Women’s Health may earn commission from the links on this page, but we only feature products we believe in. Why trust us?
There’s one for whatever you’re going through right now.
Trying to lose weight is a lot like doing an endurance run—it takes time and effort to get to the goal. Whether you are doing keto, intermittent fasting, or other kinds of diet, it’s easy to lose steam. To power through these tough moments, you may want to give yourself a pep talk, take a leaf out of other people’s success stories, or look for some encouraging quotes that you can apply to your weight loss journey to help you get back up and at ’em again.
But why does that happen? Hitting a plateau while trying to lose weight is totally normal and inevitable, says Kate Lemere, the chief trainer at Barry’s Chicago. “Our energy expenditure naturally decreases as we lose weight due to physiological changes such as hormonal changes and body composition,” she explains. Subconsciously, you move less as this happens. At times like these, Lemere recommends creating a new caloric deficit or making changes to your training program.
Whether you are fatigued by your workouts, crave your favorite junk food, have a big fitness challenge ahead, or just need some serious self-love, there are words for every hurdle you run into. Here, a roundup of 24 motivational quotes from celebrities, Olympic athletes, personal trainers, and fitness influencers for when you need that extra push in life. They can apply to any big goal.
​​”I think no matter what you look like, the key is to, first of all, be happy with yourself. And then you know if you want to try to improve things that you don’t like about yourself, then do it after you appreciate yourself.” —Adele to Mirror
“Even if you have to crawl towards your goals, keep going x it will be worth it. Try and give a little bit of effort each day. I know some days are frustrating as hell, you feel like giving up, you get annoyed at the lack of progress…but good things are coming your way.” —Rebel Wilson on Instagram
“You know what, there are days I go, ‘I can’t’ and ‘I don’t want to,’ and I think you just have to listen to your body. So sometimes you just don’t work out. And then there are times when you go, ‘Really? Do you really not want to?’ And then if you just say, ‘OK, I’m going to get on some machine for 10 minutes,’ you just start to get the endorphins going. Then you feel great, and you just keep going. So sometimes you can actually override the ‘I don’t want to work out.” —Jennifer Aniston to WH
“I promise to stop analyzing every angle and every curve and every pound and every meal. I’m going to keep staying the path because it is a journey and as long as I’m always working towards my goals, one day I’ll reach them.” —Carrie Underwood on Instagram
“If you’ve lost your motivation don’t beat yourself up about it, negative thoughts only turn into negative realities. By keeping positive about your body, your inner health, your mental sanity, your fitness, and what you’re trying to achieve, you’re way more likely to succeed.” —Khloe Kardashian on Instagram
“One of the greatest moments in life is realizing that two weeks ago, your body couldn’t do what it just did.” —Katrina Scott and Karena Dawn, founders of Tone It Up
“Exercise is a blessing. Not a chore.” —Kayla Itsines, personal trainer, author, and entrepreneur, on her blog
“Have confidence! At the end of the day, you need to be your biggest cheerleader and believe in yourself. It is definitely a challenge and doesn’t happen overnight, but confidence can be learned–fake it ‘til you make it!” —Venus Williams, professional tennis player, to Forbes
“Excellence is the result of a journey, a journey taken by a committed individual, who begins the trip knowing her path will include a thousand failures. But the only real failure is the failure to get back up.” —Lindsey Vonn, former Olympic skier, in a video for the Lindsey Vonn Foundation
“One step at a time. One round at a time. Know your why. It’s really just one step at a time. Whether that’s a race or in real life. You just have to know your why.” —Allyson Felix, Olympic track and field athlete, on Instagram
“It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens.” —Jillian Michaels in her book Slim for Life: My Insider Secrets to Simple, Fast, and Lasting Weight Loss
“You just gotta keep going and fighting for everything, and one day you’ll get to where you want.” —Naomi Osaka, professional tennis player, to Teen Vogue
“Getting healthy is not a two-week process, it’s a change of lifestyle.” —Kate Hudson to Shape
“That wall is your mind playing tricks on you. You just need to say ‘One more step, I can do this. I have more in me.’ You’ll be so proud of yourself once you push past your threshold.” —Kerri Walsh Jennings, Olympic beach volleyball player, to Health
“If you think you’re done, you always have at least 40 percent more.” —Lauren Crandall, Olympic field hockey player, to WH
“I feel if in your mind you can do it, you can do it. You cannot doubt yourself. Doubt is a killer.” —Jennifer Lopez to Glamour
“Prioritize movement and your health as no dream cleanse or pill will ever be a long-term solution. It isn’t selfish to put wellness-related time first—commit to yourself and know that it’s important to honor your body.” —Tracy Anderson, celebrity personal trainer, to Olivia Palermo‘s blog
“The 30 minutes of exercise you put in during the day, will give you an hour more of energy later in the day.” —Harley Pasternak, celebrity personal trainer, in his book Harley’s 5-Factor Workout
“It’s okay to struggle, but it’s not okay to give up on yourself or your dreams.” —Gabriele Grunewald, professional middle-distance runner, for Brooks Running
“It’s not about perfection. It’s about purpose. We have to care about our bodies and what we put in them. Women have to take the time to focus on our mental health—take time for self, for the spiritual, without feeling guilty or selfish. The world will see you the way you see you, and treat you the way you treat yourself.” —Beyoncé to Elle
“It’s all about self-motivation because at the end of the day, you can have all the trainers and all the money in the world, but if you don’t have that mindset, it’s not possible.” —Jennifer Hudson to Oprah
“We take so much for granted, and we take ourselves for granted. We sell ourselves short, and we buy into this nonsense all the time. I don’t think it’s wrong to take pride in your appearance, but not to the extent that it swallows you whole and completely cancels out all of the other things that make you who you are.” —Jameela Jamil in Glamour
“Choose to be around others who dream big. I truly believe in the power of mentorship, too. The right mentor will hold you accountable and encourage you to achieve the goals that you’ve set for yourself.” —Gabby Douglas, retired artistic gymnast, to Seventeen
“When I was modeling, I had always been told ‘If you could lose a couple of inches, you’ll work so much more,’ or ‘You’ll do so much better if you were just a little bit skinnier.’ I finally realized that no one is perfect and that I like the fact that I look different and don’t have the perfect body. No one does!” —Shay Mitchell to Seventeen

source