Getting Started: Self Motivation

The one thing in weight loss, and life, you cannot live without, no matter what life style change or behavior/habit you are correcting, is motivation. There are two types, extrinsic motivation (outside) and intrinsic motivation (within). There are a lot of things that motivate people to lose weight which are extrinsic such as looking good and fitting into a smaller size. However, extrinsic motivation only takes a person so far. Intrinsic motivation relies on taking pleasure in a certain activity rather than working towards a reward or goal.

Our minds get bored very quickly and so we need to always keep finding and adding new goals and motivators to help us along. So here are some ways you can motivate yourself to lose weight/get healthy:

1. Goal Clothing - We need achievable goals to strive towards. People tend to want and look at the end result first and don't take the time to enjoy the process of getting their. I want you to go to your favorite clothing store and purchase an article of clothing you would like to fit into someday. Obviously, if you are an extra-large at the moment, do not buy a small as your goal; that is not achievable and you will not succeed. Take the clothing home and hang in it your bedroom where you will see it everyday and use that as a goal to get to. If you're an XXL, then purchase an XL to start. As you fit into the sizes, you can keep buying new goal clothing. 

2. Photo Booth - Take pictures of your progress. Our minds are tricky and have an image of ourselves the way we think we look. We see ourselves in the mirror every day and may not notice a 20-pound difference that a friend or family member will see. I can tell you that after losing over 100lbs, I still feel like I've lost nothing some days. Far from the truth, but again, our minds don't help! So take pictures of yourself and compare them as you go along to see the changes. 

3. Success Stories - This could either encourage, or discourage you from what you're trying to do. The best thing to have are other people who share and are going through the same thing you are. Check out some weight watchers stories or forums. 

My reason and motivation was that I was pushing 300lbs. I never EVER wanted to weigh that much and I made a deal with myself to not get that high. So, I did something about it and found motivation.