Weight Loss Motivation

Usually, the feeling of weight loss motivation to shed all the extra fat and get fit as soon as possible is at its prime on the 1st January of each and every year. People flood their nearby gyms and take up annual membership thinking this is it, this is the year where things will change, but do they?

People quickly get too much invested in their lives and forget to hit the gym on a regular basis. The problem is not that they do not want a life of fitness for them, but simply that they lack weight loss motivation in them. They think getting in a good shape is not that necessary and can be done later and ignore the healthy lifestyle at every chance they get. With the advent of cheap fast food restaurants and nightlife of binge drinking and eating, motivating yourself to lose weight has become more necessary than ever.

Moreover, sitting for 8 hours on a chair in your office is also not helping you achieve anything. It only decreases your metabolism and creates problems for you. If you have found yourself in these similar situations at least once and find yourself giving up hope of losing those extra pounds of fat, then this article is dedicated to you. The purpose I am writing this article today is to instigate the fire of motivation which in turn will help you lose weight.



Health Risks of Being Overweight and Obese.

Health Risks of Being Overweight

Overweight and obesity are one of the most diabolical health problems which have hit the world in recent times and is most profound in the United States of America. Genetics can play an important role in this condition, but the lifestyle we have today has done the most damage and is one of the leading reasons to cause this health risk. Being overweight or obese can cause a plethora of health problems, the most serious conditions being heart diseases, type 2 diabetes and knee and joint pains. We all know how fatal they can be. All of these factors make managing your weight top priority.

You can know whether you are overweight or obese from the comfort of your home using the Body Mass Index or BMI. There are various Body Mass Index calculators available online which can calculate your index value and categorize you in various categories. If you find yourself to be obese or overweight, it is time for you to shed all of your excuses and instill weight loss motivation inside you.

Why Weight Loss ?

Weight Loss Motivations

Each person has a different motivation in them, which drives them to lose weight. Some do it to look good and some do it to live a healthy lifestyle. Not only does weight loss has physical effects, but its repercussions can be felt on a mental level as well. When you start losing significant weight, you start feeling more confident about yourself and start shedding all the insecurities you had earlier. You start socializing more and start taking up ventures you never thought you could. Basically, you start exploring yourself.

Besides, obviously, weight loss has a tremendous effect on your body and health as well. People who exercise regularly and intake a healthy diet have lower occurrences of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes and cancer and live longer than their counterparts. This is the reason why motivating yourself to lose weight and live a healthy life is so vital.

Weight Loss Motivation

We all want a slim and healthy body for ourselves and we start hitting the gym too, enthusiastically for a week or two but what happens after that? We start slacking off and creating perfect excuses as to why we cannot go to the gym today but surely will go there tomorrow. Then the same thing continues like a loop and things keep repeating themselves. Soon you find out that you went to the gym for only two weeks of your annual gym membership plan. The problem isn’t that you do not want to lose weight, the problem is that you have lost all of your motivation.

Things seem very easy in its inception, like joining the gym and working out sincerely for a week. But after a week or two, the things which you were valuing the prior week, now have started to seem like a chore, all because you have lost the motivation to lose weight. Well, if you relate to this situation, then reading along may be a boon for you because I will discuss what you can do to maintain your motivation to lose weight and reach your ultimate goal.

1. What is your motivation ?

Weight Loss Motivation

The first and foremost thing which also is the most important factor which will guarantee whether you will lose weight or not is what your motivation is for doing this particular thing. If you are doing this because of the social pressure, you will be miserable the whole time doing it and will quit soon after. The key is deciding what your long-term goal is and define why are you doing what you are doing. You have to define why you took this step in the first step and what you want to achieve by doing this hard work. Creating a right attitude from the start will definitely help you in the long run. You should do it because you need to do it and you want to do it. Making up your mind is the most important step towards a healthy and fit lifestyle. This step ensures that you will not leave this venture in between or when things start to get difficult. So, decide carefully why you need to lose weight, what you want out of this process and do it just for your sake because you definitely deserve to treat yourself right.

