Oh yes, I love that. I want to work on my glutes. I want to work on my biceps, like this is how I want to look and feel by spring.

Speaker 2:

That has been really no-transcript appointment with yourself. It's not optional, this shit is not optional. So do it, plan ahead, schedule it in and do it Create a reward system. Go back to those Pinterest photos. If you like a pair of shoes, if you like a sports bra, dedicate to yourself and say, okay, if I stick to my workout plan for 30 days, this whole month, this whole month of February. If I kick some ass and I show up every day that I say I'm going to. It doesn't have to be every day, but every day I'm going to. If I do every workout on my program or whatever it is, go get that pair of shoes, go get that sports bra. So create a little reward system for yourself.

Speaker 2:

That's extrinsic rewards versus intrinsic, which I talked about a little while back in a podcast episode. But I am more of an intrinsic girl. I love just the way that I feel. I don't necessarily need physical rewards often, but this time of year it's okay to go outside your comfort zone and be like no, I do need a new pair of shoes to show up for myself. It's okay to pull from different areas and try different things.

Speaker 2:

Also, a workout buddy system. So partner up with a friend from work or have them go to the gym with you or at least check in, keep each other accountable and motivated, even if it's just for a couple months, and then focus on the mood benefits. So I will a lot of times I tell myself I do say, christy, this shit is not optional, get up and go work out, or get up and go on the walking pad and get your steps in. But I will also think to myself I want to sit on the couch and veg out tonight and eat this pint of Halo Top ice cream. But how will I feel after that? I'll probably feel kind of good because I ate a pint of ice cream, but I'll also feel kind of shitty. What if I go get my workout in? I will actually feel really good. My endorphins will be flowing, I'll feel good, proud of myself. Moving and grooving makes the night go faster and then maybe I can even still have the ice cream. I don't know, maybe that's my reward. But focusing on the mood benefits like I will look and feel so much better and so proud of myself if I get up and do this right. So you have to keep yourself motivated. You will not stay motivated right now just automatically. You have to try things to keep it interesting.

Speaker 2:

Speaking of keeping things interesting, let's talk about workouts. So a lot of people, a lot of my clients, right now, are going skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, to stay active and doing things outside because it's cold. I bought a new pair of hiking boots last year hiking boots last year and I use them to go take my dog for a walk in the winter. I hate being cold, but I kind of promised myself I don't think I had the walking pad yet because I was out every single day with him walking and I need to get back to that. I've been sick for weeks and weeks and now it's like going to be negatives here and it's going to be so cold, but after that I do need to get my ass back out, bundled up and try some winter friendly activities. So there's a tip to go outside and try to either force yourself to go for a walk, even though you don't want to because it's cold, or do something fun or experiment indoors.

Speaker 2:

So try a new class sign up for a spin class, dance class, yoga class, pilates. Go somewhere and do something that your gym offers. Do something different. Maybe it's not exactly part of your plan. Maybe you're still going to do your weight lifting, right. We're still going to do resistance training, but we're also going to do something different, maybe just for the month of February and March. It doesn't have to be long-term, it doesn't have to be super expensive. You can do it online. You can start a YouTube dance class, right. Do something different inside to make it a little more fun. Change up your routine. Rotate between strength training, hiit, cardio, stretching, mobility, flexibility. Do something different, change it up a little bit and then also, using technology, find some different apps, find some different creators, find some different workout videos or join something virtually. I have my Fit Club going on right now and I'm doing videos over in the Facebook group and just kind of get something where you're more active and it's seeming different to change things up, spice things up, make it fun again.

Speaker 2:

Let's talk about also indoor activities, which can be seasonal recipes, trying new recipes, being creative again on Pinterest. Go into Pinterest and type in high protein soups, high protein casseroles, high protein dishes, meal preps, high protein desserts, anything right Like macro friendly, whatever. Like keep it healthy, keep it interesting, right, and you don't just wanna go make cookies every single day, necessarily, but try something different. So focus on stews and soups, but make it protein. This is a good time to experiment with different recipes and different things. You're inside, so why not make it fun?

Speaker 2:

My daughter and I have been trying some new recipes and different things and we're like we need a new cookie sheet and we need a new cookie scoop and we need to try these recipes. We tried these s'mores chocolate chip cookies. Basically you just make a s'more on a pan and then put chocolate chip cookie dough on top of it and bake it. It was so good. But we've been trying different things Also, like vodka pasta and these lasagna rolls. We're gonna try not super high protein, not super clean, but again, I'm bulking kind of right now. I'm lifting heavy, I'm trying to put on some muscle, I'm gonna put on a little fat. I'm a little bundled up right now, right with clothes, so it's fine and I'm trying different things. So a couple nights a week I have something to look forward to with her. So that's been kind of fun.

