Lose Weight by Staying Motivated with Diet and Exercise

Most of us would like to lose at least a few pounds or just generally get into better shape and physical condition. Starting a diet is relatively easy, and millions of people do this each year. However, sticking with the diet long enough to see significant, and lasting, results is something that most people do not accomplish.

Exercise programs, like diets, are started by a lot of people who want to lose weight and get in better shape, but only a percentage of people that start will stick with it and have enough consistency to see real results and improved health.

If you want to achieve long-term, lasting changes from diet or exercise, you will need to put in consistent effort and be willing to make the sacrifices that will go along with it. In order to be willing to make these sacrifices, there needs to be something that motivates you to keep going. Many people give up because they simply lose motivation.

This article will provide a list of several different ways to help keep that motivation. Hopefully, these are some things that you can put into practice in your own life.

1. Take Pictures of Yourself Before the Diet or Exercise Program

Many diets and exercise programs ask you to take some pictures of yourself before you get started with the program. The idea of course is to go through the program, lose weight and get in better shape and then take an “after” picture of yourself to see the progress. While “before” pictures will not show us how we want to look, they can often provide a kick in the butt that gives some added motivation.

2. Record Your Progress

Keeping track of how you are progressing can be key to maintaining motivation. While you will be losing weight and getting in better shape, the result usually seem somewhat slow. However, with consistent effort, those results are likely to be very impressive when you look at the change from before and after. Having it in written form will show you that you are making progress that you might not notice otherwise.

3. Have Specific, Measurable Goals

Goal setting is extremely effective in many aspects of life, and diet and exercise is no different. To achieve success with your goals, make sure they are specific enough that you can measure them to see if/when they have been achieved. Also, you’ll want to include a target date as part of the goal so that it does not remain open ended forever.

4. Find a Partner

Having someone else exercise with you is a great way to build accountability and motivation. Most people will not want to let down their friend by not showing up at the gym or giving up on the program, so having someone else that is counting on you can help. Also, two people working together towards their goals can serve as motivation and positive reinforcement.

5. Join a Group of Dieters

Diet groups like Weight Watchers are effective because there is some added motivation in being part of a group. Wanting to make a good showing at a weigh in can help to keep you from breaking your diet. By being unified with others who have similar goals, you can all benefit from the others in the group.

6. Have a Reason Why You are Dieting and Exercising

With motivation playing such a key role in dieting, it’s a good practice to always be aware of why you want to get in better shape. Is you health and safety at risk if you do not lose weight. Is your primary motivation to be able to do certain things that you can’t do now? By keeping your focus and knowing exactly why you want to get in better shape, you will be able to keep your motivation right in front of you.

Crystal Wells enjoys writing about the things she has learned through her own weight loss journey. She blogs about dieting. Her blog includes a review of Weight Watchers.

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Written by Crystal Wells on December 21st, 2009 with no comments.
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