How To Motivate Self To Lose Weight
How to motivate self to lose weight?. Everyone can lose weight, and you are not an exception. Staying motivated to lose weight is not always easy, and It's not that diets don't work and weight loss programs are bad.
The real problem is that people rarely stick to the program or diet they have chosen.
Let me ask you one simple question:
Do you expect a dish to be good if you stop cooking in the middle of the recipe? There's no need to answer of course. This is the real problem with losing weight: people stop in the middle. And the hardest thing to do is to stick to your weight loss program from the beginning to the end.
I'm going to let you in on a big secret to motivation...
You don't need to get motivated - you're previously and already motivated.
It's just that sometimes we can be more motivated to eat desserts than vegetables or watch a TV show than exercise.
The issue isn't getting motivated, it's figuring out how to redirect where our current motivation lies.
What motivates us are three basic things. Pain, pleasure, and love. While having an unhealthy body can cause physical pain and being in great shape can cause physical pleasure, for the most part with health and fitness, it's more about psychological pain and pleasure.
Everything you do, healthy or not, stems from the fact that psychologically it is meeting one of your six human needs. Those needs are certainty/security, variety/excitement, love/connection, significance/control, growth, and contribution. Meet these needs and feel pleasure. Don't meet them and feel pain.
The reason why it's hard for people to give up their favorite foods and old habits is that those habits meet one or more of those six human needs. That means if you want to get more motivated to do something else like eat healthier and exercise, you'll need to mentally connect the dots of how those new behaviors (and the outcomes like a more fit body) will also satisfy those emotional needs to an equal or greater extent.
The Fat Decimator System book covers this in-depth in (understanding the underlying realities of motivation can revolutionize your weight loss ) where it goes over four human needs (leaving out contribution and growth as they're not as heavily diet-related). DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE REPORT
But you don't need an in-depth understanding of your psychology to know how to redirect your motivation. You already do this whether you're conscious of it or not. But if you want to have conscious control over it, Here's how:
More than 80% of those categorized as obese adults suffer from illnesses like high blood pressure, diabetes, elevated blood cholesterol levels, coronary artery disease or osteoarthritis. Of these, almost 40% suffer from more than one of these illnesses. The financial burden on these individuals is staggering.
It is estimated that by the year 2025 almost 75% of the population in the United States will be overweight and eighty-odd percent globally will be in the overweight to obese category. These are frightening revelations and serious calls for us to wake up and do something about this problem.
The simple truth is, many of these persons suffering from these conditions can change their life if they come to terms with, and start observing some daily habits that do not cost them anything. All it takes is a disciplined mind that is determined to change from one lifestyle to a better and healthier one. (How to develop a positive mindset)
Let's face it, it is difficult to feel good about yourself when you do not like what you see when you stand before the mirror every day. It is hard to do the things you really want to do when you do not have the level of bursting energy necessary for the task.
Emotional stress can drain you of the little energy that you already have, making a bad situation worse. Moreover, if you are not careful before you know it, you are down and out.
It means, therefore, you have to take your health into your own hands and take responsibility for making it better. You have to first respect yourself and see your health as a matter of paramount importance, then you will be motivated to do whatever is necessary to solve the problems and live in harmony with nature.
One thing is for sure, you can do something about it. What you think, say and do, believe it or not, is creating or destroying your health.
The real problem is that people rarely stick to the program or diet they have chosen.
Let me ask you one simple question:
Do you expect a dish to be good if you stop cooking in the middle of the recipe? There's no need to answer of course. This is the real problem with losing weight: people stop in the middle. And the hardest thing to do is to stick to your weight loss program from the beginning to the end.
I'm going to let you in on a big secret to motivation...
You don't need to get motivated - you're previously and already motivated.
It's just that sometimes we can be more motivated to eat desserts than vegetables or watch a TV show than exercise.
The issue isn't getting motivated, it's figuring out how to redirect where our current motivation lies.
What motivates us are three basic things. Pain, pleasure, and love. While having an unhealthy body can cause physical pain and being in great shape can cause physical pleasure, for the most part with health and fitness, it's more about psychological pain and pleasure.
Everything you do, healthy or not, stems from the fact that psychologically it is meeting one of your six human needs. Those needs are certainty/security, variety/excitement, love/connection, significance/control, growth, and contribution. Meet these needs and feel pleasure. Don't meet them and feel pain.
The reason why it's hard for people to give up their favorite foods and old habits is that those habits meet one or more of those six human needs. That means if you want to get more motivated to do something else like eat healthier and exercise, you'll need to mentally connect the dots of how those new behaviors (and the outcomes like a more fit body) will also satisfy those emotional needs to an equal or greater extent.
