Let’s be honest here; it is one thing to want to lose weight, but a totally different one to stay motivated. Who hasn’t started well on the healthy weight loss journey and somewhere, completely lost the urge to keep going? And it is not just you; many people are rocking precisely the same boat where they begin exercises with a fly, plan weight loss programs like BistroMD, but weary out eventually.
The real question is: how can you stay on the course of losing weight and achieve your goals?
Fortunately, we have thought about that question. We went about finding answers and picking the brains of experts in this space. This post is the fruit of our efforts, laser-focused research, and objectivity. Now we share with you the secrets of staying motivated to lose weight. And not just that, we are throwing in all the information you need to for weight loss and management.
Weight Loss Motivation
Have you been on the track of losing weight and following all biohacking weight loss tips? Then you know it is more than what you eat and your exercise regime. The real success is 100% staying motivated to lose weight and keep going even when things get heavy and thick (1).
You see, unhealthy eating choices will ruin or delay shedding those pounds. The wrong exercises will leave you with nothing to show for the sweat. At worst, you will be nursing a few nasty injuries, and finally throwing in the towel.
However, the wrong psychology of weight loss will permanently shut the door to losing weight faster than diet and exercise.
To put it better, losing weight is a journey that prefers brain to brawn. Therefore, biohacking fat loss begins with your mind before getting physical with your body. Start with subtle things like loving yourself and accepting that you need to have consistent night and morning routine for weight loss.
And even after that, you have to enjoy the journey for what you’ve learned and experienced rather than rushing into analyzing the results. Part of that work the right mindset, healthy diet, and right exercise regime.
And we know, that is embarrassing. But we are here to confront the lies and put the truth on the table for a successful weight loss shot.
Types of Weight Loss Motivation
There are two major weight loss motivation categories. Each will produce different results depending on how well you follow through it. They are; intrinsic (motivation from within) vs. extrinsic (motivation from outside yourself) (2).
Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation is external weight loss efforts. For example, how other people look or how they perceive you should look, people-pleasing, etc. Such motivation will kick start your weight loss journey very quickly and efficiently. However, you are likely to just as quickly fall back into your comfort zone. And the little gain will be gone.
True, extrinsic motivation kicks things into gear. However, it will not provide enough motivation to stay focused in the long haul. Research has also suggested that people who rely on extrinsic motivation develop a continuous dependency cycle on external motives. Consequently, they register short-term weight loss. However, they gain the weight back and might even get heavier than before.
Extrinsic weight loss plans include drastic dieting and fasting.
To further understand extrinsic motivation, let us look into two of its subtypes; guilt avoidance and people-pleasing.
- Guilt avoidance has been described as an effort to avoid the humiliation associated with how you look versus how society defines how you ought to look.
- People-pleasing associated with a deep desire to win the approval of people around you.
Intrinsic Motivation
On the other hand, intrinsic motivation is an internal force and has self-defined motives as crucial pillars to staying motivated to lose weight.
The cocktail of interest, positive mindset, and enjoyment fuel the desire not only to meet goals but stay on that path of success.
Intrinsic motivation does not focus on the end of the journey; instead, it the lessons, adventures, and exciting experiences every step of the journey. This will result in more enthusiasm and hunger to learn new skills and forge new and creative weapons against “the monster” you are trying to fight.
Due to this, intrinsic motivation becomes more successful in the long haul and cultivates a continuous and enjoyable habit and embracing the fact that permanent results take time. They focus more on progress than a time-sensitive, designated goal and enjoy the whole process even when the journey toughens up.
To cultivate healthy and great intrinsic motivation, self-determination suggests strengthening feelings of competence, relatedness, and autonomy.
You must exude confidence in your ability to succeed and believe that you have chosen your dietary rules independently without external influence, and ensure that you have a sense of belonging with people around you. They should support your weight loss journey. Weight loss quotes will also improve your internal sense of being and will motivate your efforts further.
Staying Motivated To Lose Weight
While biohacking weight loss can be an uphill task for most people, several actions will ensure you focus on your goal and are successful in whatever you put your mind to (3). Below are some good practices that will give you a bit more insight into how to be motivated to lose weight.
Weight Loss Motivation Tips
- Stop Trying Too Hard: Weight loss motivation is like an analogy of the gasoline you have in your car. It should not always be a full tank to get you where you are going. The trick here is making sure your tank does not run empty before you get to your destination.
- Dictate Your terms: your neighbor with six-packs and a flat tummy should not dictate the path you are taking to weight loss. You are you, and you should go by your terms. If you plan to lose 15lbs in a year, then that is what you should work with. It is not a competition but instead staying on the path of success, however long it takes to cross the finish line.
