If you’ve ever tried to lose weight – either through diet or exercise, or a combination of the two – you likely know what it’s like to start off super motivated and excited. To then not be.
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Once the process becomes difficult or other parts of your life get busy, your motivation drops. Perhaps you start putting less than 100% into your weight loss plans, or you give up entirely. This is natural, but there are ways to overcome loss of motivation. Here are six tips for staying motivated in your weight loss programs.
Get your friends and family on board:
Losing weight requires a change in your diet and lifestyle. Doing this can be pretty hard if the people you live with, or who you spend the most time with, don’t understand. If they’re being less than supportive, gently explain your reasons to them and let them know what you’d like them to do. Perhaps you could change where you regularly meet your friends (swap the wine bar for a beach walk, for example), or encourage your family to make and eat healthier meals with you.
Find like-minded friends:
We don’t mean ditching all your old friends, but actively seeking new friends with common goals can help with your motivation. Fitness or yoga classes are a good way to meet health-focused friends, especially if you have another uniting factor like small kids (look out for mums-and-bubs Pilates classes, for example). So are cooking classes.
Recruit a coach:
Even if your friends and family are super supportive, having professional guidance is important. A professional dietician can identify what you need to change about your diet according to your goals, and a personal trainer can tailor an exercise plan to your strengths and limitations. Meet with a Jenny Craig consultant for expert guidance and personalised weight loss plans.
Put your goals somewhere you can see them:
People have different reasons for wanting to lose weight, but whatever yours are, give yourself daily reminders of your goal. Write your goal and stick it to your fridge, or make yourself a paper or digital mood board with pictures of clothing, activities or food that embody your goals.
Identify what you really enjoy:
Making the necessary changes to your diet and activity is so much easier when you are doing what you enjoy. Even if you need to make major changes to your diet, you can explore new foods and flavours that you genuinely like if you experiment in the kitchen. As well as delicious pre-prepared meals, there are many available health programs who create expert meal plans of healthy and tasty recipes you can make that align with weight loss programs. Similarly, if you find a form of exercise you love, you’ll be much more motivated to do it. Whether that’s walking, cycling, or yoga, find what works for you.
Keep on keeping on:
Having a lapse when following weight loss programs is surprisingly common. Instead of beating yourself up about your dip in motivation and giving up, jump right back on the wagon! A lapse is only a disaster if you give up completely. Have a chat with your Jenny Craig consultant to see if any parts of your plan need tweaking to make them more suitable for your lifestyle.
Click here to learn more about how you can stay motivated with your weight loss plan.
