A Quick and Concise Guide to Stay Motivated to Lose Weight
It can seem complicated to keep your motivation for long time when you want to lose weight. In fact, you can be really motivated at the beginning, but to continue to have the good habits could be more difficult.
But don’t worry, you are not alone and the one who succeed have strategy to be able to stay motivated all along for a certain period of time.
So how they do and how can you do from now? In this article we offer you different ways and steps to stay motivated to lose weight.
If you follow our quick complete guide, you will be able to thrive.
1) Define clearly your goals – Define your “why”
The first step to motivate yourself to lose weight is to define distinctly your objectives and your goals.
You should think about “why” you would lose weight and what are the reasons. A strong “why” can always defeat the “how”. Coupled together they are the best to succeed.
A lot of people begin to lose weight and fats because their doctors tell them to do it, but it’s preferable if it’s your choice to begin the process.
Your “why” could be for example to be more self-confident, look better, be prepare for an event, or to fit into a certain pair of jeans as well. Then, your expectations have to be realistic and not too difficult to enable you to reach them.
It exists some programmes which allow you to lose fats really quick, but it could be not adapted for you. That’s why, it’s important to choose objectives that are right for you.
And setting unattainable goals could make you frustrated and it’s often a cause of giving up.
To show you that, a study proved that women who wanted to lose the most weight (even if it’s really complicated or impossible), were the ones who most abandoned programmes.
TIP: The objective is to have a long-term success so, determine exactly “why” you want to lose weight. Moreover, your expectations have to be realistic.
2) Focus on the current objectives
Try to only focus yourself on your current objectives and not your final objectives to lose a lot of weight. For instance, we are often looking at the big picture, but remind yourself that the pyramid has been built brick by brick.
So, stay focus on what you are trying to achieve during this month or week.
However, you can be disheartened of what efforts you still have to do and not thinking about what you’ve already done. That’s why on the next point we are talking about having a journal. Which is an important thing to stay motivated and lose weight.
So, don’t go too fast on the big picture. Be patient and stay always motivated on what you’re actually doing.
Also, your weight loss plan will be better if it fits your lifestyle and your habits.
If you chose a plan too hard for you, it will be really too difficult and maybe impossible to achieve. That’s how again you can give up and lose the momentum of your goals.
By staying accurately on the present goal and not looking too much forward, you’ll be able to notify straight up what you’re achieving and what you have just done. So, step by step you will build the momentum. Which will keep your motivated to stay on the ride of the long picture (final goal) and “build the pyramid” or in your case dropping the weight step by step.
Also stay aware that if you choose diets which will avoid you many foods or drinks that you have the habits to take, we advise you to don’t get in it. It simply preferable for you to begin gradually every type of diet or sports exercises. In this way you’ll stay motivated longer and get the right habits step by step.
TIP: A good tip for you will be to set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based goals). In this way, you can measure your efforts, be focused on your current objectives and for example write them in a journal to keep the motivation high.
3) Keep an up to date journal and celebrate
Keeping an up to date journal is another good way to stay motivated to lose weight. As we have quickly seen in the previous point, managing your progress and your step forwards by yourself will be a key foundation to keep your motivation. Furthermore, to write everything you eat will show you what you can improve or what it is working well for you.
You can use paper, laptop or your phone as well. Snacks and emotions can also be written in the journal to really see what’s working on or not. Cause sometimes the best way for you to succeed is just to know better yourself.
After a while, this up to date journal will also show you your success. In accordance, it’s important to celebrate them to encourage you to continue efforts you done to achieve your final goals and get to the big picture.
Having this journal will help you to keep the positive thoughts that we are going to talk about and also put your achievements, as the weight you have lost. Because of this, you’ll then be able to perfectly recognise what you have achieved.
Note that celebrate even the small victories is another key thing to boost your motivation and stay motivated.
To celebrate you could:
- Going with a friend to your favourite restaurant
- Getting to the hairdresser and taking care of yourself
- Buying a nice top for yourself
- Going to the cinema
So, we recommend you to write, cause at the end of your programme, you will be proud of you when you will read what you wrote at the beginning.
TIP: Write in a journal what exercises you did and the foods you ate to see all of your progresses. In doing so, you will improve by yourself your programme. Additionally, don’t forget to go to the restaurant with your friends to celebrate.
4) Make some commitments to people
It can help you to make some public commitment like to your family or friends to maintain your objectives up. The more people you will tell something, the more you will stay accountable and finally it will be another goal to keep your promises to them. This will keep you motivated to achieve your final goals: losing weight.
