The best motivation is a realistic short-term goal
We set goals regularly. Even when we go to the store, we give ourselves the task: “buy bread.” You put on a jacket and then set the goal “not to freeze.” If you are tidying up the house before guests arrive, you again set the goal “to be a good housewife, to make a good impression.”
Every action we take is aimed at obtaining results. We always move through life in the direction that we consciously or unconsciously desire for ourselves. If we set the right goals, we will always go in the right direction.
Short-term goals are in most cases more important than medium- and long-term goals. They are aimed at meeting daily needs. They are easier to achieve.
Long-term goals are never achieved in most cases. They are a vital landmark, like a lighthouse, showing the direction. The motto of an alcoholic: “It’s impossible to drink all the vodka on earth, but you need to strive for it.” A big goal, just a dream! It is unlikely that he will implement it. But why not strive for it?
Likewise, a woman who wants to lose weight has a goal in her head, which may remain an unattainable dream. But there is a way out! Set short-term goals.
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The great thing about daily goals is that they are easy to achieve. This way, your motivation to lose weight will not disappear after a couple of weeks. To keep your enthusiasm alive, follow these recommendations:
- Keep a motivational diary;
- On the cover write your main goal “I want to lose weight”;
- In the evening, make a plan for the next day. Write specifically: what you will eat (meal plan), how long you will exercise, how many steps you commit to take tomorrow, what healthy foods you will buy for yourself.
- The next day, carry out your plan.
- In the evening, thank yourself for successfully completing all the points and make a plan for the next day.
Motivation No. 1 - losing weight for health
Globally, 30% of the population suffers from overweight and obesity. Most of them want to lose weight. For what? Of course, every person understands that “extra pounds” are a burden on internal organs. Look how difficult it is for a fat man to move, and how easily a slender woman moves.
The most powerful motivation for losing weight is taking care of your own health. Even after getting rid of a couple of kilograms, the body feels better and the soul is filled with joy. You will feel a tremendous effect when you get rid of even 5% of excess weight.
Thoughts for motivation to lose weight:
- Even a little weight loss is incredibly beneficial for your health and well-being;
- Excess weight leads not only to obesity, but also to the development of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The likelihood of stroke and the development of cancer cells is reduced.
- The lower the percentage of internal fat, the better the internal organs work, and there is no pain in the joints.
- Excess weight provokes the development of inflammatory processes.
- Psychologists often draw a parallel and close relationship between obesity and depression.
- People of normal weight live longer.
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Scientific studies provide the following statistics:
Every 5 kg of excess weight increases the risk of developing 10 types of cancer, including leukemia, cervical, kidney and thyroid cancer.
Obese people are 18% more likely to die from stroke and cardiovascular disease.
In the United States, 75% of medical expenses are spent on treating diseases caused by excess weight.
Why do you need to lose weight
There are several good reasons for losing excess fat:
- Excess weight turns a woman into a clumsy creature who finds it difficult to rise from a chair, walk, or perform even the most necessary household chores.
- Internal organs work in unfavorable conditions. A couple of extra pounds will not bother you; if you take their appearance lightly, they will “multiply” very quickly. The liver will begin to ache, you will feel where the heart is (it will indicate its location with pain, rhythm disturbances), the stomach will rebel, etc.
- The desire to look in the mirror disappears: who enjoys seeing with their own eyes the growth of a double chin, the transformation of wonderful eyes into unpleasant slits? Your favorite dress insidiously clings to numerous folds, or even comes apart at the seams, unable to accommodate your swollen bodies.
- Your husband tries to avoid going out with people together; his girlfriends, on the contrary, strive to be with you more often: from now on you are a wonderful backdrop for their charms.
If one of the reasons hurts you the most, this is your strongest motivation.
You can stimulate yourself:
- Self-affirmation;
- Money;
- Emotions;
- By coercion.
You cannot punish yourself or engage in self-torture.
Motivation No. 2 - personal life
The chances of finding a life partner for a slender woman are much higher than for a lady of XXXL size. Few men like fat women.
At an uncomfortable weight, a woman does not feel liberated and lacks grace. This gives rise to complexes, self-esteem falls, and with it the confidence to find a soul mate.
Extra pounds can become an obstacle to fulfilling sexual relationships. They limit partners in the variety of physiological satisfaction.
Obesity associated with hormonal imbalances affects the libido of both men and women. There is a rejection of your body.
A woman stops dressing brightly so as not to attract attention to herself. Lack of motivation to take care of yourself. Therefore, when a man begins to show signs of attention to a woman, she perceives them with caution. There is a fear that the man just wants to joke with her.
A plus size woman looks much older than her years. Excess weight in 100% of cases leads to poor health. What kind of sexual desire is there?
A woman dissatisfied with her appearance becomes irritable and sometimes hysterical.
Getting rid of extra pounds of fat will become a strong motivation for losing weight for a woman who wants to improve her personal life and find a worthy life partner.