The Fat Decimator System book covers this in-depth in (understanding the underlying realities of motivation can revolutionize your weight loss ) where it goes over four human needs (leaving out contribution and growth as they're not as heavily diet-related). DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE REPORT
But you don't need an in-depth understanding of your psychology to know how to redirect your motivation. You already do this whether you're conscious of it or not. But if you want to have conscious control over it, Here's how:
But first, You Have To know The Statistics:
If you are overweight and trying to lose some extra pounds, you are not alone, in fact, you are in a very large company. According to some statistics available, more than sixty percent of Americans and over seventy percent worldwide are overweight.More than 80% of those categorized as obese adults suffer from illnesses like high blood pressure, diabetes, elevated blood cholesterol levels, coronary artery disease or osteoarthritis. Of these, almost 40% suffer from more than one of these illnesses. The financial burden on these individuals is staggering.
It is estimated that by the year 2025 almost 75% of the population in the United States will be overweight and eighty-odd percent globally will be in the overweight to obese category. These are frightening revelations and serious calls for us to wake up and do something about this problem.
Serious Health Risks
People who are overweight have some serious physical and emotional conditions associated with the problem threatening their very survival. Whether you have put on a few pounds over the years, or have been struggling with extra weight all your life, the reality is, your weight gain is associated with serious health risks like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, gallbladder disease, stroke, cancer, arthritis, and premature death.The simple truth is, many of these persons suffering from these conditions can change their life if they come to terms with, and start observing some daily habits that do not cost them anything. All it takes is a disciplined mind that is determined to change from one lifestyle to a better and healthier one. (How to develop a positive mindset)
Emotional Stress
As if these conditions related with overweight were not enough, weight can seriously affect your self-image, causing you to suffer considerably more often from low self-esteem than those individuals who are regarded as a normal weight for their age and height.Let's face it, it is difficult to feel good about yourself when you do not like what you see when you stand before the mirror every day. It is hard to do the things you really want to do when you do not have the level of bursting energy necessary for the task.
Emotional stress can drain you of the little energy that you already have, making a bad situation worse. Moreover, if you are not careful before you know it, you are down and out.
It means, therefore, you have to take your health into your own hands and take responsibility for making it better. You have to first respect yourself and see your health as a matter of paramount importance, then you will be motivated to do whatever is necessary to solve the problems and live in harmony with nature.
One thing is for sure, you can do something about it. What you think, say and do, believe it or not, is creating or destroying your health.
To Lose Weight You Must:
#1. know Reasons Why You Should Lose Weight
Here is how you do it:
Create a list of all the reasons WHY you want to lose weight. Then rank them in order of importance, the most important being at the top of the list.Once your list is complete, go through it several times and eliminate the ones that do not truly speak to you. In other words, get rid of the reasons that do not evoke an emotional response.
Next to each reason, write down WHY this is important to you. Just let your thoughts run out onto the page. You can edit later.
For now, just capture the pure emotion that comes when you think about why it is important that you do this. Like, "I want to lose weight because I don't want to die before I am 50".
Once you have written down the WHY next to each reason, write down how your life would be better if lost the weight.
Again, just let the thoughts flow out onto the paper. You can clean it up later. So an example would be, "If I lost weight, I would be able to run again, do a marathon, and be a great example to my kids".
Next, write down how your life would be worse if you do not lose weight. Be exact about this. Really look at the consequences of not taking action and losing weight.
Look at what you have written. Go back and look at the reasons why you want to lose weight and see if your perspective has changed.
RELATED: Walking and Losing Weight >>>
Real weight loss, the kind that lasts a lifetime, must be accomplished with an internal motivation that is unstoppable no matter what obstacles come up. The reason most people fail in their efforts to lose weight is that they are relying 100% on willpower.
Willpower is good for a day or two, then you cave and right back to your old habits. The only way that you can keep going despite the obstacles is with an internal fire of motivation that burns so hot that nothing can extinguish it.
If you have been trying to lose weight and nothing has worked, take a step back and try this exercise. Make sure that you are someplace where you won't be disturbed, turn the phone off, and pull out a pen and paper.
Take as much time as you need to complete the exercise and watch see how your perspective changes. It is the first, and the most important step towards achieving your weight loss goals, forever.
