Lori Boxer
The key to successful weight loss is motivation. Those who are most motivated are those who take the weight off. You need to keep your level of motivation high, not just at the beginning of your weight loss program, when you have decided to lose weight, but also throughout the program.
Tip #1
Weight loss motivation is all about desire rather than willpower. How much do you want to lose weight? How much more do you want to lose weight than you want to eat fattening food and lay on the sofa watching TV all day? List all your reasons for wanting to lose weight, and for staying healthy and slim. Add more reasons to your list as you think of them.
Tip #2
Sustain motivation by making your target weight believable. Visualize success. How will you look when you lose weight? How will you feel? What will you be wearing? How will your clothes look on you? What will people say to you? What will you say? What will you do? Spend five minutes a day imagining and enjoying your future success. This is a great activity while waiting in line at the bank or while commuting to work.
Tip #3
If you have a lot of weight to lose it can be hard to sustain your focus. If that is the case, plan some activities throughout the year that you would like to be slim for, for exampleyour birthday, a weekend away, a holiday, etc.make these your weight loss motivation dates! Plot out your goal weight for each event with a sensible rate of weight loss and use each milestone as a major target in itself. Use the same strategy for weight maintenance by ensuring that you stay the same weight for each special date in your calendar.
Tip #4
Boost your weight loss motivation by promising yourself a treat when you reach your goals. Build in some non-food rewards for every little step you take as well as for major milestones. How about a spa day for each five pounds you lose? Or buy a book by your favorite author and allow time for yourself to read in peace. And each time you make a healthy choice rather than an unhealthy choice (walking instead of taking the car; fresh fruit instead of cake) pat yourself on the back. Tell yourself that you’re doing great, because you are!
Tip #5
Take a picture of yourself in your swimsuit at the start of your program. Each month take another picture wearing the same thing. Feel your weight loss motivation soar as the swimsuit gets baggy while you shrink.
Tip #6
For extra weight loss motivation, keep a diary of your thoughts and feelings as you lose weight. At the start of the day quickly note down your intentions for the day, how you plan to eat healthily, what exercise you might plan to do, what strategies you need to adopt for particular events coming up that day. In the evening, review how your day went. Don’t berate yourself for any of the choices you made, see only what you learned from them. How did you feel after you made your choice? Was it worth it? What would you do differently the next time something similar comes up?
Tip #7
Listen to uplifting music. Put together a collection of all the music you love that makes you feel great about yourself and the world. Play your tracks whenever you need to feel good about your strength to succeed and the great slim future you have ahead of you.
Tip #8
Sometimes you need to get real about your fat and stop hiding behind excuses. Just decide, once and for all, that you have had enough of being fat and you are going to do something about it. Take responsibility for your own choices. Look at what has made you gain weight and how you have let this happen.
Tip #9
What makes you more motivatedwearing old baggy clothes, berating yourself for how bad you feel, or looking your best and wearing clothes which fit and having your hair and makeup done? You are a beautiful person. You are just trying to match the outside to the beautiful you inside. Make the effort to look as good as you can while you lose weight to boost your morale. Always have at least two smart casual outfits that fit you perfectly rather than wearing clothes that are too-tight or too loose.
Tip #10
Have a role model, someone you know who eats healthily and has an active life. Notice how that person acts around food, what they eat and how they eat. How do they fit exercise or tennis or golf into their lifestyle? You need to think like a slim person too.
Tip #11
Why not train for an event? Apply to run in a marathon in six months or plan a bicycle tour in Europe for next year’s summer vacation. Commit to a 10 mile fund raising walk. Whichever you choose, let your goal of participating in these events drive you to success.
Tip #12
Lose weight for yourself. No one cares about your health and your looks more than you. Your family and friends may even fear that you will change too much from the ‘you’ that they love. You may not get the encouragement you want. More than anything, you need to do this because you love and value yourself. You matter. You really do!
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Lori Boxer is the director of Weight No More Diet Center, with offices in Brooklyn, Long Island and New Jersey.
