When we want to change our body, the obvious solution is to simply start exercising or take up a new hobby or play sports. This is the solution to the problem, but before these events occur, the mental block that is motivation rears its ugly head.
Motivation is basically the engine behind why we will and won’t do certain things in our life. We have to find some way to push ourselves to do the things we need to do to get where we want to be.
Everyone has different levels of motivation for different things, and it really comes down to what the person values most in their life.
Now, when it comes to weight loss motivation, this issue needs to be addressed properly; otherwise things may suffer in the long run.
When you first decide that you want to lose weight, there has to be some kind of motivational reason behind this decision. There could be any number of reasons why you want to lose weight, it could be personal or family reasons or even peer pressure.
Many people will really struggle with this obstacle as they are not doing what they want for the right reasons. If you decided that you want to lose weight because you are not happy with your body and you want to feel better about yourself, then this is your motivation to lose weight.
There is a real purpose to the reason, and when you have a purpose for a decision, the actions you take are usually much more focused and decisive.
Let’s take the other scenario that you want to lose weight for a family member, then this reason is a pretty strong reason to lose weight, but it won’t motivate you as much as it would be to do it yourself.
Now, to find motivation, it can come from many different places. One of the best ways to find motivation is to team up with a friend who wants to achieve the same goals as you and both of you motivate and encourage each other to lose weight. This can work very well, because they feed off each other’s energy.
Another great way to motivate yourself is to set a date to reach a goal. When you set a date you set yourself a challenge, by doing this you will be more motivated to reach the goal. A good way to bring this out even more is to give yourself an incentive to reach the goal, this will also help with motivation.
The next strategy to help you find motivation is to make sure that you approach a new challenge with a clear mind, without any bad obstacles that might hinder your progress. Motivation is very difficult to find and maintain when your life is depleted by financial stress, health problems, and family problems.
A common mistake people make when trying to lose weight is to put photos/posters of size zero models on the walls of their homes. The idea here is that you will be more inspired to achieve your desired figure on posters, but the opposite is true according to extensive research.
The reason this theory is less affective for motivation is that people are more likely to be discouraged by creating unrealistic standards of their own. This will cause a lack of motivation and the person will most likely give up on achieving the ideal body shape of the poster.
Another common reason people lose motivation to lose weight is that they focus too much on numbers. When you’ve decided you want to lose, say, 10 pounds in 2 months, all your energy and focus goes into this single goal, and if you don’t reach it, you’ll feel bad and probably lose motivation. This must be avoided.
Another reason people lose motivation when trying to lose weight is because they don’t have a plan of action in place from the start. A weight loss goal or program should be treated like a business plan and specific details should be written down and put on paper to help the person stay motivated.
When creating a weight loss action plan, there should be some factors that are tailored to the plan, realistic, measurable and free of ineffective strategies. If you have an unrealistic plan of action for your goals from the start, you will lose motivation very quickly and will most likely give up on the goals you want to achieve.
A very helpful way to stay motivated towards your weight loss goals is to reward yourself from time to time when you’ve reached a certain milestone. A good way to do this is to start with small incentives or small prizes and increase the prizes as you reach your end goal. This practice is often overlooked, but it is very powerful as you have something to work on each time, this provides a new opportunity for motivation.