How To Stay Motivated To Lose Weight

The top question I’m asked is probably this one: “How do I stay motivated to keep losing weight?”

Good question. But first let’s talk about why we lose motivation in the first place.

In the beginning of our weight loss effort we often feel super motivated and determined. 

“This is it! This is the LAST time I’m doing this!” 

We overhaul our pantry, kick sugar to the curb, and vow to “be good.” Maybe we even jump into a challenging workout regimen.

*Note* Let’s drop the idea of being “good” or “bad” when it comes to what we eat. Food is food, so let’s direct the morality police toward things that actually pertain to morals. 

Eating half a chocolate cake doesn’t make you a bad person. It doesn’t make you weak, and it doesn’t make you evil. 

It makes you a person who overeats food that you enjoy sometimes. No prison sentence required. 

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled conversation about motivation. *End Note*

But then, a few weeks into the program or diet or whatever we choose to call it, our enthusiasm begins to wane. 

Why? Well, we’ve been running on a heady combination of sparkly adrenaline and willpower. The “shiny new thing” energy doesn’t last that long, and when it wears off we find ourselves unprepared for how to continue without it.

This is when so many fall into the trap of “I’ve lost my motivation” and begin reverting back to old habits.

There’s this myth that it takes 21 days to break a habit. Yeah, not true. It can take up to 254 days - that’s almost 3/4 of a year. 

And habits are stubborn; they basically wait in the corner doing pushups until they see your resolve weakening and then come roaring back.

It’s also extremely difficult to change more than one habit at a time. So when we gallop forward all gung-ho into “My New Life,” changing several things at once, it’s no wonder we often revert back to what we’re so used to doing.

All of this is why it’s important to 1) make one change at a time, 2) accept that it’s going to take longer than you think it should, and 3) be prepared for when your old habits come screeching back.

That’s where I can help…I specialize in what to do when that happens.

Now, I’ve also had several people tell me that they’re only motivated to lose weight when they’ve become completely disgusted with themselves. 

Then I ask, “How’s that been working for you in keeping it off?”

The response? “It didn’t work.” Because here they are again, trying to lose weight. 

Disgust and anger aren’t motivating long-term. “Break you down to build you up” may work in the military, but it’s not effective when it comes to your relationship with your body. 

That’s why in my program the very first thing we practice is self-kindness. Without it you’ll eventually revert back to your prior habits every time. 

Accepting your mistakes, embracing your humanness - that’s part of self-care. 

When you drop the shame and judgment for kindness and compassion, you actually WANT to take better care of yourself. 

You’re willing to make better choices because you care about yourself enough to want to feel better in your body. 

You start paying attention to how food makes you FEEL, not just what it tastes like. 

And weight loss becomes a side effect, not the entire purpose of your existence that you’ve struggled with for as long as you can remember.

I’m going to wrap this up by pointing out that motivation is also completely misunderstood.

It’s not a thing that you’re born with, or that you suddenly wake up with one morning and never lose again. 

Motivation comes from taking action…not the other way around.

You have to start. A body in motion stays in motion; a body at rest stays at rest. (Newton’s Law)

So when you don’t feel like eating only when you’re hungry and stopping when you’ve had enough, you have to practice doing it anyway. 

It takes practicing doing things you don’t feel like doing.

It takes patience with yourself. Instead of berating yourself, you can tell yourself that you’re still learning.

It takes persistence to change things that you’ve been doing for a long time to get to where you want to be.

It takes a lifelong commitment to yourself to practice ways of taking really good care of yourself. And for many of us, that takes a while to learn because we haven’t learned it before. Instead we’ve learned how to prioritize everyone else’s needs above our own and, in the process, have reverted to unhealthy habits.

And guess what? It’s okay to acknowledge your mistakes. It’s okay to be disappointed in yourself. But it’s NOT okay to mentally kick the everloving crap out of yourself over them.

That’s what I have for you this week. If you’d like to learn more about my program and how to work with me to lose weight, manage depression, and feel better, email me at dana@revolution-within.com.

Love & Hugs,

Dana