15 Ways to Stay Motivated in Weight Loss
Weight loss is a goal for many, but it often becomes a frustrating journey. Holding on to motivation throughout the duration of a weight loss journey can be nearly impossible, especially when results are few and far between.
But there are ways you can power through your off days. Try these 15 tips to stay motivated in weight loss when you feel like giving up.
1. You do not need to try so hard
Think of motivation like fuel in a car, you do not need a full tank to drive, you just need to refuel before the gaslight flickers on. Your main focus should not be on keeping your motivation high at all times, it has a natural rhythm and seeing a drop in motivation is not a sign of failure.
If you truly see your weight-loss motivation deteriorating quickly, give yourself a break from your diet or exercise plan for one to three days. If you allow it to run its natural course and have a set of habit-changing skills, like meal prepping, you will stay on track and your motivation will come back.
2. Quiz yourself
If your motivation is ever waning, take this quiz.
- If I stop my diet, how will I feel in six months or one year from now?
- If I stop my diet, what will my health be like?
- If I stop my diet, how will my family and friends be affected?
Answering these questions may be enough to get you back on track.
3. Choose an attainable goal
A major problem with losing motivation in weight loss stems from setting unrealistic goals. Studies show that dieters expect to sustainably lose about four times more than they really can in a six-month period.
Your weight loss goal should be to lose about 10 percent of your weight within a six-month period, with the focus being on keeping it off for more than one year.
However, be careful about relying on numbers on the scale. A number on a scale should not be a goal, but a measurement of success. If you have a certain weight you want to reach, set other, non-weight related goals, like completing a race.
4. Clean up other parts of your life
If you are struggling with weight-loss motivation, try cleaning up other parts of your life. Clean out your closet, deep clean your house, pay off your debts, finish that project you have been procrastinating on. If you show yourself you can stick to other promises you have made to yourself, you will prove to yourself that you are able to stick to your weight loss plan.
5. Focus on a feeling
Instead of focusing on a number on the scale or a task you need to accomplish to reach your goal, concentrate on how you feel after eating healthy or exercising. Your motivation does not always need to come before you complete an activity, it can come after in how you feel. This feeling can help you remember why you are working out and eating healthy in the first place.
6. Treat yourself halfway through
Weight loss goals are usually long term, so waiting until the end of your goal to treat yourself may decrease your motivation, quickly. Instead, plan something you have really been wanting to do for your halfway treat. Meaningful rewards will reinforce your positive behavior. Make sure your reward celebrates the specific goal you achieved.
However, you do not have to wait until your midway point to treat yourself, but in small increments. For example, if you have been hitting the gym an extra day a week, allow yourself to invest in that pair of running shoes you have had your eye on.
7. Be a little tough on yourself
Most people picture themselves with their ideal body, but what may be more motivating is imagining what you would look and feel like if you did not lose the weight you wanted to. What would your life look like in five or 10 years if stayed on your current path?
8. Get competitive
A study published in Obesity found that team-based weight-loss competitions can help you lose up to 20 percent more weight than if you would have done it alone. If you are the team captain, you will lose even more weight, likely due to the position and involvement.
9. Find out your why
The first step in losing weight and keeping it off is establishing your “why.” Determine what actually motivates you. Are you exercising to be able to be more active with your kids? Did you have a medical scare you could fix through exercise? Use what inspires you to motivate your lifestyle changes.
You can take it a step further by getting the people that matter with you involved – cook healthy dinners with your roommates, play outside with your kids, go to that new workout class with some friends. The first step in changing your patterns of behavior is recognizing why they exist in the first place.
10. Tackle your emotional hurdles
The two most common reasons people overeat are because of feelings of sadness or anger, but food does not dissipate either of those feelings. Logging your food and your emotions before you eat may bring you insight to what is actually causing you to binge. If you can recognize your eating triggers, you will be able to develop different, more effective strategies to deal with your underlying emotions.
11. Stop the daily weigh-in
For many, the scale is a helpful tool in monitoring progress, but we can get in the habit of weighing ourselves too often. Some research shows that weighing yourself daily can help you maintain your weight, but that is not the case for losing weight. Weighing yourself daily will quickly drain your motivation and take you on a roller coaster of emotions. If you weigh yourself daily or even multiple times a day, upticks in the scale may have nothing to do with body mass or fat. Instead, hop on the scale once a week or once every two weeks to monitor your progress.
12. Surround yourself with health
Stock your home to reflect the new, healthier you. Make sure your fridge is full of healthy foods, prepare food in advance and store the meals in clear containers so you can see exactly what you are grabbing, have fruit easily accessible, keep your dirty laundry off your exercise equipment, make sure your running shoes are easy to grab, etc. Designing your environment to reflect your goals will make it much easier to stay on track.
13. Set goals beyond the scale
It is frustrating when it feels like you are doing everything right in your weight loss journey but the scale does not seem to want to budge. Instead of relying solely on your scale, set goals that have nothing to do with losing weight. Maybe you want to run a faster mile or set a new bench press personal record, and when you reach these goals, celebrate them. Celebrating milestones that are not just about weight loss will keep you motivated in your program.
14. Find friends
Research shows that you are more inclined to stick to your fitness and healthy eating goals when you surround yourself with those who are also attempting to live a healthier lifestyle. So find that friend or encourage someone you know to join your journey. If all of your friends are too busy or have different schedules than you do, try out a group class or a HIIT session for the same benefits.
15. Gain some gratitude
When you find yourself uninspired or down on yourself for the rate of your progress, shift your way of thinking to that of self-appreciation. Instead of tearing yourself down for not losing the amount of weight you wanted to this week, focus on the gratitude you have for your body for the way it moves and all of the things it is able to do for you. Shifting your focus from how you look to how you are able to function – your ability to run, dance, pick your kids up, etc. – will allow you to see your body in a different light and will keep you motivated.