Other than unplugging your television, calling in sick to work when you learn of an upcoming birthday, and not speaking to your friends for a few weeks, what can you do to maintain the motivation level to remain on a weight loss plan for the long term? Here are a number of tips to help you out.
- First, find a program that works for you. If you love potatoes, pasta, and brownies, a low carbohydrate program is not for you. You may lose weight quickly in the first few days but you will crave sweets and starches more than ever, cheat on this diet, and gain back what you have lost plus a few extra pounds.
- Prepare your foods in advance. If you like to cook, get a workbook with recipes that go with the plan you have chosen. Put together what you would like to eat for one week, buy the ingredients, then make the food and have it ready in your refrigerator.
- Have the food delivered to your home. If you do not enjoy cooking, there are a number of weight loss plans that will actually deliver calorie-controlled meals to your door. All the work is done for you – the shopping, preparation, and nutritional count.
- Join a weight loss blog. You can learn a great deal about a program by checking in on their blog. You will learn about the struggles of people who have been following the plan as well as what they did to lose the weight. Learn what they ate as well as what their fitness workout consisted of.
- Join a support group. There are some weight loss plans that consist of a weekly session where members show up at a meeting and discuss any problems or successes they have encountered during the week. The group is overseen by a leader who has followed the program successfully in the past and knows exactly what you are going through. The good part is that the leader can help you by telling you how he or she was able to get through difficult situations.
- Find a program that holds you accountable. If you have to weigh in every week at your meeting or at the gym that you go to for your fitness workout, you will think twice before having an extra serving of potatoes for dinner.
- Try to find a plan that incorporates every food group. Many food groups have gotten a bad rap in the past and while there is some element of truth here and there, anytime you eliminate an entire food group you will begin to crave it. If you practice portion control you will be much happier and more successful because you won’t end up feeling deprived.
- Set up intermittent rewards as you reach your goals. Without making it food-related you can buy yourself a new cosmetic gift with purchase deal, magazine, or a new top to wear.
- Write down everything you eat. This is one of the most effective things you can do to achieve weight loss success. Once you begin writing down everything you put in your mouth you are going to be surprised at how much you are consuming on a regular basis. Pick up a pretty journal and a pen to match and make it a fun thing to do each day.
- Get some of your friends together to be diet buddies. You can encourage each other as well as support each other when you feel like splurging. Knowing that your friend is losing but you are not will help keep your motivation level high.
- Buy one new article of clothing with each 10 pound loss. This will make you feel better and remind you how it feels to reach your goal.
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