Consider rewarding yourself to further boost your motivation. The following are some good examples of rewards:Ĭelebrate all your successes throughout your weight loss journey. Also, avoid rewards that are so expensive you would never buy it, or so insignificant that you would allow yourself to have it anyway. However, it’s important to pick appropriate rewards. Moreover, remember to celebrate behavior changes and not just reaching a certain number on the scale.įor example, if you met your goal of exercising four days a week, take a bubble bath or plan a fun night with friends.Īdditionally, you can further improve your motivation by rewarding yourself ( 1). When you feel pride in yourself, you will increase your motivation ( 1). Social media or weight loss sites with community pages are great places to share your successes and get support. Give yourself some credit when you accomplish a goal. Losing weight is hard, so celebrate all your successes to keep yourself motivated. Setting SMART process goals will help you stay motivated, while focusing only on outcome goals can lead to disappointment and decrease your motivation. I will eat four servings of vegetables every day this week.
I will walk briskly for 30 minutes five days next week.An example of a process goal is exercising four times a week.Ī study in 126 overweight women participating in a weight loss program found those who were process focused were more likely to lose weight and less likely to deviate from their diets, compared to those who focused on weight loss outcomes alone ( 1).Ĭonsider setting SMART goals to set strong goals. Instead, you should set process goals, or what actions you’re going to take to reach your desired outcome. They can often feel too distant and leave you feeling overwhelmed ( 1).
However, focusing only on outcome goals can derail your motivation. Typically, an outcome goal will be your final target weight. Many people trying to lose weight only set outcome goals, or goals they want to accomplish at the end. Just a moderate amount of weight loss of 5–10% can have a major impact on your health. Set realistic weight loss expectations to boost feelings of achievement and prevent burn out. In fact, losing 5–10% of your body weight can ( 7): If you are 180 pounds (82 kg), that is just 9–18 pounds (4–8 kg). The good news is that just a little weight loss of 5–10% of your body weight can have a large impact on your health. On the contrary, setting and accomplishing achievable goals leads to feelings of accomplishment.Īlso, people who reach their self-determined weight loss goals are more likely to maintain their weight loss long-term ( 3, 4).Ī study using data from several weight loss centers found that women who expected to lose the most weight were the most likely to drop out of the program ( 5). Setting unattainable goals can lead to feelings of frustration and cause you to give up. However, most practitioners recommend only losing 1–2 pounds (0.5–1 kg) per week ( 2). Many diets and diet products claim quick and easy weight loss.
0 kommentar(er)