2. Setting realistic goals

Weight Loss Plan

The next step to your weight loss journey is to set goals for yourself. The most important thing in this process is to evaluate whether your goal is at all attainable or not. The goal you set for your weight loss process is very vital. If you set unrealistic goals such as having a six pack abs in just 3 months’ time, then you are in trouble. The reason for this is manifold. First of all, this is an unrealistic goal in its entirety and you are most likely to fail in this. Secondly, failing in one of the goals you had set for yourself takes you back many steps and demotivates you in your weight loss process. This is the last thing you want. The trick here is to set small and attainable goals for yourself throughout your journey of losing weight, scattered here and there. Then, achieving those small goals makes our brain confident that this thing is achievable. When you are accustomed to attaining the small goal you can surely venture out and achieve the impossible.

3. Health and Fitness

Many people join the gym to look aesthetic and there is definitely nothing wrong with that. But if you are joining the gym for the sole purpose of losing weight, you should start thinking about the long term. Your short-term goal can be to shed extra pounds of fat quickly and get in better shape and start enjoying yourselves again and get trapped in the vicious circle. Instead, you should focus on the long-term results and what losing weight should mean to you. Your goal should be to be physically fit and in prime condition of health. This should be your number one reason to join the gym and start weight loss training in the first place. In the long term, being fit and healthy and adopting a healthy lifestyle will mean a long and happy life and also will ensure mental peace and help you to reach your absolute potential.

4. Make Workouts Fun

Weight Loss Workouts

If you consider your workout sessions to be a chore or a cruel thing enforced upon you, then chances are that you will be losing the motivation of your ultimate goal very soon and quit. However, the trick to maintain your weight loss motivation is to make your workout sessions fun. The best thing I can suggest is to find a gym buddy, one who motivates you and encourages you to achieve the goal you have set for yourself. Moreover, the gym has become a place to socialize as well. It is not mandatory for you to work out with a grim face, sweat a lot and go back home to sleep through the night. You are also allowed to make friends and have great workout sessions with them. Moreover, if the gym isn’t for you, then other great alternatives also exist. You can also opt for hula hoops, Zumba, aerobics and so many other activities which are done with a group of people that increase your metabolism and take you further towards your ultimate destination.

5. Create a plan that suits you

Many people argue that everybody should follow a strict diet plan, workout plan and what not to achieve the perfect conclusion. But I think you should do what feels right for you and what is comfortable according to your schedule. If you cannot hit the gym in the morning, just go there in the evening and work out properly. Take a diet that works for you instead of blindly following advice from others. Everyone is unique and so are their body requirements. The important thing is to find out what suits best for your body and assess if it’s the best plan out there for you. The last important thing is to implement this plan successfully in your daily busy schedule. It is a good idea to create a plan for yourself and it is a better idea to implement and follow this plan religiously.

6. A Strict Schedule

If you understood and implemented the step 5 in your life, then this is the next phase and a continuation of that. The key to achieving anything in life is to prepare for it and have a strict schedule to achieve it. Since you evaluated the plan which suits you the best, now you have to break down the plan and fit it into different parts of your daily life like a puzzle. You have to create rituals for yourself which have to be performed no matter what. For example, if you decide to create a morning ritual for yourself, then the first thing you should do after getting up is drinking a glass of warm water mixed with lemon juice followed by a liter of water to tackle dehydration, going for a run, strength training, taking a shower and getting ready for work. This is just an example how a morning ritual may look like which definitely varies from person to person and may vary for you too. The important takeaway is that the ritual you decide must be followed no matter what. Discipline is the key.

7. Reward Yourself

Weight Loss reward

You need to appreciate yourself from time to time because you are improving each day. When you reach an important milestone in your journey it makes sense to celebrate this achievement. You should reward yourself for not losing motivation and maintaining the will to go on and on. No victory is small and you need to realize you are doing well.

Losing weight is both a physical and a mental activity. Your body does all the work, but it’s your mind that makes your body do that. Motivation to lose weight can vanish quickly and that happens a lot too. The important thing is to realize that you did not come this far to only come this far. Losing weight and living a healthy life is not a destination, but the journey itself, a way of life. By following the tips in this article, I assure you will never run out of motivation and attain your goal you set out to attain. You should never give up because what you want is on the other side of hard work.

Sophia Alex
I have been a Registered Dietitian for over 11 years, working in many different capacities. The majority of my experience has been working as an outpatient dietitian. I have had a lot of experience in the areas of research, general wellness, weight loss, oncology, CKD/renal failure, celiac disease, diabetes (I and II) and gastrointestinal concerns.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here