Motivation is one of the most important factors in determining how successful we are at achieving our goals. It is the driving force that keeps us on our path when we reach stumbling blocks and failures. And we will reach stumbling blocks and failures because they are a part of being human.
No one person has ever become successful without first failing. The question isn’t if you’ll fail but what you’ll do when you DO fail. The trick is to fail forward. In other words, when you fail get up and move forward.
Motivation levels will also change each day depending upon how you feel or how you experience certain situations. Weight loss motivation can sometimes be particularly challenging because although you may understand that weight loss, to be permanent, is a slow process, in this fast paced world we all want the weight gone NOW.
The strength of your weight loss motivation will help to determine how successful you are in your weight loss efforts. If you can first determine what really motivates you, the success rate goes up. In other words you’ll lose weight consistently, over time and keep it off permanently, which is what the goal is what weight loss motivation is about in the first place.
Most people find that in the beginning of their new diet plan their weight loss motivation is high. But maintaining that motivation can be difficult when they reach a plateau of weight loss and the scale no longer moves downward.
Finding your motivation should be your first goal before starting your new diet plan. You must determine what motivates you so you build those motivational factors into your daily plan to keep your weight loss motivation high. You may be goal oriented, relationship oriented or learning oriented.
Goal oriented people will get great satisfaction from plotting their weight loss and comparing the results to previous numbers. Use weight and measurements of arms, legs and core as well as measurements of your exercise and strength training to meet your goal oriented motivation.
If you are more motivated by relationships you may find that programs that incorporate meetings and group motivational times will be more to your liking. On the other hand, if learning oriented motivation is more your style, you may find that your motivation increases after you have done your due diligence and found the program that works right for your lifestyle.
You will find that each of us are motivated by all of these factors but we all have one that seems to motivate us more than the others. Learning which is your motivational style will help you to keep yourself motivated through the process of changing your eating habits and becoming a healthier person.
Once you’ve found your weight loss motivation and have planned out how to incorporate this into your weight loss program you are ready to begin a new diet plan that should lead to a new healthier you.
Other aspects of your motivation plan is to learn to accept yourself for who you are. The most common reason people lose interest and abandon their weight loss is because they have unrealistic expectations of how much weight they will lose and how quickly they can lose it.
Learn to love the person you are today and not the person you want to become. You may need to improve your health and your eating habits but your character isn’t defined by how much you weigh or what you eat. When you learn to appreciate your body you can work with it and not against it.
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