Sunday, 3 July 2011

Tips On How To Keep Motivated With Weight Loss

There are going to be many times over a lifetime, that we start to lose weight but we never complete the task. We start and then we ditch. We begin to work out and then we throw in the towel. Sometimes we just have to be honest; perhaps we just aren’t ready. Maybe there’s too much outside pressure, maybe the support system isn’t there. Whatever the reason, it’s very common. But you have to remember, this doesn’t have to mean that you are destined to become another diet failure statistic. You can start and stop 100 times but ONE time, there’s going to come that ONE time, when you don’t have to end up that same stat.

Here are some motivational tips and important skills to adapt to find it a wee bit more palatable to stick to your weight loss. You can’t rely on sheer will alone.

Get A Support System
This is the paramount key component of ANY successful weight loss plan. A healthier lifestyle is easier to achieve when you've got a solid support system. Tell your family, engage your friends, reach out to your social networks such as Facebook or Twitter, but do NOT do it alone. Whether you join TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) or Weight Watchers, or Over-eaters Anonymous or Sparks People on the web; weight loss support groups provide reliability, Stress Relief, Friendship and Effective strategies for losing and maintaining weight. They will bring you a solid foundation with regards to your weight loss problems. The members of these groups are in the trenches with you and are going through the same struggles, so they can actively and openly relate to your own experiences.

Trying to do it all on your own, while is theory is a wonderful and noble idea, the reality of that fact is that everyone needs somebody to pick them up when they fall. Your fellow groups members will be there to listen to you when you are having a bad week and lift you up and praise you with encouragement and cheers when you are having a good one. There is incredible camaraderie in these meeting and the communication and interaction may help you relieve some of the stress associated with weight loss. It's great to know that you are not alone when you are experiencing anxiety or stress brought on by weight problems and this may in turn help you to better cope with them, by sharing your emotions with the members who may in turn, help you to take you burdens off of your shoulders.

There is a lot of determination and hard work with weight loss, joining a group or doing a buddy system or just keeping an online blog, will give you the motivation that you have somebody to answer to every week and they are relying on you too.

Reward Yourself
You MUST get away from that old “reward” system that if you pamper yourself with a chocolate bar or an indulgence meal. Would an alcoholic reward themselves with a beer or a chain smoker with a pack of cigarettes? NO way, so why would a food addict reward themselves with something that could completely derail their efforts. You have to curb your way of thinking and your plans and start rewarding yourself with tangible non-food gift and goals; something that you will look forward to and benefit from in ALL areas, not just your palate. How about a new book, a new dress, a new pair of shoes. A trip to the Zoo, go see that Movie you wanted to see, rent that movie you loved when you were a kid. Take that boat ride down at the Pier, go see a Broadway musical, buy that outfit that you saw in the window.

Be realistic and don’t set your rewards too far into the future. Start out by saying that with every FIVE pounds, you will have some sort of pleasurable experience. Mark this as a goal to a reward yourself at every 5 pound mark, and you will start to combine that with your weight loss. This way that happiness tingle that you get by seeing the scales move, will keep you going to the next reward. And should that buzz wear off…the gifts that you are giving yourself will keep you motivated.

Track Your Progress and Portions
This is one of the key components and ingredients for success based upon the TOPS or Weight Watcher’s Strategies. You can do this from your own computer on a spreadsheet or creating your own diet sheet or food intake sheet to track your daily intake. Weight loss support groups, such as TOPS and WW, will work with you to strategize your diet plans, exercise schedules and establish an effective mind-set with your weight loss program. The right method for you may not necessarily mean it is the right weight loss method for the next person, so a personalized strategy devised by yourself with the assistance of experts may help you a great deal.And keeping an eye on your progress will keep you motivated. But be sure to do this WITH keeping track of your measurements and your daily fitness log as well. And if you can, make sure you log your BMI (Body Mass Index). This simple daily routine will enable you to look back at how far you've come and could be a key component in you being less likely to revert back to old habits. If you keep careful and accurate daily records, you will be able to catch slip-ups in your calorie counting or exercise habits, which if gone unnoticed or unchecked, could result in a weight loss plateau or weight gain.

You must educate yourself and become vigilante in knowing and understanding that record-keeping ALSO includes keeping a close eye on portion sizes. THIS is what many say is the single most important key in maintaining long-term weight management. It’s not rocket science. Obviously, even over-doing portions of healthier foods can mean the difference between long-term weight loss success and eventual failure. One of the best ways to keep on top of what you are eating is in keeping a food diary. If you can go on Facebook or Twitter, you can keep a food diary. Make it part of your plan. “I log in…I log in my journal: Better yet…keep your food diary ON Facebook, you can make yourself accountable.

