Most people know what they should be doing. Problem is, knowledge isn't the issue.
For example, most likely you know... 1. You should eat more fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. Less processed junk.
2. You should workout -- hard -- at least 3x/week. Ideally more.
3. You should drink lot's of water, quit spending so much time on your phone, and get more quality sleep.
But we don't do it consistently...We hold ourselves back with our nerves and limiting beliefs. Am I right???
GOOD NEWS! You can create weight loss motivation even if you’ve never had it your entire life. No joke. With the right strategies and tactics, you can legitimately create and increase weight loss motivation.
Sometimes we all need a kick in the booty! Even that confident looking girl sitting next to you. And, I'm assuming, you do as well or you wouldn't be reading this. This article will give you some different perspectives to change your mindset and increase your motivation.
You Are Strong. You Are Capable. You Are Motivated.
You just might not believe it, yet.
Start with your perspective
Your weight loss motivation is almost entirely influenced by your perspective and, specifically, what you perceive to be realistic.
For example, in softball a batting average of .300 makes you an All-American. Pretty damn good. That's getting on 3 out of 10 times. But if you aren't familiar with the sport, and your expectation was to get on 7 out of 10 times, its not gonna take long before you get disappointed and quit. In your mind you weren't doing well enough, when in reality you are an All-American.
Perspective affects your weight loss motivation in the exact same way.
For example:
What if you think you aren’t losing weight quickly enough when you’re actually doing great?
Or
What if you think you should have reached your goal a long time ago but your time-frame is actually ahead of schedule?
Or
What if you think you screwed everything up over the weekend but it really wasn’t a setback at all?
Weight Loss Motivation: 3 Mind Hacks to Help You Stay Motivated to Lose Weight
1. Forget The Scale (Sort of)
Have you ever started a new diet or exercise program, done really well for a couple weeks, hopped on the scale excited to see a huge weight drop, then found out it barely even budged so you said "f*ck it" and quit?
Yes, I can read your mind.
You’re normal. So many people just like you have the exact same troubles, many of which stem from the scale.
Some coaches say weighing yourself is pointless, destructive, and a complete waste of time. Not exactly. Weighing yourself can be helpful, if you do it correctly.
We know how to read the number, but no idea how to interpret it. There are a few key principles to understand when reading the scale.
A. Scale Principle 1: You will not lose weight every day (or week)
Expecting to see a drop in the scale every day is setting yourself up for failure. People lose on average 1 lb per week.
The scale will fluctuate up and down, day in and day out no matter how “good” you are with your diet and exercise. And expecting it to drop every day (or even every week) is the fastest way to drive yourself crazy, lose your motivation, and eventually quit.
Weigh yourself once every 2 weeks. Weight loss won't be linear, but you should be a trending downward about .5-1lb per week. Some weeks you won't lose anything. That's normal, don't freak out.
B. Scale Principle 2: A Good Day of Dieting Does NOT Mean You’ll Lose Weight the Next Day
Just because you have a great day (or week) of dieting doesn’t mean you’re going to lose weight. That’s just not how your body (or the scale) works. And expecting it to work differently will slowly but surely kill your motivation until you call it quits.
The scale is just a tool to gauge your overall weight drop. In addition to the scale, body measurements, progress photos and tracking how you feel in your clothes are additional ways to gauge your weight loss. But if you decide to use the scale, I want you to remember it can be deceiving and just because it doesn’t go down every day (or week) doesn’t mean you aren’t making progress.
2. It’s Impossible to Screw Up Your Diet
Not joking. The word diet is a feared word. Honestly, it's just the food your eat. It doesn't have to be thought of as restrictive. Once you switch your mindset to this, you will be all powerful.
Here's what I hear a lot: I eat really well Monday though Thursday. I track everything on point. But Friday comes around and I slip up a bit and eat a piece of cake. As soon as I eat something “bad” or slightly go over my calorie ceiling/guidelines I feel like I've completely screwed up. Now it doesn't matter what I do next. Therefore, I will binge eat a large pineapple and sausage pizza, and hit up Mcdonalds for an Oreo Mcflurry.
Mentally, emotionally, physically draining. Can you relate?
Fortunately, there’s a fix. Take it back to the first slip up on Friday night.
Option A mindset: You suck. You've failed and ruined your progress. Go HAM tomorrow on the pizza and Mcdonalds.
Option B mindset: Who cares? You enjoyed a piece of cake and it was totally worth it. You were great all week, saw fantastic progress, and you’ll get right back on track the next morning. No big deal whatsoever because you know as long as you get right back on track you’ll keep losing weight.
Option B is your key to increasing weight loss motivation and keeping it for the rest of your life. You're just one meal away from getting back on track. Telling yourself you've screwed up is just an excuse and a way out. It's easier to accept you're a failure than it is to follow through and win. The choice is yours. The only way you can screw up is if you don't get back on track.
3. Think of Fat Loss Like Growing Your Bank Account
When your first start a bank account you have nothing. But you're ready to invest time and effort in order save more money. You know its a slow process and you know you can't go spending frivolously because it will drain the account even more. Progress is being made, but maybe not as fast as you'd like it to. So you keep your head down, work hard and focus on achieving one goal.
Fat loss works the same way. You give your time, you give your effort, and you make your sacrifices. At times they seemed insignificant. Until one day you realize all the progress and healthy habits you've made. Plus over the years you've learned ways to adjust and make it a lifestyle. That is HUGE.
Fat loss isn't easy. The strategies for fat loss are though.
Action steps
1. Dedicate your self to a program.
2. Don't be so hard on yourself.
3. Learn to love and trust the process.