How to Get Motivated to Lose Weight

As we age it becomes harder to keep our body weight under control. There are a number of factors that lead to increased body weight and some are psychological while others are very biological and physiological, and difficult to avoid for most.

Whether you are an individual who has struggled to maintain their body weight for their entire life or someone who has enjoyed the luxury of an active metabolism at one point or another, weight will become an issue as your lifestyle changes in response to the "age and stage" of the human life cycle. It抯 all about the biology or so we are told.

It抯 Not All About Biology!

But for many people who struggle with being obese or overweight it is not simply about biology. There are deep rooted psychological factors that fatten and predispose people to an ongoing battle with body weight. Arguably the shortest diet book in the world is two pages long. The first page would read "eat less". The second page would read "burn more calories" and with that simple mathematical determination everyone should be able to maintain a healthy body weight and svelte appearance. We know however that it is not that easy.

The degree to which obesity affects self-image is startling. Confidence in oneself, the degree to which someone is willing to socialize and the extent to which they will be successful in socializing has a lot to do with negative self-perception. If they are overweight they are stigmatized by society for not being the "ideal" which we see in popular culture and media. Ideals which are neither realistic nor reflective of the statistical norms to be fair. And we all know about airbrushing these days. But being overweight carries with it an additional load of a degree of self-hatred which is not only unhealthy emotionally but a powerful agent to make the necessary changes and get motivated to lose weight.

The Mirror Reflection

Michael Jackson wrote a powerful song called "The Man In The Mirror" which reflects upon the idea that no matter how the world perceives you, your self-perception (particularly if it is a negative one) can still stop you from being happy and accomplishing great things in your life. Human nature tells us that you really have to like what you see in the mirror every morning to continue striving in your life to better yourself or to even enjoy the journey.

For someone who is obese the mirror is a horrible reminder of what they are unable to control. Unfortunately appearance is so tightly tied to ego that obesity has the power to make someone feel as though all their intellectual, social or altruistic contributions are negated by the fact that they are overweight. Plump. Chubby. Fat. These are all words that bounce around the head of someone who is fully cognizant that they have a health issue. If they could fix it on their own and become the vision of their favorite pop star or actor they would have.

We are sold the concept that being beautiful is a cure for everything and that life just seems to work out for someone who is fit and attractive. We tend to ignore how sometimes being the "perfect ideal" is actually a destructive force for those individuals or how some cannot manage to be happy even when they are "the perfect ten" physically, rich and famous.

Who you are and how you value yourself is pivotal to architecting your own personal happiness. Some people are not only comfortable with being overweight they actually prefer it. And if health issues are not a problem and the esthetic is not psychologically bothersome, many people leave very productive happy lives in spite of their flaws. It is less about the quality of the reflection and more about the perception of what is being reflected and that varies on a case by case basis. If the reflection brings sadness or anxiety, it is time to get motivated to lose weight.

Setting Goals

If being overweight is not "okay" with the individual then it is important to embark on some strategic goal setting. At this stage it is important to not look at the weight loss as something short term or with a finite ending. Typically obese individuals have slowly increased body weight over at least a decade, inching up the scales almost unnoticeably over a long period of time. One of the typical mistakes that people make while gearing up to lose weight is to set unrealistic goals. If you packed on the weight over ten years it is fairly unreasonable to expect to take it off in twelve weeks in a healthy way (physically or psychologically).

The best place to start is by setting small goals. Two to three pounds per week is the doctor recommended maximum rate of weight loss if the individual hopes to make it a permanent change. To keep weight off requires a lifestyle overhaul and weight loss is not a "destination" so much as it is a full scale change in eating habits, exercise and perceptions about food quantities and choices. Setting smaller goals which can be achieved is the best way to begin. Motivation will be built when results begin to show and the excitement and pride of making a positive change in health and emotional well-being.

Visualizing

Sometimes we have to "see it to believe it". One of the most powerful tools in achieving strategic goals is visualizing. See yourself after having accomplished your goal. Find a picture of yourself at your target weight and put it somewhere that you can see it constantly. A great place to put it is on the fridge or near areas in the home where you might be tempted to snack or break with your routine. Seeing yourself at that stage is a great reminder of all the things you are working so hard to achieve. It can help you keep your eye on the ball and avoid temptation.

Effective Reward Systems

When motivated to lose weight one of the first things to do is to redesign your concept of effective reward systems. For many of us a reward for a job well done or a moment of celebration is food. This is inherently the case with everyone, not just people who struggle with weight management. So instead of getting ice cream for a job well done how about getting a facial or manicure? Or treat yourself to a movie! Rewards do not have to be food based and can be retrained to help you in your weight loss successes.

Getting motivated to lose weight isn抰 easy and it takes a lot of discipline and courage to tackle it full on. It is wrought with fear of failure, ridicule and misunderstanding and missed opportunities of having really amazing cheesecake. However setting realistic goals and visualizing your result will help you to achieve your ideal body weight for your own personal health as it will reduce risk factors for things like Diabetes, heart disease and some kinds of cancer. It will also give you a brand new lease on life and a positive empowered attitude when you finally love everything you see in the mirror each morning.

 

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