Motivation – that’s a four letter word! Without motivation, no ‘diet’ will work. And what is Diet again? It is the food we eat – whatever it is that we eat. So what do we do for motivation to reach our goal?
1. Because someone we care for is concerned about us, maybe even worried because we are overweight
2. Because we want to look better for our husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, or so our children will not be embarrassed.
3. To have a better image at work and thus be able to progress further in our career.
4. To look like ‘they’ think we should – to be the perfect ‘10? (whatever that is – who decides what is the perfect ‘10? anyway)
Or do we do it for our own fulfillment, for our own betterment such as:
1. For our health – to avoid issues which are linked to being overweight – diabetes, heart disease, knee replacements, etc etc
2. To feel better, have more energy
3. To have a better self-image
4. To have more strength and stamina to keep up with kids, nieces/nephews, grand-kids
5. To be able to take care of ourselves to have a better quality of life when we are older – to not end up in a nursing home
I know through being taught by many weight programs and by proving it myself – if you are dieting to please someone else for whatever reason, such as the first group above, your motivation will run out and your rebellious side will rule the day – and the diet (see post How does Self Control Work in a Diet? ) “I hope this has helped you some in understanding that self-control is not enough to stay on a diet or maintain weight.
However, if you are motivated to lose weight for something YOU want, the diet is much easier to continue. Remember: YOU DESERVE TO BE THE WEIGHT YOU WANT. Do not forget that. It is true. Everyone deserves to be healthy. We normally mean you deserve to lose the weight down to your ‘ideal’ weight. But the same goes for people who are ‘under’ weight.
How do we keep that motivation going?
1. Choose the correct reason to change our weight. If it is something that is good for us, we will be more likely to follow it and we remind ourselves of that reason when we are feeling discouraged. Be sure to do that – write the reason down. Read it when you are discouraged to remind yourself why you started this journey.
2. Keep track of the progress you have made. Not daily – everyone’s weigh wavers from day to day and hour to hour. Weekly is often enough. Track your weight, your clothing sizes, your measurements. I was given a ribbon which was the length of the inches I had lost from my initial starting point. The measurements were at the bust, at the waist, at the hips, and at the ‘bust. Keep a table record – for example, using the table below my first ribbon would be 8 inches and the second would be 11 inches. Just looking at the ribbon gives a sense of accomplishment – putting them beside each other also shows the progression for an even better visual of your success.
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Date: |
3/1/2008 |
4/1/2008 |
5/1/2008 |
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Bust |
42 |
40 |
39 |
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Waist |
38 |
36 |
34 |
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Hips |
48 |
47 |
47 |
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Butt |
50 |
47 |
47 |
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Total |
178 |
170 |
167 |
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Difference |
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8 |
3 |
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Running Total Lost |
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8 |
11 |
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3. Take a before picture. Put it with your written reason (motivation) for losing the weight. Now, when you get discouraged – look in the mirror. Can you see the difference? The fat that disappeared from the face – the waist line that wasn’t is now starting to be again – the pants that don’t give you a ‘wedgy’ any more.
4. Give yourself a break – don’t scold yourself or call your self names or give up just because you don’t do everything perfectly. Just go a step at a time, a day at a time. If you have a set back, if you binge, don’t let that throw you off course. Don’t give up on your goal. Just keep your goal in mind and keep moving towards it. You do deserve to reach your goal weight and your physical health level. Just shake it off and move on.
5. This last point I am going to put down is the most important to me. Be accountable to some. Get a mentor or best friend who you can talk to – or get on a program like Bristol MD where you have a ‘counselor’ or whatever their title is who you report in to periodically (don’t make it any longer than every other week). Have them help you do the measurements, weigh you, record your progress. They can remind you of your motivation, help you recognize your progress, and be your cheerleader to keep you going. If I did not have my ‘councilor’, I would have given up long before now. I have been on my journey for almost a year. Before I started this ‘diet’ program, I would be lucky to continue on a ‘diet’ for 3 months. Because she won’t give up on me, I am motivated to not give up on myself.
How do you keep the motivation going? Please, leave a comment and share it with us.
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