A struggle that’s common to all dieters is how to sustain motivation.
It’s likely you’ll see your desire to choose weight loss over the foods you crave come and go. This will happen, especially if your progress isn’t constant. One goal is to learn how to remain motivated while on your diet.
Adapting your lifestyle to include more healthy habits isn’t a one-time thing; it’s a big decision made up of lots of little choices.
Tips
To ensure that your motivation level always runs high, follow these simple tips:
Use a food journal
Write down everything you eat to hold yourself accountable. This record of your nutritional intake will become a powerful resource for helping you identify the habits that are holding you back.
Find a diet buddy
Friends and family can provide great support along the way during the hard times and will be with you to celebrate your success.
Fitness peer groups are another support system to help you maintain motivation. Sometimes you need accountability to get the job done!
Consider hiring a dietician
Maintaining a diet may be a struggle, therefore a dietician will be beneficial. They will provide a complete diet plan and practical ways to help you
Use calorie-tracking software
Smartphone apps and free website services will make tracking your diet incredibly easy. Many like MyFitnessPal and Lose It! have built-in barcode scanners, recipe analyzers, and nutritional charts to help you visualize your success.
Try new recipes
Experimenting with healthy alternatives can keep your diet more interesting. Do your research and search on Google where you will find
Use herbs and spices as often as possible to boost flavor
These won’t add any calories and may offer health benefits. Your food will taste better and may help you to stay the course. Bland food is not very tasty and may push you back toward the bad food items of your past.
Never start the day without a plan in place for what you will eat
Write an outline in your food journal, or choose your recipes ahead of time. After a while, choosing healthy meals and snacks will be a no-brainer. Some dieters even make an entire week’s plan at a time.
Focus on food quality and choose organic when possible
Think about the health benefits you’ll reap from eating
Prepare food as often as you can ahead of time
This will help you cut back on the time commitment it takes to eat according to your current plan during a busy week. Remember, leftovers will keep in the freezer for weeks at a time. They will make nightly meals easier and more enjoyable.
Add one new vegetable to your diet each week
Sticking to this tip, will boost your nutrition and make your diet more interesting. Include new vegetables on your shopping list. Also, remember to take the list so that you stay on course with your diet regimen.
Take a cooking class
Learning a healthier method of cooking can jumpstart any stale diet routine. A cooking class will be insightful and
Set specific daily goals
Aim to accomplish one main dietary objective each day. It could even be something as small as having a healthy breakfast or opting for fruit yogurt over ice cream.
Daily Goals
Prepare meals in advance
Add vegetables to shopping
Sign up for group Yoga class
A
Accomplishments
Prepared breakfast last night
Purchased Cauliflower
Spoke to Yoga Instructor
Maintaining your motivation doesn’t need to feel challenging as long as you’re prepared for it.
The biggest thing to make sure you’re doing is taking proactive measures. That way you will never experience low motivation – or at least you will bounce back in no time.
If you catch low motivation when it first starts, it will be faster for you to return to following your diet plan. This will help you change your eating habits for the better over time and promote lasting long-term results.
Motivation is a challenge you must expect and prepare for. If you fall off the bandwagon for a day or two, just get right back on. It only becomes a set-back if motivation fizzles out completely and you return to former bad habits for a week or longer.
Stay focused and on course…You got this!