Walnut pesto and chicken couscous
October 1, 2015The 24-Hour De-Bloat Plan
October 1, 2015Millions of Australians want to lose weight, but if you are like most people, weight loss can be a real struggle.
Even if you have initial success, weight loss can eventually stall.
You already know the things you have to do to lose weight: eat less and exercise more. The key to putting those actions into motion so you can move the numbers on the scale again all comes down to your mindset.
Here are a few shifts to help you make sure you’re in the right frame of mind.
Be Your Own Guru
Deciding to lose weight requires a lot of personal motivation. In the beginning, though, that motivation can come from outside sources, like doctors, personal trainers or nutritionists. The biggest problem with getting your motivation to maintain a healthy diet and exercise regimen is that it’s human nature to want to rebel.
Once the rebellion mindset takes hold, you might well decide that you can eat whatever you want to and skip workouts when you don’t feel up to it.
Instead of looking to someone else to keep you on track, it’s important to reduce the need to rebel by becoming your own source of motivation.
Set Realistic Goals
Many people inadvertently sabotage their own weight loss efforts by setting unrealistic or unattainable goals, then becoming discouraged to the point of giving up when they fail to meet the standards they set.
It’s important to set achievable weight loss goals, broken down into smaller milestones.
Rather than focusing on how many kilograms you want to lose in total, look at how many you should lose in a week.
Choosing to focus on a monthly weight loss goal would be even better, since it can take a while to see the results of positive changes.
Enlist Some Help
Being the leader of your own weight loss efforts doesn’t mean that you have to do it all alone, though.
In fact, having some friends at your side for support is helpful and recommended. When you feel discouraged and need a little extra motivation to work out, having an accountability partner can encourage you to put in the work.
When you have friends or loved ones who are also serious about losing weight, you can offer each other mutual support and be a good example to one another. It’s a lot easier to choose healthy fresh fruit over double fudge cake when you’re doing it together.
While there’s nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it, and seeking the guidance of fitness and nutrition professionals, remember that nobody else knows your body and mind as well as you do!