Looking to shed a few pounds? Well, you aren’t alone! Around half of the people in America are hoping to do the same thing right now. Let’s face it, though, losing weight is often easier said than done. Motivating yourself to eat healthily, go for a run, and hit the gym is tough going at times – especially at the start.
Want to know how to motivate yourself to lose weight?
Keep reading for 4 top tips to get the ball rolling.
1. Get Goal Setting
Setting weight-loss goals will be a mighty help in your bid to shed a few pounds. Sit down and have a thing about your ideal weight. Give yourself a target to aim towards! Like all good goals they should be SMART: Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited.
Give yourself a realistic target weight to aim for and a specific timeframe to get there. Don’t stop here though. After all, that goal can seem a long way off. Break that long term target down into smaller steps. Decide mini-milestones along the way and figure out how you’ll attain them.
2. Commit to the Task
Humans are lazy. It’s just built into our systems! Our minds and bodies have developed over millennia to want the easy way out. As good as your goals might be, you might need an extra kick up the butt to get results. Commit yourself to the task by making yourself accountable to something.
For example, you could tell all your friends and family members about your goal. Making it public helps you commit. You could also pay for a gym membership, making yourself accountable to your bank balance! Or, find a workout buddy to embark on the process with you; being accountable to someone else is hugely powerful.
3. Join a Community
Going it alone is never easy. Finding some support from other people will prove hugely useful in staying motivated. Join a club, an online community, a work out class, Facebook groups, or anything else that’ll put you in amongst other people on the same journey. They’ll pick you up when you’re down and keep you on track.
4. Start Small
Motivation’s a funny thing. It can turn on a dime! You can feel immensely motivated one day and then have nothing in you the next. There’s a danger that you start strong, go too hard and then burn out; motivation levels plummet. Starting small is a great way to keep your levels of motivation up. See this process of weight loss as a marathon and not a sprint. You’re far more likely to reach your goals as a result.
Tens of millions of Americans are trying to shed some pounds at this very moment. Alas, the process of doing so is ten times harder when the motivation isn’t there. Thankfully, there’s a lot that you can do to find it. Hopefully, this post has provided some useful insight for anybody wondering how to motivate yourself to lose weight.