Speaker 2:

Batch, cook, meal prep. Spend some more time on your phone looking at recipes and then creating a grocery list. Find some apps where you can even be more creative with meal prepping and get some new dishes to store your meal prepping in your refrigerator. Treat yourself to some things to make this a little more fun this time of year. So that's something you can do inside in your kitchen, in your home not super expensive, not super extravagant and lavish, but also kind of fun. I'll usually find some recipes this time of year that I'll go ahead and kind of tweak and keep using throughout the year, which is really nice. So just make use of this time and kind of be creative, because soon again, it is gonna be March, it is gonna be April, we are gonna go outside, it is gonna be warmer months, hear where it's cold, and this too shall pass, but in the meantime, let's make it a little more fun, right?

Speaker 2:

And then now let's talk about staying focused on long-term goals. This is what I really like to do is, honestly, sometimes, if I don't have a lot of time, if I'm thinking I don't have a lot of time to do this extra stuff and go to extra classes or create new recipes, in reality I am working all day, every weekday, obviously, doing my job, like we all are. No-transcript cream every single night. Christy, I'm probably not going to look and feel very good in my bikini come summer, right? So maybe do a little shopping Again, get on Pinterest and kind of visualize what do I want my wardrobe to look like, what do I want to look like, what do I want to feel like in those clothes? Really get it together mentally, okay, because that matters a lot.

Speaker 2:

Also tracking your progress. Make sure that you are doing a plan. You are signed up for a fitness plan. You are really taking advantage of that and sticking to it and then also using apps and journals to create workouts and create meals and track your progress. Make sure you're doing progressive overload, if that's what you want. You're lifting heavier, you're doing more reps. You're showing up and tracking that. Check off every single day on the calendar that you work out, visualize it somehow and track it so you can see that you're making progress. You're feeling good. Set some milestones.

Speaker 2:

So I was actually talking to a client the other day. She has about 100 pounds to lose and she's like I feel really, really, really overwhelmed and I'm like, yeah, if you look at I have 100 pounds to lose. It's really overwhelming and it does make you think like how can I even do this? Where can I start? So we broke it up into 10 pound increments. We're going to focus on the first 10 pounds and then the second 10 pounds and then the third 10 pounds. We're going to focus on smaller increments, like steps we're going to focus on. So we broke down our goal. We're not focusing on a hundred pounds anymore, we're focusing on the 10 pounds and then we're focusing on the milestones and the habits to get you there. We really wrote that out for her. So, increasing her strength, increasing her endurance, how long can you hold a squat? How long can you hold a plank? How long can you jog without stopping? How long can you walk without you know just different things like that, and what's your step goal and what's your water goal and all of those things. So we're breaking it down into milestones. So if you have a really big goal ahead of you, this is a really good time to sit down and track it all out. If I lose, you know, I usually let's say like five pounds a month is a really good, realistic weight loss goal to be able to keep it off. So if you lose five pounds this month, five pounds next month, five pounds the next month, build that out and see what that looks like and then by X month you'll have hit X goal and you're going to feel really good about yourself. Reflect again on what you want to look like, what you want to feel like in the spring.

Speaker 2:

Always be reflecting on your why. Why did you start this? Do I want my kids to continuously hear me say I need to go work out, but I'm going to sit on the couch instead. I don't really want my kids to hear me saying that every single day, all day long, I need to go work out, I need to go work out, and then I'm like I'm just going to not work out today. I want them to see me working out every day. I work out for myself, but I also work out to be a better mom, so I want them to see me. Part of my why is I want them to see me doing the things that I say hey, protein is good for you, walking is good for you, jogging is good for you, exercising is good for you. I can't say that and then skip my workout every damn day. So, always reflecting on your why and staying really in tune mentally instead of letting yourself go down the depression rabbit hole, actively create a different mindset for yourself.

Speaker 2:

And now I want to talk about brightening up your space and getting a couple things for your gym. So, in terms of workouts, another thing that is fun to do is my clients who do go for walks and are very, very active outside. They use this time to get a new pair of, like I said, hiking boots, or get a new, really nice coat. They have coats and vests now on Amazon that are heated, so it's like those little hand warmers that you can get, but they have them, like now for your coat, so they have heated coats. It's really cool, so treat yourself to some of that, but also brighten up your workout space. Really cool, so treat yourself to some of that, but also brighten up your workout space.