- Start By Cleaning Out Your Closet: whatever is going on with your life in other aspects will affect your weight loss success. Therefore, it is time to spread the principle of integrity to all your areas in life. Go back to your early promises you made to family and coworkers, make good of them, pay your overdue debts, be timely with your work deadlines, and ensure you do what you commit to. Likewise, it will be easy to stay motivated to lose weight.
- Super Skinny Models Are not your Standards: It may seem like harmless pinning pics of those super skin models on your walls. Of course, they may be an image of where you want one day, but their standards are too high. You are unrealistic, and every day you will be trying hard to look like them. When you fail to be like them, your motivation will be crushed.
- How You Feel Is Important: motivation is not only about seeing a drop in pounds every day. It is also how you feel about yourself. After a workout, if you feel optimistic about your work rate, then that is a plus. The same is true after your meals. Wrap yourself in that feeling of high esteem and appreciation, and even the smallest things will keep you grounded and on a path to success.
- Planting Your Carrots Halfway: It feels good when you hit your goals and celebrate with a bottle of wine and a treat to your favorite meal. But some goals will take you a long time to achieve. It does not mean you should wait to achieve the bigger goals. Celebrate small achievements because they will build your motivation.
The Dos And Don’ts Of Staying Motivated To Lose Weight
You are not in any shortage of things to do and you will be staying motivated to lose weight throughout your journey. We have highlighted some of these below:
Do: Drink plenty of structured water
Water will fill you up faster and burn calories faster, helping to get rid of belly fat. But the biggest mistake is— drinking regular filtered water. Regular water may taste good, but lacks crystal structure. They don’t repair your cells, neither do they improve your immune system.
Structured water on the other hand takes care of your health much well. Do add it in your health hack. You can make it with a bottle at home, but that’s not very efficient. We recommend using researched devices like Somavedic for it.
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Don’t: Drink sugared drinks
Beverages, soda and juices have plenty of sugar and calories that do not have any nutritional benefits other than adding unnecessary weight. Watch how much of these you consume or cut them out altogether.
Do: healthy and consistent meals
Eating small portions of healthy meals several times a day will ensure you stay full, and keep your metabolism active, helping with calorie and fat burning. Read here about biohacking your diet.
If you’re too busy to plan your diet, you can switch to readymade plans like Balance by BistroMD. They take care of your weight loss routine more than you can on off days.
Read Balance By BistroMD Review Read BistroMD Review
Don’t: Skip meals
Unless you intend intermittent fasting, do not starve yourself to cut weight. Actually, food helps kick start metabolism.
Do: more healthy foods
Swap the fast foods you have groaning your fridge up to some healthy foods to positively impact your wellness.
Don’t: deny yourself treats
While you want to stick to a healthy diet, do not restrict yourself from treats as this will bring you cravings, which will inspire overeating and loss of control of your diet.
Ways To Staying Motivated To Lose Weight
The right diet and exercise plan will ensure that you are staying motivated to lose weight and stay on track towards achieving your goal. This is where most people go wrong; they focus so much on creating an excellent diet plan, choose a strong exercise strategy, and develop a feeble mindset that eventually kills their dream.
We have sifted through some of the best expert biohacking recommendations from the fields of fitness, health, and weight loss to break to you the best weight loss motivation tips below:
Knowing What You Want
Before you start on your journey, it is essential to know what exactly inspired you to get on you here in the first place. As you progress with your plans and schedules, you will have to continually remind yourself.
It will help you stay motivated and focused on your written goals as you started. It is vital for these reasons to be self-inspiring to feel as connected and reflective as possible. Your mind to internalize them and make them even more powerful.
Setting Realistic Goals
While working towards your dream body, you must set healthy, realistic, and sustainable goals. Experts recommend that if you plan to lose, say 30lbs in the long run, you should not try to lose more than 2lbs per week.
If we look at the numbers, an average person burns somewhere between 1600 and 2200 calories each day, and to lose 1lb; you will need to burn at least 3,500 more calories than you consume. This means that to lose 2lbs in a week, you will need to eat 1,000 fewer calories than you burn each day!
A slow, calculated, and measurable approach will give you great enthusiasm, which is key to staying motivated to lose weight.
Work Towards Your Goals
Now that you have set smart and achievable goals, it is time to create an action plan and follow it. A good approach is dividing your long-term goals into manageable short-term goals that are easier to achieve but lead to the long-term one.
Having small thresholds and larger milestones along the way will ensure you are staying motivated to lose your weight and achieving your long-term goal.
Create A Plan that Fits Your Lifestyle
While working on trimming your weight, you will need to create a new healthier lifestyle entirely out of your daily routine.
You will want to surround yourself with a healthy environment if you want to create a new healthy lifestyle and keep you motivated. Everything around you, from your fridge to your clothes and car, should reflect those of someone living a healthy life as these are directly connected to your weight and physical fitness. You should ensure that your iPod and running shoes are faster and easier to find than your TV remote or an apple easier to grab off the bridge than a burger.
