How to Boost Your Motivation to Lose Weight

     Weight loss is big business. It seems that everywhere we look there are new products claiming to have the secret to losing weight. You would think that with all of the products and information available, it would be simple to lose weight. However, most people find it extremely difficult to commit to a diet or exercise plan and often find it nearly impossible to start or stick with for more than just a few days.

If you consider the effects of being overweight, you'd think the benefits of getting in shape would be powerful motivation. Of course, there are the general health risks - high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, cardiovascular disease. There's also the less noticeable reduction in quality of life. When you're overweight you just don't feel like getting out and doing the things that quite honestly make life worth living. And finally there's the self esteem issue. When you're overweight you just don't feel very good about yourself. Unfortunately this can lead to a downward spiral.

So given all of the reasons to begin losing weight, why is it difficult to start?

Sometimes the problem stems from unrealistic expectations. We hear all of the hype surrounding the latest pills and the newest equipment or we read articles about the fad diets, all of which promise incredible results in a short time with little effort. In truth, most of these claims are only made to sell their product (or magazine in the case of articles). In the hard light of reality, there is no quick fix. We start with a machine, pill, or diet, and when we don't see the instant results we were promised we see it as a failure. After a few failed attempts it becomes very difficult to start another effort.

Another loss of motivation comes from falling off of the wagon. We start a diet with the best of intentions. Then a few days later someone brings cookies into the office. When we eat a cookie, we consider that a failure - "there goes the diet." Again, this stems from an unrealistic expectation caused by an extreme plan.

A third cause for losing motivation is that a diet or exercise plan is complicated and difficult to follow. Again, these complications make it easy to get off track and very hard to stick with a routine for any length or time. The manufacturer or creator really doesn't care if their plan works for everyone, because as long as you're still overweight, you're still a potential customer. Simple plans are best.

So given these three reasons for having poor motivation, how can you start a plan and stick with it until you see the results you want? Here are three tips.

1. Have realistic expectations. Weight loss takes time and effort. There is no magic pill. Plan and expect to make small changes to your lifestyle for a long time - ideally these changes should become permanent. You should expect to lose no more than 1 or 2 pounds per week at an absolute maximum. If you shoot for more, you're setting yourself up for failure. The changes that can bring about these slow losses are easy to make and stick with.
2. Call it a lifestyle change, not a diet. Again, if we make smaller changes for a longer time, if we eat that cookie, it's not the end of our diet. It's just a little bump. This seems like a small adjustment in mindset, but mindset is the most important part of loosing weight.
3. Don't overcomplicate it. Counting calories or grams of fat/carbs/proteins has its place. However when you're starting out much simpler plans have a higher sticking power. For example, commit to cutting out sugared soda. Serve your meals on a smaller plate and stick to one serving. Give yourself a free day when you can have the sweets you crave - once a week or every 14 days.

Set yourself up for success and you'll do fine. When you give yourself an easy way to follow and stick with a plan, you'll find that over time any weight goal can be reached.

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