1Reduce your calorie intake
Currently, a large number of diets have been developed. However, their main point is to reduce the number of calories consumed. As you know, a woman should consume about 1500 calories, a man – 2000. However, these numbers are relative and for each person you need to calculate the amount of calories consumed. Various formulas are used for calculation. After calculating, you need to subtract 500 calories from the resulting number. It is this difference in calories that will help you gradually lose weight without harm to your health.
Motivation No. 3 - dream job
Employees of recruitment agencies confirm that overweight women have problems finding work. Of course, we do not discriminate based on the age, gender or appearance of the employee. But, as soon as an obese person starts looking for a good job, he will probably face rejection from employers.
You can forget about your dream job. Therefore, motivation to lose weight for people looking for work will be the strongest incentive to find a decent job with high pay.
The range of professions for slender women is greatly narrowing. There are professions, such as flight attendant or flight attendant, where there are weight standards. A few extra pounds can put you out of work.
You won’t meet a fat woman in a store or boutique selling branded clothing or perfumes; they simply won’t take her there in the first place. But in a regular store, where the salary is an order of magnitude lower, there are plenty of them.
Unfortunately, employers have biases imposed on them from the field of fitness, beauty and health. There is a stereotype that a curvy woman is not agile enough, is slow, has health problems and does not look presentable.
Psychologist's opinion
Experts who have studied many real stories of the battle with fat have made a general conclusion about the motivations that work the most:
- Love. An incentive that works great at any age. The desire to conquer the object of your love is discouraged by something else - to eat enough for the night. People in love lose weight quickly and without much effort.
- Beautiful clothes. Buy the most exquisite outfit - a dream dress. But only a size smaller. Now your incentive is hanging in the closet - with a little effort, you can put it on. And next to it you can place trousers three sizes larger: if you do not change your lifestyle, these huge trousers are a symbol of your near future.
- An example to follow. You need to choose it correctly: your ideal should be a person who has lost excess weight. If he had the willpower to curb his body, why are you worse? It is useless to imitate a girl who has never had such a problem - perhaps she has a genetically correct metabolism, which cannot be disrupted by any excesses.
- A gift for diligence. This is also a good incentive - for those who like rewards. You can motivate yourself in this way after achieving any intermediate goal. But the main prize - a trip, a desired thing - should be awarded “on a pedestal” after the program has been fully completed.
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Many people work well in teams. They take responsibility for any team work, and will do everything not to let their comrades down. In such groups there is a spirit of mutual support; program participants share advice with each other, encourage the weak and look up to the strong. Meetings do not have to take place in reality - now people are successfully uniting in virtual communities on the Internet.
For some, their own appearance does not play a big role. But shortness of breath, climbing stairs with great difficulty, and gastrointestinal problems seriously worry them. The motivation for this group of people to lose weight is health - probably this incentive is the second most powerful, after love (although, in theory, it should be the first).
Motivation #4 - Self-confidence
Low self-esteem and self-doubt are a common companion for overweight people. The inability to lose weight and bring your body back to normal becomes a psychological problem. This condition can greatly affect your mood and even develop into depression.
Overweight people often feel guilty. It seems to them that they cannot lose weight due to weak willpower and laziness. They lose confidence. Their opinion of themselves and their capabilities decreases.
My attempts to lose weight were unsuccessful, which means I have a weak character. This is how most fat people think about themselves. Self-esteem decreases, and along with it the desire to understand the problem disappears. Obese people withdraw into themselves and suffer greatly from this.
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Many people believe that when they lose weight, they will be happier. This is not entirely true. It all depends on the individual, the person’s internal attitudes. Therefore, it is important not only to engage in the process of losing weight, but also to engage in self-development, personal and spiritual growth.
Gaining self-confidence, becoming happier and improving the quality of your life will be a good motivation for people who are thinking about their future life.
If you are over 50
Metabolism begins to decline from the age of 30 - every ten years by 10%. And body weight increases by about the same amount. So the woman comes to her half-century anniversary with a significant increase in volume. By the way, the growth of the fat layer at this age has a completely understandable reason: the restructuring of the hormonal system. If before menopause estrogens were produced by the ovaries, then after menopause their function is taken over by adipose tissue. With enough of it, menopause occurs almost unnoticed, and osteoporosis (reduction of bone tissue associated with menopause) does not develop.
But the body can take care of the accumulation of the necessary fat itself. But there is no need to “help” him with this by absorbing calories in unlimited quantities. The body has a tendency to accumulate, and stores unnecessary fats in reserve. You see the results of his work with the naked eye and feel it by the lack of strength to control the “blooming” flesh.
They say that we are genetically programmed to either run or eat. In other words, when at rest a person wants to chew something. And since 50-year-old ladies do everything slowly, without fuss, they move extremely little - which means they eat more.
Psychological aspect
At the age of 50, the taste for life is lost: everything that can be achieved has already been achieved, or the need for it has disappeared as unnecessary, the ranks of friends are steadily thinning... New relationships are difficult to establish, and most often communication comes down to short, meaningless conversations about the weather.