Keep A Journal Of Your Weight Loss Progress
Keeping a journal gives you a closer look at your routine and habits.
A journal is also a great way to cement your winning mindset. It will instill discipline, accountability, and an overview of where you are winning and failing.
You will track your progress by documenting the number of lbs lost, routines performed, or even the diet you had that day. With a journal, you will plot your course ahead and work towards certain thresholds along the way.
Celebrate Your Wins
As you start working out and keep at it, your body will start to change and reflect your new lifestyle.
Looking at yourself in the mirror may not give you a clear picture of what progress is made as sometimes, they are too subtle to be noticed, which may result in some loss of motivation, and even giving up altogether.
A great way to properly follow up on it is through photos, whether private or social media. If you notice some agreeable change, you should celebrate it no matter how small it is. For instance, if you can fit into a trouser you had always wanted to wear but was somehow small, treat yourself for it. However, you should care to celebrate in healthy ways to avoid falling back into the same pit you are trying to get out of.
Some bit of appreciation and gifts from friends or yourself will get you staying motivated to lose weight – remember that.
Find Social Support
Working towards your goals with a group has a lot of benefits. When you announce your weight loss goals to your friends, it gives you a level of accountability that pushes you towards this goal even further. Your friends’ cheers as they notice your progress will also get you staying motivated to lose weight.
When you also have a social support group of people working towards the same goal as you are, they will keep you focused on training as you will be doing it together and pushing each other.
Stay Committed
The only thing that will really push you out of your comfort zone and keep you focused is staying committed to the goals. When you are feeling tired, burnt out, and on the verge of quitting, you will need to reexamine the whole journey and ask yourself some tough questions such as:
- If I quit now, how will my life be like in six months? How will I feel about myself?
- If I quit now, will I start again later?
- Why did I start on this routine?
While you might be successful at everything else, remember that staying focused is what will keep you on the journey and stay on track.
Be Ready For Challenges And Fallbacks
Accept that you will constantly face small and big failures and challenges. This is the inescapable prize that we all have to eventually pay.
Just like muscles, willpower weakens over time when used heavily. Do not overwork yourself trying to avoid setbacks or to win back whatever you might have lost due to a challenge that came on along the way, focus on the end goal rather than what might have come along the way. Fallbacks are part of the journey, do not be afraid of them.
A well-rested mind will have you staying motivated to lose weight no matter the obstacles that come before you.
Don’t Go For Perfection And Be Ready To Forgive Yourself
We all struggle to be perfect, yet we know that we cannot be perfect. Do not be quick to train your idea of perfection on fitness or magazine models but rather someone you admire based on their life story and character. You should be ready to set and achieve not the “perfect” cover body you see on social media, but instead a form you are comfortable with and reflects who you are as a person.
If you have set a strict diet and find yourself breaking it from time to time, you should not beat yourself over it. Forgive yourself and focus on the larger goal, and not dwelling on one mistake.
Find Professional Help Where Necessary
It is great when you have a training schedule that you work at and towards at all times. However, it will work better when you have someone else to guide, motivate, and train you on achieving your goals professionally and in a healthy way that will not result in you overstretching yourself.
When working towards physical goals, many people tend to push themselves extra hard and towards the extreme rather than organized and achievable methods. This is where a professional trainer or fitness coach comes in. If you can, engage one from when you get started to guide you through the goal, plan the drafting stage, and give you tips to staying motivated to lose weight.
Weight Loss Diet
To stay on the motivation track while losing weight, you will need a good diet inspiration. A good and healthy one will not leave you hungry and unsatisfied. Experts have recommended low carb and low-calories diets countless times as effective eating plans for weight loss while maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle. Read more about health hacks >>>
A good plan should:
- Reduce your eating appetite.
- Cause fast and maintainable weight loss.
- Improve your body metabolism.
What To Eat
- Proteins, fat, and vegetables.
Ensure that your meals contain; protein, fat, vegetables, and complex carbs such as whole grains. A protein-rich diet reduces food cravings and obsessive thoughts of food by 60%, cuts the need for late-night snacking by half and makes you fuller.
Also make sure your food has important weight loss minerals like magnesium and zinc. We know it’s difficult to keep up the measuring report. In that case, you can always rely on weight loss supplements like Bioptimizers magnesium.
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No matter the eating plan you choose for yourself, your body will still need fats. However, you should consume healthy fats such as olive and avocado oil while keeping coconut oil and butter at a watchful potion.
What Not to Eat
- Refined carbs
To effectively lose weight, cut back on sugars and carbohydrates and replace them with whole grains. When these are swapped, you will find yourself fuller and consuming fewer calories. The diet will also see you utilizing more stored fat rather than carbs.
Remember that the key to staying motivated to lose weight is to eat what is in line with your efforts. Do not put into your foods that will poison and derail your efforts.