It’s proved that people need support and feedback to keep their motivation.
So, when you tell your close family what you are expecting for and why you want to have a healthy lifestyle, they will support you and tell you when they see any progress.
That will encourage you to continue your efforts and to continue to go ahead. If they are in part of your “why”, you can go and impress them.
A great thing to do will also be to work out with some friends, which will enable you to encourage each other and so perform better in the meantime.
The last advice we give you at this point is to also join support group on internet for example to support you. You certainly have the same or closed goals. And it was shown that is really beneficial. You can talk with them about progress and share some great advices.
TIP: Write on your Facebook update, what you are willing to do for the next weeks/months. You could also get some precious encouragement from them.
5) Think positively
It’s again an important key to think and talk positively to feel more confident about yourself. In this way, you will have more chance to achieve your goals and keep motivated.
Instead of that, if you talk about difficulties to reach your objectives, you would have more chance to give up.
In fact, the mentality plays an important role in your will to succeed on your goal. So, try to manage it in a positive way. Write positive thoughts in your journal and have some good thoughts from morning to night.
Also, when you talk to other people about your objectives, pay attention to only talk to the ones who are thinking positive and can encourage you. Here the environment, and your surrounding can play a major role. So sometimes you have to make hard choices about cutting contact with some nauseous people for you to keep motivated and succeed on your goals. So, surround yourself with people who support you positively.
Afterwards, keeping a positive vision on yourself and your body is important and will help you to stay motivated all along the process. That’s why we advise you to learn to love and appreciate your body if it’s not the case.
Loving yourself and thinking positively is a major key to keep going.
TIP: Every morning after waking up yourself go front of the mirror and repeat fiercely by looking at yourself in the eyes that “today is going to be a good day” and that “you can do it”.
Read –> 5 tips to develop your positivity
6) Don’t try to get perfection
Another important point is to not try to be perfect because it will never be possible. You will always find something wrong.
In addition, forgive yourself when you didn’t respect your diet or your programme. Just make sure you don’t make mistakes too often. But “come on”, eating something bad once is not the end of the world. It can happen, so don’t be too hard with yourself.
Indeed, when you’re too restrictive, it could be too complicated to reach your goals. For instance, if you decide to do intermittent fasting in your programme or if you decide to eat low carb diet, you definitely should have a “cheat meal”. It will make your smile and also re-boost your energy.
Just remember you that only one mistake will not ruin all your progress that you have made from the beginning.
Which is the same thing with exercises you practise if you miss one for example. All the great athletes have already miss their training once.
Nobody is perfect, perfection is a liar.
Finally, it will be better to choose exercises you’ll enjoy because you will perform better on them with smile. It’s also normal to not be motivated all the time but you have to try to reduce these moments.
These moments will not come too many times if you like what you do.
TIP: At the beginning of your programme, choose exercises that you prefer and don’t persist with what you don’t like.
Also, keep your favourite breakfast and just reduce your consumption of sugar at the start line of your programme.
Remember? Step by step.
7) Get professional help if it’s necessary
Having an expert to help you can be the last key thing to stay motivated from A to Z.
At some point, following a long-time programme could be difficult for some people. So, if you can’t keep the rhythm, that’s ok. Know that you have some person that could help you.
In fact, it’s very likely that some people lose some weight by themselves, and then chose a professional to help them to keep going on what they still want to lose.
So, if it’s your case you could consult a professional like dietitian or a Personal trainer to help you to lose weight.
The expert could give you some advices about how to exercise, and how to continue to eat healthy. It could also help you to stop an addiction or to make you reduce your sugary intake by recommending you to substitute it with healthy snacks for instance.
Click here if you want to find other reasons to get a personal trainer.
TIP: When you are in the middle of your programme and it seems too difficult to continue. You could start looking for the right expert to help you to push your boundaries.
CONCLUSION
Staying motivated is the way to lose weight efficiently because consistency is the key. All these following steps that you have seen are here to keep you motivated all along and be proud of yourself.
Step by step, you will help yourself to stay motivated to lose weight. So, to resume, it’s better to define clearly your goals, keep a journal, talk about your goals, and to think positively.
It’s also impossible to be perfect so, forgive yourself if once or twice you don’t respect your programme. And if sometimes it seems too complicated, you can talk with a professional.
So now, you can begin to achieve your goals and with following these steps perform better. Also, find here some advices to begin to practise some exercises with minimizing the risks.
What about reading some healthy food which can help you to lose weight now?
So helpful thanks you I will try step by step