Weight Loss Motivation Tips to Help You Succeed

Five guaranteed ways to keep you motivated and losing weight

1. Set long-term and short-term goals. Depending on your total weight loss goals you may need several months and maybe even years to reach you final goal. Seeing that far into the future is difficult, and that’s why we need to set small short-term goals as well. Be realistic when establishing your goals. Doctors recommend losing 1-2 pounds per week for safe weight loss. Whether it’s weekly or monthly, set a goal that will help lead you up to your final goal. Think of it like steps up a pyramid; each step is a milestone you reach that gets you closer to the ultimate goal at the top.

2. Chart your progress. Keeping a journal of some kind that outlines your goals and tracks your progress. It is a great way to stay motivated and to help you identify what’s working for you and what’s not. It’s also a great idea to take photos of yourself along the way to visually track your progress. It’s amazing once you begin to see the difference and can look back and compare yourself to where you started.

3. Reward yourself when you reach a goal, and not with cake! Well a little cake is OK-you don’t want to deprive yourself too much because that could end up working against you. However, it’s probably a better idea not to associate your weight loss with food! The reward could be as simple as a massage or shopping trip for new clothes to a vacation. Whatever it is, be sure to acknowledge reaching those milestones; it’s hard work and you should feel good about sticking with it!

4. Acknowledge how you feel when you work out vs. not working out, and compare how different foods make you feel after you’ve eaten. When you associate the good feelings you have when thinking about working out and eating healthily, it will be a lot less daunting to do so, and that cheeseburger may not look as appetizing.

5. Mix up your routine–Most people find it hard to stick to the same routine for more than a month or two. To avoid reaching a plateau (which can be extremely un-motivating) try changing up your routine every month or so. This could be trying new weightlifting exercises or classes, getting friends involved, and trying new healthy recipes. Doing new exercises will challenge your muscles in different ways to tone you up from all angles. It’s definitely important to try new foods so you don’t get bored and scared thinking you are going to have to eat plain chicken and vegetables for the rest of your life. In fact some weight loss programs like South Beach Diet or Nutrisystem have a huge stockpiles and varieties of foods and recipes that taste great and won’t harm your weight loss.

Contributed by Sonya Sparks, a writer.