6 Ways to Love Losing Weight
If you’ve ever started a weight loss routine and then stopped, you’ve probably found it even harder to ramp up again. Your New Year’s resolutions or new bikini hanging with price tags in your closet no longer seem to create motivation. It can be easy to fall into the the trap of giving up on a routine if the routine itself doesn’t make you happy; getting down a clothes size or a few inches stops being enough to keep you moving. So, how can you truly keep the momentum?
Love Your Routine
Face it, no one stays with a program that is a chore. We’d like to believe we have the willpower to stick it out to get healthy. Yet, the millions of broken resolutions just don’t lie - we don’t stick to something we hate to do! Find what gets you going! Exercise can be fun. Dance classes, horseback riding, skating, Zumba, or Yoga; you need to find an activity that you really like or love in order to make it a permanent fixture in your life. Once you find that, here are a few ways to keep the love alive.
1. Focus on progress
Find a way to measure success. You might consider getting a fitness app or a fitness watch; many people report great success and fun when they get that immediate feedback on how many steps they've taken or how high they've gotten their heart rate.
Take the time to understand what motivates you as that will help you create a routine you enjoy and can stick with. You can try on new clothes, step on a scale, or measure inches, but it should be a process that gets you excited.
Progress can even be eating healthy for one full day; avoiding sweets or foods you know won't help you today; parking far away from the store and walking more; taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
2. Focus on realistic goals
So many people have carried around an extra 50 pounds for years, but after that first week of hardcore cardio they expect it to disappear completely. It simply doesn’t work that way!
Set very realistic goals. An inch of muscle weighs more than an inch of fat due to its density. Don’t focus on each pound lost, but on how you feel, your strength, and your stamina.
3. Focus on positive self affirmations
Save the self-deprecation for the those who are paid to do that. Instead, make a list of affirmations about how great you feel and how great you look. For example: I love exercising and taking care of myself; I feel good about how I look, I can do this!
Save the self-deprecation for the those who are paid to do that. Instead, make a list of affirmations (on index cards) that you read out loud to yourself every morning and every evening that state how great you feel and how great you look. For example: I love exercising and taking care of myself; I feel good about how I look; I look real good in my favorite jeans; I feel great about doing this!
5. Set celebration goals along with your workout goals
Plan to celebrate that you are still on your mission to lose weight. Do this at the end of each week or month. Celebrate with friends or a self-indulgence. Exercising and taking care of your body and health shouldn’t just be about difficult workouts and grunt work, it should be about celebrating the victories along the way and enjoying the process you are going through - that makes it more of a fun routine.
So, when you’re pre-planning your weight loss goals, plan the celebrations too!
5. Focus on the new you, before it happens
Changing your mindset is imperative if you want to achieve your goals. If you think the only way to get healthy is at the gym, but you walk into the gym hating what’s coming next, you will probably stop going to the gym. Find what makes you want to stay active! Change the conversation you have with yourself about these kinds of things and then confidently walk into your workout knowing it brings success! You will actually begin to feel that way. Then it all becomes a positive self-fulfilling prophecy.
6. Celebrate the pain and give it a different meaning
Ask any athlete that works out a lot and they will tell you that they usually experience pain at some point, especially in the beginning. Decide that the soreness means growth, progress and better health. Real exercise hurts our muscles a bit. Welcome that discomfort because it means you are doing something good for your mind and your body. Your muscles are going to grow and your body will replace fat with newly created muscle.
If you really want to see results make sure you tell yourself that you love getting healthy, you love how it feels to have an active body and lifestyle and that you know any soreness means you are succeeding. After a while, you are going to really love working out and making desired changes to your body and health. Practice the mindset so that you can see the results and you’ll find a new healthy passion. You could become one of those people who, when they go on vacation, must stay at a hotel that has a gym!
