How Do I Get Rid of Belly Fat and Get Motivated to Work out Again in a Slump?
15 Dec 2025 · 5 min
JJ Virgin, a nutrition expert and four-time New York Times bestselling author, answers an Instagram question about losing belly fat and getting back to working out after a fitness slump. She covers setting goals, finding community support, and rewarding your progress to rebuild motivation.
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How do I get rid of belly fat and get Motivated to work out Again in a slump?
Help.
This is JJ Virgin, four time New York Times best selling author, celebrity nutrition expert and Fitness hall of Famer. I've been on a lifelong quest for answers to the toughest health questions and now I'm sharing what I found with you. Welcome to Ask the Health Expert. Hey, it's JJ And Mama K. Gray from Instagram wrote How do I get rid of belly fat and get motivated to work out again?
I'm in a slump.
Help.
Please.
Well, Mama K. Gray, I've got an answer for you. Stay tuned.
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All right, so how do you break through a slump? How do you get out of a rut? It all starts with your why. That's where I always start when I'm, when I'm consulting with someone. Setting up a program is the big, big question. First is why do you want to get rid of that belly fat. Why do you want to work out again? And we have to keep asking the question until we get to that real answer that lies underneath. And it may be because, you know, I want to look good in my clothes, I want to have more energy. And then the next question is, well, why? And maybe it's I want to be able to play with my kids. Well, why? You know, and you just keep getting through it till you really figure out why. What's the big why behind this? What's the why that when things get rough will keep you going? That when you get knocked down will get you back up again? That's always gotta be step one, because that is what you grab onto, like a life raft when things get hard. Because I know for sure they're gonna. So that's number one. Let's find that why and let's get so clear on that, right? And then attach the goal to it. And that goes in your journal every single day. Now, it's really important to see yourself there first in your mind's eye, because that's where we create everything. So see where you want to be right now. You know where you are, but you also know where you want to be. See yourself there. What's your life like there? What are you doing there? How do you feel there? How do you feel about yourself there? How does it impact everything around you? Your family, your finances, your career, your fitness. So get so super clear on that and just start drawing out that vision of what your life looks like there. I will tell you that when my son was in the hospital and literally hovering between life and death at age 16, I saw him as an adult. I saw him 110%. I just kept. I would not let any other picture get in my mind when I want to do something. Like when I was publishing the Virgin Diet and I knew I wanted that book to be able to go out there and impact millions. And I just saw that book being successful. I saw that book as a New York Times bestseller. So start with that why? And add the vision. See yourself there and feel what it feels like. Then find a coach and or a program that just sings to you and commit. You know how we best commit? We commit with our time and our money. Because if you don't commit with those, nothing's happening. And so you want to commit with both of those things. Say yes to yourself. Buy that program, hire that coach and schedule in that time and make it non negotiable. Nothing is going to get in your way. And to help you have nothing get in your way. The other thing that you want to do is get a community around you. And I've got one of my. I can give you on Facebook. We have our JJ Virgin lifestyle community and it is built to support everybody. It used to be one that you, anyone who was in my programs had bought a program was a part of. When the whole coronavirus hit, I just went, you know, we just, we all need more support. And you really want to be around people who are supporting who you want to become, who will help lift you up. After all, a rising tide lifts all boats. And what I've seen, and the studies show that obesity is contagious, you can catch it from your friends. So that we tend to be like the five people we hang out the most with. So I always say if you want to get fitter and then maintain those results, just find fitter friends. Community matters. So join one that's going to expect more from you, that's going to celebrate your successes, that's going to help you push through those challenges. And then the last one is build in some fun rewards for yourself and celebrate them. I find so often, and I do this too, is, you know, we, we don't tend to celebrate the wins in our life, the things that we've done great. And so build in some rewards along the way. And I want you to take this pass like I've lost weight. I do believe that we should be getting on the scale every single day and weighing and measuring, weighing every day, measuring your waist and your hips once a week because it keeps you honest. In fact, that's what they've shown is super important for being able to maintain because otherwise it's really easy to slide on back to where you were. But what I really would love you to do is build in rewards for whatever behavior you're moving into. Being a habit. So if it's exercise, when you've exercised 21 days solidly, you've done something. And I do believe we should move every day and mix it up. So some days it might be a walk. Someday it might be yoga. Some days it might be burst training or high intensity interval training. Some days it might be resistance training, some days it might be a couple things. But give yourself a reward when you've gone through that 21 days of commitment. All right, let's recap, shall we? Number one, figure out that why and get a clear vision of it and journal about it. Number two, hire a coach, find that program that works for you and commit with your time and your money. Number three actually, that's really number three there. Number four is community. Surround yourself with people who are further down the path than you and supportive and will help you get to where you want to go and support you on the journey. And number five, build in those rewards all along the way. This is JJ with Ask the Health Expert. I do this five times a week, so make sure you never miss a show show by going to subscribetoj.com.
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