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A decrease in social activity negatively affects self-esteem and mood. One joy is to eat delicious food. This is the attitude towards yourself that you need to fight with first of all. And it’s surprisingly easy to do: just remember what you wanted to do in your youth, when there was no time left for a hobby. Now look for like-minded people - and develop for your own pleasure.
In groups united by common interests, life becomes busy, time passes quickly - only there is not enough time for food. However, this is what you wanted to achieve.
What physical activities are beneficial at 50 years of age?
You can stimulate your metabolism with intense movements. You can get your body moving by doing:
- Cleaning the apartment (do this as often as possible);
- Work in the country (here for physical activity - freedom);
- Every evening walks of several kilometers;
- Swimming;
- Biking;
- Qigong gymnastics.
Not all 50-year-old women will risk going to the fitness cube. Meanwhile, this is where there are suitable activities for them:
- Fitball;
- Exercises with rubber shock absorbers;
- Yoga;
- Pilates.
But keep in mind that all these classes must be supervised by a trainer.
Which diet to choose
All newfangled diets are accompanied by an imbalance in the supply of nutrients to the body - vitamins, minerals. A deficiency of any of them in adulthood can lead to diseases. In addition, most diets involve restricting fluid intake, which is unacceptable for advanced age.
Write down what you usually eat and highlight simple carbohydrates from the list:
- Sweets;
- Buns made from premium flour;
- Semolina;
- Cleaned rice
Eliminate them from your diet forever. Include complex carbohydrates instead:
- Cereals on the grains of which the top layer has been preserved (buckwheat, millet, wheat groats, etc.);
- Pasta from durum wheat;
- Whole wheat bread;
- Bran loaves.
Include as many vegetables and fruits as possible in your menu. Gradually switch to new nutrition rules. Keep in mind: the maximum weight loss per week should not exceed 500 g.
The more weight you lose in 7 days, the more wrinkles and other age-related problems you will have.
Calculate the calorie content of your regular menu, and reduce this number by 250-300 kcal. But on the contrary, increase your water consumption - you should drink at least 8 glasses a day. By maintaining an optimal drinking balance, you can maintain skin elasticity, and at the same time calm the feeling of hunger.
Affirmation for weight loss
There are special combinations of words that help you break down your psychological barriers and gain confidence to achieve your dream of a beautiful figure.
Affirmations are positive statements that help motivate yourself to certain attitudes. Their repeated repetition can work wonders. Faith and motivation are powerful things!
It is important to begin each statement with the word “I” or “To me” and speak in the present tense.
Affirmations are not prayer. You can say them in any order and add your own statements. It is important to conduct auto-training daily.
- I only eat when I'm hungry;
- I'm losing weight every day;
- I am following my meal plan;
- I control how much I eat;
- It's easy for me to lose weight;
- Every day I become slimmer;
- I am happy that the weight is decreasing every day;
- I feel healthy;
- I create a body that I will admire;
- I have a flat stomach;
- I love my figure;
- I like to take care of my body;
- I only eat healthy food;
- I am food independent;
- I got rid of food addiction;
- I believe in myself.
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2Find new habits
Of course, it is quite difficult to form new habits in the presence of old ones. However, it is enough to set yourself up and try a new habit, which can result in significant results. For example, for dinner, instead of high-calorie cutlets and pasta, there will be a fruit salad with juice. Of course, pasta with cutlets is much tastier than fruit salad, but less healthy. However, having stepped on the scale in the morning and felt a loss of 100 grams, a person will find the proper motivation and in the future will more often eat fruit salad with juice for dinner than high-calorie pasta with cutlets.
The same applies to drinking alcohol. In particular, this applies to beer, vodka, and champagne. As you know, when drinking alcoholic beverages, the metabolic process is inhibited, and a wild appetite appears, as a result of which a person ceases to control the amount of food eaten.
Tips and tricks
Stop trying your best. If you feel that your motivation to lose weight is fading, then allow yourself a short break for 1-2 days. At this time, do not burden yourself with training and allow yourself to enjoy some delicious food.
Before going on a diet or reducing the amount of food you eat, get your hormones tested and talk to your doctor about your health.
Stop sitting all the time! 65% of people sit for 20 hours a day, which negatively affects their figure. Get into good habits: talk on the phone while standing, never sit on public transport. Get up from your desk to walk more often.
Join Overeaters Anonymous. There you will gain a lot of experience, new friends and like-minded people. This is a free community of people who use the 12 step program. They have "live groups" in most major cities. For the rest - groups on Skype, chats for communication and mutual assistance.
Small extras
In order not to inadvertently forget about the main goal, organize small reminders for yourself:
- If possible, dress up in a swimsuit before eating. Now eat, while simultaneously examining your sides, stomach and thighs.
- Glue your photos from the wonderful past on the mirrors, when your figure was not yet burdened with folds of fat.
- Place your skateboard, bike or skis so that they always catch your eye (and there are scales at the entrance to the kitchen).
Set a rule: if there is no achievement at the end of the stage, there is no gift - and strictly adhere to it.
