If you’re trying to lose a few pounds , you know it’s not always easy. The difficulty of changing the habits we have been practicing for years is compounded by the low level of motivation that usually appears after the first days or weeks.
Because motivation , like fame, is a fickle friend who always starts the path with us but then becomes capricious, appears and disappears . Here are some tips to stay with you and help you not to lose momentum.
1. Set realistic goals
This trick should be practiced before you even start , and in fact one of the factors that can predict the success of an effort of this type is to have set reasonable goals at the beginning, because if you insist on losing 20 kilos in a month, you’re predisposing to failure insurance.
Instead, you are much more likely to stay true to your objective if you make small but sensible changes and set smaller but achievable objectives in the short and medium term. Write them, if possible, by hand. Start by a couple of kilos or a size of clothes. That will give you the confidence and motivation to continue persevering.
2. Do not go hungry
To lose weight is something sustainable, it is best to make gradual changes in lifestyle, and that is not done from one day to the next. In particular, betting on very restrictive diets to lose weight very fast is a strategy doomed to failure .
Mainly because going hungry is unsustainable : it makes us irritable and predisposes us to a ‘yo-yo’ situation in which the lost weight returns quickly once we leave the restrictions.
It is better to reduce caloric intake much less and lose between half a kilo and a kilo a week, for example, something that will not cause hunger or anxiety, will help us lose weight and keep it off.
3. Keep in mind that there will be steps back
We can all be tempted at times, and that is not a problem. The problem is when, after giving way to something that should not enter our diet (for example, a chocolate cookie), we can let the demotivation and we throw all our effort into the trash (eating the whole package).
Keep in mind from the beginning that this type of situation will happen, and nothing happens. Just do not let them get out of hand and return to your new and improved habits as soon as possible.
4. But do your best to avoid them
To realize that this is not a linear process and without accidents does not mean that you can not do some things to avoid them . To start, avoid having these “accidents” on hand: do not buy food that involves a step back , to make it difficult to fall into them.
If, for example, you are not going to totally eliminate sweets like chocolate, be sure to buy them in individual portions , so that “a snack” does not become “the whole tablet”.
5. Forget about perfectionism
If you think you will start the diet on Monday, or the first day of the month, and from there you will not make any mistakes or you will not take a step back not only you are cheating, but you are also paying the ground so that, in front of the first stumble, give up all the effort completely.
Focus on doing things as well as possible for as long as possible . There will be dinners in which you do not worry about calories, mornings in which the scale shows you a number that demoralizes you, weeks in which you can not step on the gym … Perfectionism would make you desist, do not allow it.
6. Try a new sport
A new class in the gym , join a team of something you have never played before or look for new training programs online. Anything that involves learning will add to your physical activity a novelty component that will prevent you from getting bored . In addition, seeing your progress little by little will motivate you to move forward.
7. Do not do it alone
Changing habits alone is not easy, and less in something that affects all aspects of our lives, such as food. Find someone with whom to share motivation and efforts : your partner, your family, a friend, a group in the gym or online. So you can share your successes and also your steps back.
8. Be patient
If you have too much weight, the first kilos will go down quickly, but come to a point, you will stay stagnant and what was working until then will suddenly seem to stop doing it. This is normal and you just have to have a little patience . Recognize everything you have advanced and celebrate it yourself.
9. Reward yourself
Losing weight and changing habits is not easy and many times it is not fun, so make sure you reward yourself for your achievements. Of course, try not to be rewards associated with food : give yourself a new dress that suits you, go for a relaxing massage …
10. Design a maintenance plan
More difficult than losing weight is maintaining the new weight , so keep in mind from the beginning that this will not be a matter of a few months and return to your previous life. Ask for help from a professional and create a maintenance plan, something sustainable and with what you enjoy , because changing habits, to be really effective, should be something permanent.