Combat & Master Emotional Eating
We all have demons. And many of those demons have led to diets failing or diets never being started or the all too well-known YO-YO routine. Once of the main components for any weight loss success, it that you have to be HONEST with yourself and finally come face-to-face with any emotional eating habits. Ask yourself some very important questions. Do you overeat when you’re angry? Do you indulge in that desert when you’re frustrated? Write in your journal and get those feelings out. Stop listening to sad songs when you’re down, and put on some old reruns of the Carol Burnett Show. YOUtube if you need to. But you must be honest with yourself. It’s the only way to get the true measure of your emotional eating triggers. If you don’t face them, you will always find yourself being less likely to be in control of your weight.

Follow Your Progress with Photographs
Invest in a small but reliable digital camera and become your own personal paparazzi. Take before, during and after shots and take MANY of them. Post them online, post them on your fridge, put them into your photo montage on your computer so they come up as your screen saver, but take LOTS. Chart your success with photos. Take funny shots, take ugly shots, take beautiful shots but take many. And upload ANY pictures of you, just a few months PRIOR to the day that you actually started your journey. Don’t go back into old photographs of when you were a cheerleader or the high school jock; that person doesn’t exist anymore. Be recent with your reality. Take those photos and let them be a constant and consistent reminder of your journey to health and wellness. You’ll be happily shocked how just taking a photograph on September 1st and then taking a photograph on October 1st and comparing the two and seeing the subtle yet ego-enhancing changes. Nothing provides more motivation to a person that actual seeing the proof of the hard work they have done.

Beware of “Just This Once” People
ANYone who has dieted has faced the proverbial “friend” that will encourage you to go off your diet "just this once." As innocent as that may be, it’s all fine and dandy and maybe not a problem or a threat "this once" becomes time and time again and an ongoing issue. If every time you see someone, they are encouraging you to fall off the wagon or for being around them caused you to go off the rails at their persuasion; it may mean you need to distance yourself or sit down and have a very serious talk with them about your weight loss survival. They exist, and it’s a common phenomenon with everyone who tries to lose weight, but we have to prepare ourselves for them and fight them head on.

Dieters, in particular successful dieters, are often faced with the very sad reality that peer pressure doesn’t end when you get older. In fact, in many cases, not just with weight loss; it can actually be worse. In particular if you are successful at anything. One thing you have to remember is that sometimes your friends and family may correlate enjoying time with you, with also eating with you and enjoying your company while eating. The best way to combat this is to plan non-eating activities and be in environments where food is not part of the festivities.

And let’s be honest here, if someone is encouraging you to eat, they do NOT have your best interest at heart.

Change You Brain…It’s About Health TOO
Why are YOU losing weight? Is it for appearance sake, or for your health? Sadly, many folks begin diets for the pure fact of looking better and being more attractive. While this is a definite PLUS and a benefit to your self-esteem, we all have to start considering the health factors and benefits that are associated with weight loss and portion management control.

In a recent web poll, 65% of the folks surveyed said they were losing weight for appearance's sake; only 35% said they were doing it for their health. As surprising as this may be, it’s not shocking. However, losing weight should not be about your appearance.

Here are the brutal realities folks; your slimmer self, will eventually become your norm. Those compliments about your weight loss will die down. Once people get used to seeing the new and improved you, those comments will fade, as will the thrill of trying on new clothes. That euphoria you felt the first time you shopped outside of Pennington’s can only last for so long. Remember that you need motivation to stick to your new eating and exercise lifestyle. There will come a time when that motivation will start to dissipate and a quick glance in the mirror won’t bring on the gusto to keep forging head. It’s then that you need to educate yourself on the many health risks of obesity and continually remind yourself that by maintaining a healthier weight, you are more likely to live a longer life with fewer medical problems. You are preparing for your future by undoing the damage you have done to your past and present.

We all know the positive impact that weight loss has on our overall health and wellness and quality of life. You look better, you feel better, you can move better, you can engage in activities that you couldn’t do before; every aspect of your life improves. While it may be wonderful to wear a smaller size and feel like the ultimate icing on a cake; a happier, healthier life is the ultimate reward.

THINspiration: http://joanminnery.health.officelive.com

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