#2. Overcome Laziness And Procrastinating
1. Have future focus instead of present focus
When we are lazy and procrastinating we are driven by present focus - the pleasure of seating on a couch watching TV instead of exercising can sometimes overcome your good intentions to keep fit. Sleeping instead of starting the day early is much easier to do for most of us. Pain and pleasure drive the actions that we take - the pain of taking action and getting up versus the pleasure of seating on the couch and watching television.We might feel more pleasure in relaxing and putting out the action and associate more pain with getting up or leaving the couch. In the present focus, we might even forget what is good for us in the long term. During the holidays, we often tell ourselves “I’ll start in the New Year.” during on weekends, saying “I’ll start eating healthy next week.”
In order to discipline yourself and overcome laziness and procrastination, awareness in terms of how pleasure and pain influence your actions is important. In order to overcome laziness. You need to replace the present pleasure that you experience in whatever it is that you are doing by the anticipated future pleasure you will gain from acting immediately.
Runners do this very well. When going for a run most runners hardly think about the long road that they will face. Instead, they think about the feeling of accomplishment that they will experience after running. Accomplishments allow us to experience feelings of satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy knowing that we have taken action.
To overcome laziness the focus should be on the expected pleasurable feelings that we will receive from accomplishing a task. Used well, the expected feelings of accomplishment can easily replace perceived present pleasure from not acting.
I doubt if anyone would be encouraged to overcome laziness and go to the gym if they thought of all the hard work they would have to do at the gym and the muscle pain. Instead, those who go to the gym think about the rewards after gym such as being physically fit and having a positive body image.
Gym fanatics overlook what most people see as pleasure when they do not exercise and replace present pleasure with future anticipated gain i.e. being physically fit, muscular, weight loss and so on.
You might ask yourself how to do this from a practical point of view? Here is how - Let's say that you are seating on a couch lazy to exercise enjoying the pleasure of the moment. To get yourself encouraged to exercise begin picturing anticipated future pleasure from exercising.
See yourself having completed your exercise - this can be running, going to the gym or doing a few exercises in your own home. Experience beforehand how happy you will feel about yourself knowing you stuck to your plan and completed your exercise routine.
Picture yourself in the future having a positive body image and feeling healthier. Feel the intensity of these positive feelings in your heart. As you experience the positive feelings get up immediately, wear your gym clothes and exercise. You will find that you have more power overcoming laziness when you visualize positive future results like this.
2. Always act immediately
Most of the time, laziness and procrastination manifest itself as a result of the internal debate we have with ourselves prior to taking action. Often before pushing ourselves to get up from the bed, we ask ourselves questions, "should I get up now?", "Maybe I should sleep 10 minutes more", "I am going to run late maybe I should wake up?", "How about calling in sick?" Depending on the day, you either defeat your thoughts and get up or you get defeated and sleep until late.To overcome laziness and procrastination it is best that you act immediately on whatever it is that you want to do before the internal debate starts. This will help you change the pattern that laziness and procrastination causes. So always and always act immediately when you need to do something without allowing yourself to have an internal debate.
#3. Change Your Mindset in Order To Lose Weight
It's easy to defeat yourself with self-sabotaging beliefs without even being aware of them. Your beliefs and attitudes condition you to expect certain outcomes. They shape your behavior and mold your habits. They set you up to succeed or fail. To succeed on your weight-loss journey you need to change some of your old beliefs that may be keeping you overweight. Here are some of the most common ones - and how to change them. (how to develop a positive mindset)Old attitude
I'm desperate to lose weight but I'm afraid, however hard I try, I won't succeed.
New attitude
I can be slim if I want to.
If you believe you can't lose weight then it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. You can lose weight if you want to by changing the negative thought into positive ones. Reprogramme yourself for the results you want by thinking like a slim person and believe that you were meant to be slim. Try saying, 'I am a naturally slim person. I will lose weight by choosing nutritious foods that are good for my body.' Return to these thoughts every day and soon they will become part of the new positive way you think about yourself.
Old attitude
Losing weight means giving up all my favorite foods. Life wouldn't be worth living!
New attitude
I can still eat my favorite foods but I just need to set limits on how much.
Banning favorite foods is not the answer. As soon as a food is deemed off-limits you start thinking about it all the time and carve it until you finally give in to temptation and overeat. Allow yourself that food at specified times or designated days. For example, if it's chocolate you crave, break off a couple of squares. Then eat them slowly, don't scoff at them. Enjoy every mouthful. The chances are you'll feel more satisfied than if you had eaten the entire bar. The rest of the time, keep tempting foods out of sight at home.
Old attitude
I don't have time to lose weight - it takes too much effort. (how to have good time management)
New attitude
I'm going to make weight loss a priority and focus on preparing healthy food and taking a bit more exercise. (Walking and Losing Weight)
Lack of time is probably the most common excuse. But you don't need extra time to make weight loss work for you. It's a case of prioritizing your goals, planning your meals and snacks so you always have healthy foods to hand, and making simple changes to the way you shop and how you cook.
