The road to weight loss is arduous, and many times you will feel discouraged to continue. The key to reaching your goal is to maintain perseverance throughout the journey, in different ways you can improve your mood and re-get excited about reaching the goal.
If you have a positive and happy state of mind, it is most likely that this affects your actions and your body. The decisions you make throughout the day can change your feelings and wreak havoc on your diet. So here are some tips to help you stay positive on your weight loss journey .
How to stay positive while losing weight
The first day
The reason you decide to start losing weight has great validity. Whether it’s because you can’t wear the same clothes you used to wear before or because your life has turned into a junk food cycle, the important thing is that you’ve decided to make a change. For that alone you should feel proud of yourself: not everyone has the courage to accept reality and face it.
Being overweight not only lowers your self-esteem, it can lead to serious health consequences in the long run, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoarthritis, stroke, and heart disease. Therefore, taking the initiative to prevent them is a big step for you.
You may be afraid on the first day that you will not be able to achieve your goals, but it is totally normal to feel nervous. To get rid of those feelings you can focus on what is important: take it easy and enjoy the trip. Remember that wellness starts from the mind: if you put in enough effort, you can get what you want.
End of the first week
The hardest thing when it comes to dieting is sticking to it on the weekends. During the days of the week it does not matter, because you have everything controlled and prepared, but when on Saturday you want to go out with friends the situation gets complicated, and the most possible is that you end up cheating your diet.
Don’t despair: your yearning for the weekend is fading when you start sticking to healthy food. In addition, being on a diet does not mean eating only salads, there are great varieties of healthy and delicious dishes.
When you want to realize it, you will be the one who gives up eating a hamburger.
After 30 days on a diet
A whole month has passed and this can mean different emotions for you, depending on how much progress you have made. If you receive a positive response, you will be motivated to continue, but if it is the opposite, it may all be in vain.
The important thing here, regardless of your progress, is to take time to re-establish short-term goals and not punish yourself for what you have not achieved.
It’s frustrating not meeting all of our goals in the time we want, but it’s a good way to practice your patience. You also can’t expect massive changes if it’s only been 30 days: change takes time.
When you meet your first goal
This is a time of celebration, whether you’ve managed to lose 5 kilos or improved your training level. Giving yourself a reward for all your hard work is essential to keep motivation high.
However, don’t think that by deserving a gift you can revert to old eating habits. Make reasonable decisions. You can buy new sportswear or start an activity that you like, you deserve it.
The moment when temptation is high
When you are faced with the temptation to eat something unhealthy , your judgment can be a bit clouded by the sensations of the moment. The most sensible thing to do on these occasions is to take a deep breath and ask yourself: How will I feel in 10 minutes if I decide to consume this? If the answer is positive, you are free to eat it, if the answer is negative, you should rethink your decision.
Remember that it is you who decides at the end of the day. You are actually free to eat whatever you want, but think that eating junk food is doing bad to your body.
Instead of getting frustrated when you can’t eat that bag of chips, remember a time when you made a good decision and were rewarded with better health.
When you feel stuck in the same place
Stagnations are the most difficult to overcome, because when you are inside one you feel the worst demotivation. Fortunately, you can counteract its effects by investigating what it is that you are doing wrong in your routine. Sit down and have a conversation with your nutritionist or coach and review your diet together. In addition, it is a great opportunity to analyze your sleep, training and water consumption habits, since these factors can be the cause of your stagnation.
On the other hand, each person and his organism are different from all the others. It all depends on your health history, your genetics, and your daily routine. Comparing yourself to others is not going to solve anything, it will only put more weight on your shoulders.
Conclution
Don’t be afraid to start a new healthy life. Staying positive is difficult during the process, but anything is possible if you work hard enough to get there. With these tips we hope you can progress at your own pace.
References
- Lindsay, T. How to Stay Positive Through Every Stage of Your Weight-Loss Journey. For Livestrong. [Revised September 2019].
