I knew staying motivated while I was losing weight was going to be a hard task to keep and there will be days that I’ll feel tired and indifferent. So my next plan of action after I wrote down a list of reasons why i wanted to lose weight was to set SMART goals which will help me achieve my MAJOR goal.
When I say SMART, I mean :
Prioritized: First things first. If you make priorities among your goals, you’ll be able to focus on what needs to be done first. For instance, if you are inactive now and you have a long-term goal then you should have many other “mini” goals ahead of it.
Plan: Planning is key, you can’t get to your goal unless you know what you need to do. Knowing you want to lose weight isn’t the same as having a clear idea of how you’re going to make it happen. Write down everything and go through all the details.
Precise: Be specific when you set your weight loss and fitness goals. I sat down on Sunday and mark Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for my workouts on my calendar, along with a time for them, I knew i’d be more likely to follow-through.
Measurable: What time you should eat? When and where you’ll do your exercise? How far are you going to walk?How you’ll fit it into your schedule? What do you need to get started? This way you’ll be able to track your progress to see if you’re meeting your goals. As you meet each goal, you can cross them off of your list. This will give you a sense of accomplishment!
Positive: Instead of focusing the goals on what you “shouldn’t” do or “can’t” have, make sure your goals accentuate the positive. Doing so will keep you feeling positive.
Reassess and Adjust: Be willing to change your goals as you make progress in your weight-loss plan. You might find that you need to adjust your goals to better fit your new lifestyle.
Nutrition: This plays a major part in losing weight, and you need to stay motivated to lose weight the healthy way. Think of high energy and low fat foods that you like and will eat. It may be foods like yogurt, bran cereals, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, low fat cheeses, low fat milk, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. Make a list of these things and then make sure you have plenty of these items on hand in your kitchen, ready for you to prepare. Just to be safe, make a clean sweep of all the junk food in the house. It is beneficial to remove temptation, no matter how strong your willpower might be.
Lastly, set up a reward system for yourself. For example, once you lose five pounds, treat yourself, and don’t use food as a reward. You might want to treat yourself to a massage, or that cute new shoe you have been eyeing. This method is a great way to stay motivated to lose more weight.
Simply Sola 