Motivation To Lose Weight
A lack of adequate motivation for weight loss is probably by far the biggest problem people face when trying to lose weight. Most people set out to lose weight without any thought at all as to how they are going to get themselves to stay on track with their diet and exercise programs. When the individual fails to prepare themselves mentally, their motivation for weight loss will often fade very quickly, and their weight loss attempts will fail time and time again.
Different people are motivated in different ways. For some people, positive reinforcement will work best. Rewarding yourself for reaching your incremental goals along the way can keep you feeling positive and focused on your ultimate weight loss goal. It is important though to carefully choose your reward system. Many people wind up sabotaging their weight loss by rewarding themselves with food. Sugary and high-carbohydrate foods are particularly bad to use as rewards because they dramatically shift blood sugar, which tends to create strong cravings and interefere with fat burning due to the body’s release of high quantities of insulin (which can block fat burning for up to two days). Non-food rewards typically work much better. Getting a massage, buying yourself a present, getting a spa treatment, or whatever appeals to you can be an excellent reward to keep your weight loss motivation going without interfering with your weight loss program.
While the rewards system works well for many people, others may prefer to use negative reinforcement, also known as punishment. Using a set of punishments for “being bad” on your weight loss program may help keep you more focused on following your diet and exercise regimens. Once again, be careful how you choose your punishments. If you tend to be one of those people who “beat themselves up” emotionally, and if you are prone to “eating your feelings” by using food to get your mind off of negative emotions, punishing yourself for transgressions on your diet or exercise program may be counterproductive.
Rather than using punishment, weight loss motivation can often be strengthened more by using accountability - to yourself and/or to others. Keeping a written diet and exercise log will allow you to keep track of how well you are doing so you can then be accountable to yourself. Then you can decide if your adherence to the program is worthy of reward or punishment.
It often helps considerably to be accountable to someone besides just yourself, such as a family member or friend who is willing to track your weight loss progress with you. A person who can give you support when you may be feeling weak and can share your happiness when things are going well can be one of the best forms of weight loss motivation there is. Having someone to help you decide and administer rewards and/or punishments can be helpful too. For example, if you set a goal and reach it, your weight loss assistant might agree to give you a foot massage. If a punishment is appropriate for cheating on your diet or skipping your workouts, perhaps it could be that you have to clean your weight loss assistant’s windows.
Finally, there are many mental conditioning tools and techniques for strengthening your motivation to lose weight. Methods such as those of Tony Robbins, The Sedona Method, Emotional Freedom Technique, and self-hypnosis can help your motivation in general, as well as help you resist specific motivation problems. As an example, if you have a lot of cravings for a diet-unfriendly foods, there are techniques to handle that. If there’s someone who seems to “get to you” and trigger behavior that sabotages your weight loss, there are ways to handle that as well. Different things work better for one person than another, so investigate the options to find techniques that appeal to you and give them a try.
Ultimately, you can develop very strong weight loss motivation and use it to achieve your weight loss goals. The key is to recognize the importance of the mental aspect of weight loss and prepare yourself properly to keep your mind on your side so you can lose the weight and keep it off for good.
