Many of us want to know how to motivate weight loss. Perhaps you
are a little overweight or maybe a lot overweight and you really want to
lose a few pounds. You have been on a crash diet to drop a dress or
pants size and it worked. Only a few weeks later you were back to your
old weight. You tried again and the same thing happened. You know that
to avoid this sort of yo-yo dieting you must exercise and eat more
healthy food. But that is the problem. You want to lose weight long term
but just cannot manage it. Your problem is motivation.
Why should this be? Maybe you have fear of failure - after all you have failed already. Or everybody you know is overweight so why bother anyway. Perhaps you have a self worth problem, or your family is unhelpful. Often there can seem to be more reasons for not doing something than doing it. But if you feel deep down you really want to lose weight and look good you have the beginnings of motivation already. You need a lifestyle change and that may be the difficulty.
What you must do is clear your fridge of junk food and give up snacking on things in packets and drinking fizzy drinks. Keep well away from fast food outlets and cut back on alcohol. Eat less fatty food, sugar and white processed foods. Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day by walking or jogging or cycling - any exercise that you enjoy is fine. The idea is to burn more calories through exercise than you take in from your food. If you burn 500 calories a day less than you are at present you will lose 1 pound a week. You need a healthy diet to help out the exercise but 500 calories is only a slice of Victoria Sponge cake, so it is not too difficult to eat a little less food.
There are a few things you can do to improve your motivation.
Get help. A supportive family is the greatest help of all. But joining a group of people working towards the same goal as yourself may be all the motivation you need.
Take your time. Don't expect fast weight loss. It never works long term. Be happy with 1-2 pounds loss a week; that is 26 or even 52 pounds loss in 6 months and is well worth having.
Set targets. Aim to drop a dress size in 3 months or maybe buy theatre tickets or tickets to some other event to look good for a few months away. Book a beach holiday. There's nothing like a target to boost motivation.
Visualise yourself thinner. Think how good you will look and don't forget to take a photo now so you can see results.
Knowing how to motivate weight loss can be difficult, but these are a few easy ways of getting on your way. Just believe you can do it and you will achieve your goal.
Why should this be? Maybe you have fear of failure - after all you have failed already. Or everybody you know is overweight so why bother anyway. Perhaps you have a self worth problem, or your family is unhelpful. Often there can seem to be more reasons for not doing something than doing it. But if you feel deep down you really want to lose weight and look good you have the beginnings of motivation already. You need a lifestyle change and that may be the difficulty.
What you must do is clear your fridge of junk food and give up snacking on things in packets and drinking fizzy drinks. Keep well away from fast food outlets and cut back on alcohol. Eat less fatty food, sugar and white processed foods. Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day by walking or jogging or cycling - any exercise that you enjoy is fine. The idea is to burn more calories through exercise than you take in from your food. If you burn 500 calories a day less than you are at present you will lose 1 pound a week. You need a healthy diet to help out the exercise but 500 calories is only a slice of Victoria Sponge cake, so it is not too difficult to eat a little less food.
There are a few things you can do to improve your motivation.
Get help. A supportive family is the greatest help of all. But joining a group of people working towards the same goal as yourself may be all the motivation you need.
Take your time. Don't expect fast weight loss. It never works long term. Be happy with 1-2 pounds loss a week; that is 26 or even 52 pounds loss in 6 months and is well worth having.
Set targets. Aim to drop a dress size in 3 months or maybe buy theatre tickets or tickets to some other event to look good for a few months away. Book a beach holiday. There's nothing like a target to boost motivation.
Visualise yourself thinner. Think how good you will look and don't forget to take a photo now so you can see results.
Knowing how to motivate weight loss can be difficult, but these are a few easy ways of getting on your way. Just believe you can do it and you will achieve your goal.
Peter Stockwell is a writer, walker and author of the Senior
Walking Fitness Blog, helping all ages to burn fat, walk for weight loss
and achieve natural weight loss.
For more articles, tips and help on any aspect of diet and fitness visit [http://www.seniorwalkingfitnessblog.com]
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Peter_Stockwell/62278
For more articles, tips and help on any aspect of diet and fitness visit [http://www.seniorwalkingfitnessblog.com]
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