The winter really can do a number on your weight loss motivation. Who wants to eat a cold salad when it’s freezing outside? Why put everything you have into shrinking your waistline when you have a bulky sweater on? It’s even tough to head outside with all the ice underfoot, and the wind whipping from every direction. At first, the snow can seem fun, but over time, it becomes a motivator to stay inside, curled up under a fuzzy blanket.
Time to Work on Your Weight Loss Motivation
With Jack Frost well behind us and gone back to the arctic for several months, it’s time to get our weight loss motivation back. After all, summertime is far more inspiring for losing the pounds and living a healthier lifestyle overall. Cold foods taste great again. Bathing suits are on, and swimming is readily available to many of us. When that’s not the case, early morning runs in the coolest part of the day are a great way to get things started.
Not feeling boosted up with weight loss motivation, yet? Don’t worry, there are lots of ways to refill those motivation batteries so you can feel ready to take on your healthy eating and regularly active lifestyle. This summer, consider it to be a great chance to get those lifestyle habits in place solidly enough that they’ll stick around through next winter, too!
Ready to Get your Weight Loss Motivation Back?
Weight loss motivation isn’t just a matter of wanting to look good in a bikini. In fact, research has found that not liking your current shape and wanting to look another way isn’t one of the most successful drivers of healthy lifestyle habit changes. Instead, use these tips to dig a bit deeper, drop the shame and self-loathing, and build up some positivity to keep those positive motivators well within your reach at any given time.
Get back to the basics
Have another look at your goal and why you want to reach it. Remember that “why” is just as important as your goal itself. What will reaching your goal mean to you? Is your goal still an appropriate one or does it need to be adjusted? Are you reaching for something positive? How can you turn your perspective around so that your goal honors your self and your body in a kind and healthy way? Find the right positive wording and you’ll find that your weight loss motivation will be easier to reach and will stick around more consistently.
Break down large goals
It’s all well and good to have a final goal. However, it can feel pretty far away. When achieving your goal is pretty long off, it can be difficult to keep up your weight loss motivation the entire time. Get your heart back into it by having steps you can reach – and celebrate – along the way. These goals can be as small as weekly targets, or something you’ll reach for every two weeks or even every month. Find what works for you and remember to pay attention to your achievements. Give yourself a pat on the back when you reach them – even the small ones. Feel good that you’ve taken each and every step on your own behalf.
Track more than just your weight
If you want to keep up your weight loss motivation, remind yourself that it’s about more than pounds. Measure other things such as the way you feel when you’ve finished another healthy meal. Notice how that workout that you once considered to be impossible is suddenly just that much easier. Recognize that extra ounce of self-confidence you’re adding with every week you complete.
Track your blood pressure with the free machine at your local drugstore. Use a measuring tape around your waist, arms and legs. Observe how your clothes are fitting slightly differently as your body composition shifts. Even if you haven’t lost a pound on the scale, you’ll have started burning fat and building lean muscle that will have you feeling stronger and looking a little bit different at a time. The more ways you see weight loss progress, the more driven you’ll feel.
Get a buddy
If you know someone else who is working on similar goals, support each other for long term results. Exercise together – even if it means going for a walk early every morning. Exchange recipes. Lift each other up through those plateaus and celebrate reaching each new goal. It’s spectacular, automatic weight loss motivation you’ll love. You don’t have to follow the same program or diet. The point is to be there for each other, discuss what you’re doing, and enjoy this part of your relationship. It will give you a huge boost in your weight loss motivation and will make the process more fun, too.
Join an online community
Find a great weight loss diet forum with like-minded people. The support and ideas you’ll find there will be sure to spike your weight loss motivation. It becomes a lot easier to keep going when you know you’re not alone. It’s also a great way to get your questions answered and for you to share your own knowledge.