How to Lose Weight - Staying Motivated

When setting out to lose weight, one of the main pitfalls people come across is a lack of motivation. As with anything else, if you aren't motivated to succeed, chances are you will eventually give up. The article below provides tips and ideas for how to stay motivated in your weight loss efforts.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Start out by setting goals for yourself. Goals give us something to strive for so that we aren't grasping for straws in the dark. Think about how much weight you want to lose and consider setting a time frame for reaching your goals.

2. Take a look at the goals you have set for yourself and ask yourself if they are realistic. Remember that healthy weight loss ranges about one to two pounds a week. If you set a goal to lose five pounds in a week, you may find yourself discouraged when you don't reach your goal.
   
   Additionally, if your goal is to lose weight in excess of 25 pounds, consider breaking it down into smaller goals. Instead of setting one main goal of losing 50 pounds, break it up into five goals of 10 pounds each. Once you reach that first goal, you will be motivated to keep it up.

3. Make use of the buddy system. Find one or a couple of friends who are also interested in shedding some pounds and work to keep each other motivated. You don't necessarily have to have the same goals, but can give each other pep talks and share weight loss successes. In addition to friends or family, you can also find folks online; such as “Weight Loss Forum” or “3 Fat Chicks on a Diet” - See Resources section below for links.

4. Keep track of your weight loss progress by weighing yourself and taking your measurements weekly. Seeing the results is great motivation to keep it up!

5. Speaking of seeing results, think about doing some before and after photos to compare. Take a picture of yourself before you begin your weight loss goals. After some time, take another picture of yourself and compare the two. If you like what you see, you may find yourself motivated to continue.

6. Always reward yourself! In our efforts to lose weight, we may sometimes forget or fail to do this part. If you've made it through your diet and exercise routine this week without a hitch, go ahead and have a piece of cheesecake...or go buy something nice for yourself!

7. Use variety often! A definite motivation killer when it comes to weight loss is repetitiveness. You don't have to eat a grapefruit for breakfast every morning or follow the same exercise routine three days a week. Add some variety to keep things different and interesting.

8. Make it fun! When choosing an exercise routine, pick activities that you enjoy. You won't exactly stay motivated to lose weight if you hate yoga, but find that as a part of your exercise routine. The same applies with food. Don't eat bananas if you can't stand them.

Tips & Warnings

• Weight loss is a struggle for all of us. Just take it one day at a time.
• Don't be discouraged and quit if you slip up. You can't be expected to change your eating habits and fitness level overnight. Just finish that cookie and keep trying.

Resources

• Weight Loss Forum
• 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet
• More Articles by smdivin

[AlishaV]

on 1/14/2009 Great advice on staying motivated while losing weight!

[Miri]

on 1/9/2009 Good advice.

[WordWhizKid]

on 1/9/2009 Excellent advice! Keeping things fun and changing is a great help!