RELATED: Why Losing Weight Is Hard >>>
Old attitude
I can't lose weight because I'll feel hungry and weak.
New attitude
I will focus on eating plenty of healthy foods that satisfy my hunger. If I get hungry then I'll eat a healthy snack.
Old attitude
I have a social occasion coming up so there's no point trying to losing weight.
New attitude
I will develop some good strategies to help me cope with tricky times.
Social occasions are no excuse for why you can't eat healthily. No one forced you to overeat - you can choose what you eat! Pick the healthiest dishes - have larger portions of low-calorie foods and only small portions of treats. At buffets, put food on your plate then move away from the food table, and select only a few different types of foods. Don't feel you must eat everything on offer, avoid second helpings (learn to say 'no'), and when your taste buds are satisfied to stop eating.
Old attitude
I'd like to lose weight but I haven't got enough willpower.
New attitude
I will make a list of the reasons why I want to lose weight and set myself a good goal.
If you know there are good reasons for what you're doing you'll find it easier to stay the course. If you write down your goals you're more likely to achieve them. (Action Steps For Goals) Read through your list every day to help you keep focused. Practice visualization and start to believe that your goal is possible.
Old Attitude
There's no point in trying to lose weight. Even if I hardly eat a thing my weight doesn't change.
New attitude
Weight loss may be harder for me than other people but I can still do it if I'm honest about I eat.
The problem lies in the fact that weight loss is seen as a journey of self-deprivation. Losing weight is viewed in terms of what it is going to cost a person rather than in terms of the benefits of losing weight bestows.
Instead of focusing on better health, having more energy, feeling and looking younger, wearing clothing in smaller sizes, and all the other benefits of losing weight; most people focus on the foods they will be missing out on and the exercise they cannot stand to do.
No wonder over sixty percent of the American population is overweight and obese; nobody has the mindset that is conducive to permanent weight loss!
#4. Motivation And Patience
Nothing keeps us as motivated in our attempts to lose weight as actually losing weight. Too many people have started diet plans and exercise programs with the very best of intentions, and yet still to find themselves dropping out of these said programs after only a few weeks of dedication.This is primarily because they are relying on seeing drastic results practically overnight.
We must remember however that weight gain is not an overnight process, and neither is weight loss. We must, therefore, be patient with any type of weight loss program that we are involved in, and subsequently, give it time to see the kind of results that we wish to receive.
In the meantime, however, we admit that seeing any kind of positive result is as powerful an incentive as any other to keep us motivated in our continuous attempts to battle the tummy bulge and weight loss in general.
We should, therefore, content ourselves which watching small changes in our weights over time than trying in vain to lose all the weight overnight.RELATED: How To Become Slim Without Exercise >>>
You might ask how you do this. While the more conventional bathroom scales take your weight with a rough accuracy, digital scales are a lot more definite with greater degrees of accuracy.
Therefore if you weigh yourself every day for an entire month using a digital scale, you would be sure to notice how your new diet or exercise program is influencing your weight loss.
What is more, imagine the confidence boost that you would benefit from to see a weight drop every day - even if it is only half of a pound.
Tracking your incremental weight changes every day also has another advantage besides moral stimulation. If you keep careful watch of your weight over an entire month's period, also paying attention to the food you eat during this time, you will be able to pinpoint the best diet style for your own individual needs - that is, you will be able to pick out from all your meals those that add fewer pounds than others.
You must remember though that even seeing small results on a daily basis is not enough to keep you motivated if your long-term goal is an impossible one. Chose a weight to work towards that is realistic as well as healthy, even if it is not your ideal weight.
Once you have gotten to this weight, you can proceed to choose a lower weight target to work towards, and so on. Meeting more weight goals on a regular basis is undoubtedly a lot more motivating than trying for months on end to get to a target that seems to be no closer to you than when you started.
#5. How You Can Stay Motivated
About one-third of our adult population is overweight, out of shape or just plain soggy around the middle and dreams about a toned sexy physique.The culprit being blamed for this is the availability of cheap food and the competition between fast-food restaurants for our business. So, eating a lot and being overweight is sort of in our genetic makeup but we don't have to accept being overweight as a fact.
If you are part of that one-third of our population and don't like it, take heart, there is the help. The world is awash with programs, diets, weird secrets, special food or some gadget that promises to transform your body into something you will be proud to show off.
Trouble is, it is not that easy and getting the body you dream of takes work, willpower, motivation and most of all, it takes time.
