Over and over, you tell yourself you are going to work on losing weight.
You are determined to get back on your exercise program. You also plan to stock up on healthy foods instead of chips and cookies.
And most of all, you are going to have strong motivation to do all of this.
That should work and you should be able to get back on your weight-loss or maintenance program. And you do… for a few days or even a couple weeks.
But then you falter and slip backwards on your lovely plan. Soon you are at the beginning again and wondering what happened to your motivation.
You are not alone in this struggle. In my work, I have heard this same story from so many clients. Even people who have lost a lot of weight or have been maintaining for a long time will begin to struggle and see the scale creep up.
Where did my motivation go?
We all know that weight loss is partly a mind game. So we think that if we can just stay motivated to reach our weight-loss goals, it should keep us on track. But during this challenging time of dealing with politics, virus and daily life, staying motivated takes a lot more work than usual.
Motivation takes energy. Any time you feel exhausted, overwhelmed, or highly stressed, you’ll probably struggle to get yourself going. Even though you know exercise would make you feel better, you can’t bring yourself to do it.
If you recognize the low-energy connection, it’s time to look for ways to overcome it. Sometimes, all you have to do is ONE small thing such as push yourself out the door for a walk instead of sinking into the recliner.
Do ONE thing
This week, I challenge you to simply do ONE thing. It can be ONE thing each day or ONE thing in several areas of life you want to focus on.
Here are some ideas—you can do just ONE of these or all of them. All that matters is that every single day, you do at least ONE thing.
• Take ONE short walk.
• Eat ONE healthy meal
• Eat ONE piece of fruit.
• Skip ONE cookie or other unhealthy snack.
• Make ONE new recipe.
• Read ONE motivating lesson or article.
• Do ONE yoga stretch, rest, then repeat it.
• Lift ONE weight ten times
• Walk up ONE flight of stairs.
Taking action brings more action. So each time you do ONE thing, you’ll find it easier to do ONE other thing.
After a week of doing ONE thing each day or in each area you want to work on, you’ll realize your determination and motivation are back.