How do you stay on track when your motivation is slipping?
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Simple answer…Remember why you want to follow a healthy lifestyle.
The thing most people focus on is the what…which is usually weight loss. When all you have in your mind is how much weight you want to lose and it is not happening quickly enough it’s very easy to get disheartened and start focussing on all the stuff you are missing or the other things you are not enjoying about your new health kick.
I was speaking to a business owner recently, whose focus for her health was firmly on how much weight she could lose and I asked her, why she does business? I asked her if she was in business primarily for the money? She replied, “No, I really enjoy going into people’s business and solving their problems; the money comes along with that.”
This is the same with weight loss- if you are focussed on the numbers you won’t be having a fun time because they don’t always do what you hope they would, even if you have been ‘really good’.
Focus on why you want to be healthier or lose weight and also on how you are going to do it rather than just what you want…which is often to weigh less.
The How:
This is the outline of what you want to do. For example:
- Exercise more often
- Eat more vegetables
- Take lunch from home to work
- Decrease take away food
- Stop eating after dinner
- Have more alcohol-free days etc.
The Why:
R=Reason: When the “angel” and “devil” are having that argument in your head- who wins? For most people it’s the devil. The only reason this occurs is because you have not thought about why you want to lose weight in the first place. A lot of people say “health”, but the devil says” You’re healthy enough, you can do everything you need to do,” and the battle is lost. Think about why you really want to lose weight, what does it mean to you? What will you be able to do if you are healthier? This will be a reason that only has meaning for you. Once you have your reason, the angel has a voice and good decisions follow.
Some good reasons I’ve heard:
- I want to be able to get on the ground with my kids/ grand kids, and get up again!
- I don’t want to be the slowest person in the tour group, holding everyone else back
- I want to like how I look in photos
- I want to have more choice in clothing stores
- I want more confidence to ….
- I want more energy to….
If you find yourself falling into the trap of focussing on your weight. Remember you only need to know what you want to do and why you want to do it and the weight loss will follow on as a consequence to your thinking and actions.
Enjoy!
Lisa APD
Lisa is a Dietitian, behaviour change coach, mentor, speaker and author. She has been practicing over 23 years and specializes in holistically customizing diet and lifestyle plans to each individual for weight loss and a healthy relationship with food. Her clientele often report they feel the best they have ever felt and wish they had started sooner, as they have no guilt around eating and have successfully changed the way they look at eating well and losing weight.
