The hardest part of successful weight loss is frequently staying motivated for a long period of time. By making a deliberate effort to do so however, it IS possible to achieve lasting motivation to lose weight. Here are 6 tips you can follow to achieve lasting motivation.
Know What Your Reasons Are
A large part of motivation is having Strong reasons for taking action. You’d have very Strong reasons for handing in your winning ticket if you were to win the lottery – such as, the freedom you’d gain, the things you’d be able to do, the things you’d be able to buy, and so on. Having Powerful reasons for taking action can create the same kind of motivation to lose weight. Consider everything you’d gain in your life as a result of losing weight – what would they be? More energy? Higher levels of self confidence and self esteem? Improved health? Looking more attractive? Being a positive role model to your children, or to your friends? What will it cost you if you don’t lose weight? Use your answers to drive you.
Visualize
Clarity of vision will greatly enhance your levels of motivation. So my second diet motivation tip is to create a clear vision of exactly what you want to achieve. How will you look once you’ve lost weight and achieved your goal? What will it feel like? How much will you weigh? How will you be behaving? Once you’ve clearly defined your goal, focus on it and visualize it on a regular basis and you’ll turbo charge your levels of motivation.
Get Around The Right People
Take advantage of the support of others, and you’ll have a far higher chance of succeeding. Having a support group around you helps to keep you moving forward when the times are tough. Get around others who have already lost weight and use them as role models, and / or associate yourself with people who are absolutely committed to losing weight. Being around people who are moving in the direction you want to go, or who are already there, will keep your weight loss and dieting motivation high, and inspire you to keep moving forwards and succeed.
Belief
You can’t be successful in anything if you don’t believe in your ability to do it. This is something you hear a lot, but its also true. If you’ve failed in the past, use that as a learning experience and decide that the past does not equal the future for you. Focus on successfully losing weight now, and believe that you can and will do it.
Make Yourself Accountable
If you’re really serious about successfully losing weight, one of the most powerful things you can do is to hire a personal trainer. A personal trainer will hold you accountable during challenging times when you ‘just don’t feel like it’, providing the external motivation you keep you on track. It’s their job to help you succeed, and that’s something you should take full advantage of.
Commitment
Being truly committed means you decide that you are going to lose weight and achieve your goal, and you cut off from any other possibility. Don’t say you will ‘try’ to lose weight or that you ‘want to’, say that will lose weight and that you are going to – without a shadow of a doubt. Being absolutely committed means not even considering the possibility of failure. How do you do this? Decide to do it, see your commitment as being like a muscle, and deliberately strengthen it each day.
Don’t see motivation as something you ‘get’, see it as something you create – and deliberately practice doing it. Follow these diet motivation tips, and you WILL maintain your motivation to lose weight and – as a result, be successful both in losing weight and in keeping it off for good.
If you’d like to learn more about staying motivated to lose weight, visit motivation to lose weight for more tips, tools and strategies.
categories: weight loss,health,diet,dieting,motivation