About a third of our adult population is overweight, out of shape, or just soaked through the waist and dreams of a sexy toned physique. The culprit for this is the availability of cheap food and competition between fast food restaurants for our business. This could be true and all animals will always eat as if there is no food available tomorrow. Therefore, eating a lot and being overweight is part of our genetic makeup, but we don’t have to accept being overweight as a given.
If you are part of that third of our population and you don’t like it, take heart, there is help. The world is awash with programs, diets, strange secrets, a special food or some device that promises to transform your body into something that you will be proud to show off. The problem is that it is not so easy and getting the body you dream of requires work, willpower, motivation and, above all, it takes time.
The problem is that with all the other things we have to worry about it becomes really difficult to find and stay motivated to lose weight. Without seeing some positive results, it becomes difficult to maintain enthusiasm for losing weight. When the motivation is gone and you are ready to give up, the last thing you need is for someone to point the finger and say “You’re fat.”
Staying motivated to lose weight isn’t always easy, but here are six tips that can help you achieve your weight loss goal.
How to stay motivated to lose weight.
1. Don’t get caught up in all the hype about this or that program that promises to help you lose weight with very little effort. You don’t have to join a club or buy expensive food to lose weight. Losing those pounds is not so much about what you eat as it is about how much you eat.
2. Just do it. Don’t wait, start now. You know that the only way to lose weight is to eat less and be more active which increases your heart rate and causes your body to burn more calories. Housework or your normal daily job does not count as an additional activity unless you are a construction worker.
3. Don’t set unattainable goals that will stop you before you start. Set yourself a goal that you have a reasonable chance of reaching. When you reach the goal, celebrate, then make another goal that you can reach. Losing ten pounds and then another ten pounds sounds easier than losing 20 pounds.
4. Don’t worry about seeing immediate results. It took a long time to be overweight and it may take some time to see permanent results. And you will have some discomforts to deal with as your body adjusts to less food and more activity.
5. Focus on sticking with the program you decided to change and promoting a permanent healthy lifestyle. If you decide that you are going to eat healthier while losing weight, focus on eating healthier. But avoid starvation diets and if you fall off the wagon just get back on.
6. Remember that losing weight is only half the goal. Keeping it off is just as important as taking it off. Find out why you really want to lose weight and make it part of your motivation.
