Weight loss is hardly ever a straight, steady path. In fact, many people who lose weight gain some back, lose more, and continue with this cycle of ups and downs. This is expected, and it’s a natural part of your weight loss journey.
There’s a problem, though: Even the smartest dieters can get discouraged as this continues. After all, it’s easy to feel good about yourself and your progress when you’re losing weight. But as soon as the scale moves in the other direction, motivation dries up. Or maybe you’re someone who loses motivation after a few weeks of healthy eating and exercise if you’re not making progress at the speed you think you ought to be.
Regardless of why your motivation is fading, it’s important to remember that you can always reignite the passion you felt when you first started. In this article, we share our 5 favorite ways to do so.
How to Keep Your Weight Loss Motivation High:
1. Continue setting realistic goals
When you first start losing weight, it’s important to set SMART goals – goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. For example, you may set a target to work out three times per week and have a plan for each day, or to lose five to six pounds in the first month. The idea, regardless of the goal, is that it’s something you can achieve, and within a set timeframe.
While many dieters set goals as they begin their weight loss journey, few continue to set goals over time. Perhaps after the first month of losing weight you keep dieting and exercising, but without goals. You shouldn’t. Continue setting small, realistic goals that are attainable in the short-term, and don’t stop – even when you attain your target weight.
2. Don’t do anything drastic
Crash diets, fad diets, and other tactics that are unhealthy and unsustainable can make it even more difficult to stay motivated because your weight will yo-yo more than it would on a typical diet.
It’s important to remember that weight loss is a slow process. In fact, most doctors and other health professionals recommend losing only one or two pounds per week. Focus on making slow, steady progress. You can do so easily if you make a lifestyle change rather than trying to diet your way to weight loss success. Even just cutting out 200 calories a day will lead to weight loss – the kind you can maintain over time!
3. Track your progress
When you’re feeling unmotivated and experience setbacks, it’s easy to forget all of the progress you have made. The problem? Most dieters don’t accurately chart their progress. Instead, they become a slave to the scale, thinking that their weight is the only method to measure progress.
Remember, you’re probably gaining muscle as you’re losing fat. This means that the number on the scale can’t, and shouldn’t, be your only measure of progress.
Take pictures from the front, side, and back at major turning points on your fitness journey. You can return to the photos to track your progress rather than thinking of it as just a number. In all likelihood, these photos will show you that your hard work is paying off and give you the motivation for weight loss!
Read: Why Food Looks Even Better When Dieting
4. Choose a weight loss plan that works for you
If you choose an exercise program or diet that you genuinely dislike, it’ll be difficult to stick to it over time. However, if you choose a weight loss plan that you like, it’ll be easier to stabilize your motivation and continue in the long term. Most importantly, you should customize your plan based on your preferences.
This means you should:
- Try a range of group and individual activities – walking, running, weightlifting, yoga, group classes, etc. – to find out what you like, and build a workout schedule around these activities.
- Determine how you can most easily decrease your caloric intake. This could be by reducing portions, reducing how often you snack, and/or reducing your consumption of high-calorie and high-fat foods.
Once you can balance your diet and your exercise regime, and customize them both in a way that makes sense to you, it’ll be much easier to find the weight loss motivation to keep going.
5. Celebrate success
Because you’ll be setting small goals throughout your weight loss journey, it’s important to celebrate when you reach those goals. After all, doing so is a great way to “wrap up” that phase of your weight loss journey and treat yourself to something nice to refuel for your next goal!
Rewarding yourself with something you enjoy is the simplest way to ramp up your motivation. This might mean that you get a pedicure, see a movie with a friend, purchase some new workout clothes, or any other activity you enjoy! After all, food should no longer be a reward when you make a lifestyle change.
Provided that your reward is an activity and not a cake, you’ll be able to ramp up your motivation and stay on track with healthy eating!
Read also some uplifting weight loss quotes to keep your morale high.
Don’t let your motivation wane as you lose weight!
Whether you need to lose 10 pounds or 100 pounds, you’re going to experience ebbs and flows of motivation throughout your weight loss journey. Therefore, it’s important to equip yourself with some proven ways to reignite your motivation as you lose weight, gain weight, and, most importantly, keep it off!
When you reach a plateau in your weight loss journey, PhenQ can help, too! PhenQ’s powerful combination of ingredients promotes fat burn and weight loss and increases energy, fueling the workouts that will get you back on track.
Next time you’re feeling unmotivated or down about your progress, remind yourself that the best progress is slow and steady. It’s not a race to get to the best version of yourself. And with the methods above in place, you can stick to your plan to reach your goals!