Speaker 2:

Can you paint the walls? Can you get some new photos up? Can you get some new pink dumbbells? Can you get some just new dumbbells? Resistance bands, a yoga mat Clean things up. Do you need a new pair of workout gloves? I do. That's why I'm saying that, and it doesn't have to be super expensive. Again, it can just be resistance band. Grab a new booty band. Grab something fun, colorful Maybe it is a new sports bra, pair of shoes, something like that.

Speaker 2:

But if you can brighten up your space or just clean it up, I need to go in the garage and clean. I need to sweep, I need to mop, I need to get the little dust bunnies out of there. Cleaning it up and making it fresh and better and exciting is a really nice way to look forward to like, oh my God, I cleaned the gym. I can't wait to come down here tomorrow. It's going to be so nice to work out right, it's going to be nice. So, if there's any way that you can paint things, freshen things up, purchase a little bit of new equipment or yeah, maybe it's just the gloves, maybe up purchase a little bit of new equipment or yeah, maybe it's just the gloves, maybe it's just the pair of five-pound dumbbells, but you want them to be pink and cute and spicy, whatever. Go to Marshalls and buy a couple things wristbands, ankle weights, things like that.

Speaker 2:

Also, in terms of workouts, if you typically work out for like an hour three days a week or 45 minutes four days a week, maybe shortening your workouts to 20 to 30 minutes every day would be nice too, because then you're moving every single day and it's shorter, so you're not like, oh my God, I have to take an hour and go to the gym today. It's like a quick 20 minutes. Maybe you're just going into the gym and doing stair master on Monday. Maybe you're just going into the gym and doing a couple upper body movements on Tuesday and a couple lower body movements on Wednesday and then jogging on Thursday, right, like just 20 minutes. If you're like I just have to go in for 20 minutes, get it done. But it's every single day that brings that consistency, it brings that motivation of like I'm doing this every single day instead of maybe taking days off sitting on the couch. For me, keeping moving every evening is really, really important.

Speaker 2:

So cold weather does make it harder, there is no doubt. I know some of you are maybe chilling on the beach somewhere. It's super warm, that's amazing, but it probably is going to get a little colder where you live too. But for all of us unfortunately suffering right now in the cold weather, it does make it harder to stay active. It just does. And a lot of people will just say figure it out, make it happen, tough it out. I'm not going to do that. I'm going to be a little more creative and have the right mindset, get some variety in there.

Speaker 2:

Seasonal adjustments know that this too shall pass. Plan it out. January, february, march are pretty chilly here in Michigan. So I need to have things to do to spice things up and also know how I want to look and feel in the spring. And this shit isn't optional. At the end of the day, this is my health, this is my life and I have to do it right. Whether that means I have to spice things up and maybe I even buy a new planner and some cute little pens to be able to plan out my meals and plan out my winter and really journal and make that fun right.

Speaker 2:

Literally, whatever you need to do right now to make these little things more fun, go ahead and do it. And again, I'm not usually someone who needs extrinsic rewards or even likes that kind of stuff. It doesn't drive me personally, and if you're like, yeah, same external things don't really motivate me, it might this time of year. So Marshall's is my favorite place to go Marshall's HomeGoods just to walk around and see little cute things that can sit on your desk or sit out in your gym or whatever you need to brighten things up a little bit. They have some goofy things plus. It's nice to just wander around that store honestly, mentally, but just invest in a couple things to get you through this month. Whatever one of these things that it may be, whether it's things for your home, whether it's a spin class, whether it's new pots and pans to try some recipes Just really think outside the box here, because any way you can keep yourself motivated accountability, a workout buddy, a new class, a new program, a new website go for it and really push through and see how you can take action.

Speaker 2:

That's what it's all about to make this different for yourself, because at the end of the day, you have to figure this out for you. Maybe you try to journal every night and you're like no, no, christy, that wasn't for me. Do it for a month and just to make sure. But maybe you know some of these things are not for you and that's fine. Some of these things are not for me either, but they can be for some of you. So take what you need and run with it and make these cold months a little more fun for yourself than usual. All right, I hope this was really helpful. Again, I really really struggle in the cold months, so I wanted to put this episode together to really help you. So please share this episode with your friends Also. Always, as always, please rate and review the podcast episode. Some really, really fun things are coming up very soon for the podcast and over on Krista Castillo Fit and the Unfuck your Fitness podcast Instagrams. So stay tuned and I will talk to you guys next week.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for listening to today's show. Go ahead and leave a rating and a review and, of course, follow the podcast so you don't miss out on any future episodes. And I would love it so much if you came to connect with me over on Instagram at Christy Castillo Fit. I will see you next time. Bye.