Weight Loss Exercises
Apart from dieting, exercise is one of the most common weight-loss strategies employed by millions of weight loser enthusiasts. It helps you shed extra pounds and burns calories as well as building stronger bones, improved moods, and a host of other benefits. We bring several of the best and practical exercises for you below:
Walking
Walking is a convenient and easy exercise for beginners who want to lose weight and do not want to feel overwhelmed or spend a fortune to buy equipment.
Harvard Health has estimated that a 70kg (155-pound) person will burn up to 167 calories in a 30-minute walk at a moderate 4 mph pace (4).
Walking does not stress your joints and can be easily added to your daily routine. You can walk while going to or coming from work (if it is not far), during breaks, or opting for the stairs in place of the lift.
Jogging and running
Another cheap and easy-to-do exercise is jogging and running. Before we go any further, let us differentiate the two.
Jogging is a moderate, slow run at a pace of between 4-6 mph, while running gets to at least 6 mph.
According to Harvard Health, a 70 kg person will burn about 298 calories in a 30-minute jog at 5 mph and 372 calories in a 6 mph run over the same period.
These two can be done early in the morning, on the streets, or a treadmill.
Cycling
If you are trying to get somewhere, have you ever thought of cycling there? Regular cycling will lower your risk of heart disease, cancer, and will increase your insulin sensitivity.
There is an estimation that a 70-kg person will burn 260 calories while cycling in a stationary bike for half an hour and 298 calories in a bicycle moving at 12-13.9 mph over the same period.
Swimming
Another fun way to get your body into the right shape is swimming.
A 70kg person will bun at least 233 calories per half hour. They will also lose 298 calories in backstroke, 372 calories with breaststroke, 409 with butterfly, and 372 treading water.
Remember that doing fun things will ensure you are staying motivated to lose weight at all times and won’t be discouraged by monotony.
Yoga
Yoga is gaining popularity with millennials and generation Z faster than other weight loss exercises. It not only helps you burn calories but will reduce stress as well.
A 70 kg person will burn around 149 calories in a 30-minute yoga session. It will also teach mindfulness, which goes a long way in establishing dieting control4.
Vibration
Putting your whole body into long vibration state can support weight loss. Why? Because vibration therapy passes energy into your body. This pushes your body muscles to contract and relax multiple times every second.
Finally, such high intensity vibration
- manipulate your body composition
- increase flexibility
- and increase muscle endurance.
Devices like Power Plate sums up why vibration therapy works.
Read Power Plate Review
FAQs About Staying Motivated To Lose Weight
Millions of people try to shape their bodies to the type they want to have. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions about staying motivated to lose weight;
How do I Get Serious About Weight Loss?
To be serious and focus on your weight loss journey, you will need to:
- Create a strict diet regimen and stick to it. It is impossible to lose weight while eating the same foods that gave you the weight you are trying to cut. You have to change your eating lifestyle to lose weight.
- And keep moving. To efficiently cut the calories, move your body as much as possible. Whether through walking, jogging, running, hitting a treadmill, just make sure your body is moving.
- Keep friends that help in your efforts. Surround yourself with people who will cheer you and push you to be better.
Can I Lose Weight By Doing Nothing?
If you want to lose your weight but somehow do not want to engage in any dieting or exercise regimen, you can do the following:
- Chew your food thoroughly and slowly. Your brain associates this with fullness, and smaller food portions, which will result in reduced weight.
- Eat a lot of healthy protein. Proteins make you fuller and that means eating fewer calories.
- Eat more fiber. Fiber forms a gel around your stomach that reduces digestion and will reduce your appetite and food intake.
- Drink a lot of water. Drinking water before a meal (half a liter) reduces hunger and lessens your calorie intake.
You do not have to keep to a vicious and strict regime to control your weight and keep your body toned. You can lose weight right at the comfort of your couch.
How Do I Discipline Yourself To Lose Weight?
While motivation will make you hit the gym or follow a schedule, it is a discipline that will ensure you are consistent with it. There are several measures that can improve your discipline in sticking with an exercise regimen:
- Keep it simple when you begin. To avoid the monotony associated with exercise, get started small and do not try out everything on your schedule at once. This will ensure you do not burn out.
- Focus on building your habits than on goals. When you have a healthy habit, you will likely achieve a long-term goal than if you focus on timelines.
- Build multiple plans. Write all the imaginable obstacles you might face in your journal and come up with favorable solutions beforehand. You do not have to follow a regular training program; instead, you should switch it up once in a while to avoid monotony.
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Sources:
1 https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/g18211672/weight-loss-motivation/
2 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/never-binge-again/201912/permanent-weight-loss-motivation-what-it-takes
3 https://www.lifehack.org/797037/motivation-to-lose-weight
4 https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories-burned-in-30-minutes-of-leisure-and-routine-activities