The problem is that with all the other things we have to be concerned with it becomes really hard to find and keep the motivation to lose weight.
Without seeing some positive results, it becomes hard to keep up the enthusiasm for losing weight. When the motivation is going and you are ready to give up, the last thing you need is someone pointing a finger and saying "You're Fat".
Staying motivated to lose weight is not always easy, but here are the tips that can help you achieve your weight loss goal.RELATED: Weight-Loss Success Story That I really hope it has even a fraction of the impact on your life.
How to stay motivated to lose weight?
1. Just do it. Don't wait, get started now. You know that the only way to lose weight is to eat less and do more activities that increases your heart rate and makes your body burn more calories. Housework or your normal everyday work does not count as more activity unless you are a construction worker.
4. Select a diet with the food you enjoy. Following a diet with the food you enjoy is a lot more motivating than trying to eat tasteless things you hate and hoping to be able to stick to doing it for months.
Yes, most probably you will not be able to eat everything you like, neither you are going to eat only what you like, but at least choose a diet in which the food you like predominates. It's pointless to try Dukane's diet if you are a vegetarian for example.
5. Don't worry about seeing immediate results. It took a long time to get overweight and it may take some time to see permanent results. And, you will have some discomfort to deal with as your body adjusts to less food and more activity.
6. Do focus on maintaining the program you decided on to change and promote a permanent healthy lifestyle. If you decide you are going to eat healthier while you lose weight, keep the focus on eating healthier.
7. Remember that losing weight is only half the goal. Keeping it off is equally as important as taking it off. Figure out why you really want to lose weight make that part of your motivation.
8. Blog your way to losing weight. Making things public is a sure way to stick to it. Maybe you can live with yourself if you fail with your weight loss effort.
But what about failing after hundreds of friends and strangers have read about your weight loss journey? Wouldn't you be afraid to fail in public and confess you are weak? Most people would, and that's why blogging about your way to losing way is an excellent way to ensure it will be successful.
Now it's easy to set up a blog and you can even do it for free on Blogger or WordPress. So why wait?
9. Join a group. Having friends motivate you makes you more powerful. If it's hard to stick to your weight loss program alone, it's much easier to do it together with other people.
Both the success of those who succeed and the failures of those who fail can serve you as motivators. Just try to avoid groups with total losers as they can easily draw you into a mood of weakness, demotivation and loser's mindset.
10. Connect physical activities with something pleasant. Physical activities are an important part of every sane weight loss program. Whether it will be fitness, jogging, exercising or something else, they should be included to some extent.
The big mistake that many people do is to choose a program which requires them to make exercises they don't enjoy or even hate. How can you expect to stay motivated if you do this? It's very important to either choose activities you like or somehow connect them with things you like.
For example, if your weight loss program includes jogging, perhaps you can run to someplace you like to visit. Use your imagination instead of excuses that will stop you from following your path to success.
11. Track your progress. It's very important to know how you are doing. Seeing that you make some progress and how fast you make it will help you make it even better and faster.
Seeing that you don't make progress may slow down your motivation but perhaps will show you that you have to choose another weight loss program.
Both outcomes are better than just relying on your memory which can often mislead you that you are doing better or worse than the real results. There are many software programs and online services which can help you with this.
12- No More Excuses. This is a major one. On the off chance that you give yourself reasons of why you can't stay with an arrangement for in excess of a few days, at that point you'll never stay with an arrangement for in excess of a few days.
Let yourself know, "No more reasons!" and stick to it! Changing your attitude is vital, and disposing of the "I can't, I don't, I won't" in your vocabulary will build your success rate in weight reduction AND your life by and large.
Remember when you have an excuse that keeps you from your dreams, goals or desires write it down on a piece of paper and then throw it away. Do not let excuses rob you of your happiness.
13- Take care of yourself and get plenty of rest, lack of sleep will create a stressed body and mind. When you are stressed you will be more likely to eat foods that are not healthy for you and are full of calories.
14- Stop thinking that your body is the enemy; make peace with your body by becoming aware of it. Yoga is a great tool to gain awareness and to begin to rediscover your body.
15- Remember Your Reasons, you will have low points and may feel like giving up, this is totally normal. During these times it can be a real source of motivation to focus on your reasons for wanting to lose weight.
Is it to improve your health, feel better about yourself or simply get into shape? Whatever your reasons, never forget them.
A weight-loss journey can be an emotional experience, if you stay motivated to lose weight and remain focused and determined, then there is every chance you will realize your long-term weight loss goals. (Why Losing Weight Is Hard)
