I don’t know about you, but I had tried to lose weight and keep it off many times before it finally stuck.
I wanted to know why some people were able to make permanent changes in their weight loss and fitness behaviors, while I couldn’t. I did a LOT of research into how our minds work, looking for the answers.
I learned a lot.
I found that there are 10 steps that you must take in order to make your healthy eating and exercise a permanent part of your life. I’ll post more on this topic in the days ahead, but for now I want to concentrate on one of the steps that I see missing in many people: clear motivation.
Just about everyone has a goal in mind when they begin their weight loss journey. They want to lose XX number of pounds, drop 2 pants sizes, run a 5K race, etc.
But goals are not motivation.
If your goal is a rocket ship, then motivation is the fuel that propels you from where you’re at to where you want to go.
Motivations are the reasons WHY you want to achieve the goals you set.
If you’re clear on your weight loss and fitness goals, then grab a pen and a 3 x 5 card. First make a list of the reasons why you want to achieve your goals. These are the motivations that drive you TOWARDS your goals. Next, make a list of the reasons why you do not want to stay where you are currently at weight- and fitness-wise. These are your AWAY FROM motivations. Though most of us favor either TOWARDS or AWAY FROM motivations, we need BOTH to ensure our success.
Now that you have your list of motivations, carry it with you everywhere. Take it out and read it out loud 3 or 4 times a day. Read it quietly to yourself 3 or 4 times a day. Read it immediately upon getting up in the morning. Make it the last thing you look at night before falling asleep. Program these motivations into your mind at every chance you get.
Though this is only one step of 10, you will get fantastic results from it…if you do it.
Lose Weight With Me 
April 10, 2007 at 9:13 am |
When I trained clients, I made it my goal to teach them how to have fun working out because the company I worked for was very effective at getting the new members to clearly define their goals, their motivation for wanting to chance and the time frame that they were hoping to work within.
As you mention, keeping the reason for the motivation visible is really important in keeping this motivation alive in the mind. Those that kept their goals in mind had little difficulty staying on track because they always knew why they were doing it. For those who tend not to keep the goal in mind, the company and independent research indicated that there is much better membership retention if the members have fun when they are at the gym.
Human beings tend to be motivated to feel pleasure or avoid pain. Given that diet and working out can be pretty unrewarding, helping the members learn how to have fun while doing them was key to helping them make the lifestyle changes needed to ensure ongoing success. Making it fun removes much of the pain, or at least balances it out and makes athletic pursuits worthwhile.
Until it’s fun, keeping the motivation level high is the only thing that’s going to make a dieter or exerciser out of a sedentary over eat. Once it’s fun, that becomes the motivation for doing it.
April 10, 2007 at 6:35 pm |
Great post, Patrick. Thanks for contributing!
Please come back again…
Brian