Keeping Yourself Motivated to Lose Weight

When the New Year comes around, many of us make the resolution to lose weight. We go on the latest fad diet and join a gym. But after just a few days, we find ourselves struggling to stick to our weight loss program. This usually happens because we start to lose our motivation to lose weight. Admit it, things happen. Life happens and we sometimes forget to put ourselves first. However, to be successful at weight loss, we need to keep ourselves motivated. Here are some ways by which you can stay motivated to lose weight.

1. Take before and after pictures of yourself. When you feel like eating something fattening, look at your picture when you were overweight. Now do you really want to go back to this time in your life when you were sad and miserable and you just didn’t feel good about yourself?
2. Keep a weight loss journal. Writing down the number of pounds you have lost over time, your daily food intake and exercise regimen will keep you focused and on track. As you see your progress and your weight get lower and lower, you will remain motivated to lose more weight until you reach your goal.
3. Break down your overall weight loss goal into small, achievable goals. Reward yourself after you have achieved these milestones. For every 10 pounds you lose, pamper yourself, go to a spa, have your hair or nails done or buy a cute outfit. Reward yourself but make sure it is not food related.
4. Don’t forget what your purpose is for losing weight. If you are losing weight to be healthy, think about how much energy you will have afterwards or how you can minimize your blood pressure medications when you have lost the weight. If you are losing weight to fit into a certain size, imagine how good you will look when you wear that particular dress you have been wanting to fit into for so long.
5. If your budget allows, hire a personal trainer. A personal trainer will not only guide your work out sessions but he/she will be able to keep you on track and motivated.
6. Exercise should not be a chore and painful. Find a fun exercise activity that you can stick to. Try dancing, spinning or just simply hiking outdoors. Listen to fast-paced music that will keep you moving while working out. Find an exercise buddy. Studies show that if you work out with somebody, you are more likely to stick to an exercise program.

We have all the information we need to lose weight at our fingertips. But what most people lack is the motivation in order to be successful. Motivation is a big component in weight loss success. Keeping these motivational strategies in mind will help keep you on the right path to achieving your weight loss goals.