Have you heard about “yo yo dieting?” It’s a pattern where one gets started on a diet program, loses some weight and then regains all the lost weight and even some more. The main reason why someone would gain weight after going through the weight loss process, is by getting demotivated and falling prey to factors that had caused weight gain in the first place. Sometimes slogging out in the gym and following a strict diet would stop showing results, which is a common phase that people who want to lose a considerable amount of weight often encounter. It’s called a “weight loss plateau” and that does not mean that you wouldn’t lose anymore. At this point, many lose the motivation to go ahead and fall off the weight loss wagon too soon while some others stick on and realize their goals after the initial hiccups. The key is to remain motivated and stop losing hope because once you choose hope, everything is possible. Since “motivation” is the key that opened your journey to weight loss journey, it should also be the primary driving force that would motor you through the entire process till you achieve your desired weight. I had recently watched an interview of an extremely fit person who actually mentioned that it’s okay if you are not seeing any progress after a certain point, just stick on, and you would achieve much more success than earlier. In fact, when you doubt whether you should actually stick on despite seeing zero results, remind yourself how amazing it feels when you eat healthy and workout compared to when you just load up on sugar and be a couch potato. When you see results, it becomes an obsession, but to get better results, you need to continue with the efforts and not worry about failure. Most importantly, don’t give up! In this post, we would list out ways to stay motivated during weight loss process and how to achieve success moving on:
What is a Weight Loss Plateau?
Weight loss plateau may discourage, depress, demotivate you to such an extent that you may give up the whole idea of weight loss. So, what are these so-called plateaus? When you are extremely dedicated to exercise and religiously follow dieting, in the beginning, you will see rapid weight loss, but after a point, you might notice that the weight is not dropping faster or is not moving at all. It’s the stage where you have hit plateau and it might get you frustrated.
Ways To Stay Motivated During Weight Loss Process:
1. Go back to your “before” pictures and come back to take a look at your “after” pics: Majority of us would agree that we do not mind flaunting our “before and after” pics and that’s because we are actually proud of what we have achieved till now and we are confident that we wouldn’t be going back to the “before” person ever. However, if you stop watching your diet or exercising, that would push you back to your “before” picture sooner than you think. When you lack the motivation to march on, it’s a good idea to pull out your “before and after” picture every now and then.
2. Understand that it’s part of the process: Weight loss plateau can ruin your progress and make you lose focus. But we would like to motivate all of you guys who have hit the plateau and tell you that a plateau also means that you have lost a significant amount of weight and to lose more, you will need to make some changes to boost metabolism and fast track your progress, and get over the plateau. It also means you are getting closer to your goal weight, hurray!
3. Only clean eating can get you there: Stick to healthy eating and that’s where Rati Beauty diet programs are successful because it revolves around healthy eating to lose weight without compromising on nutrition. Healthy eating does not have to be boring, Rati Beauty encourages you to try new things instead of limiting yourself to eating the same food day in and day out.
4. Meal Plan for the Whole Week: A majority of why we go yo-yo on clean eating is that we run of meal ideas and do not prep for the whole week. In this case too, Rati Beauty diets, which give us meal ideas for the whole week that are easy to follow.
5. People will not notice your weight loss for the initial three months, so don’t lose hope if you are efforts are not caught sight of by friends and foes. Lack of acknowledgement should not demotivate you because “lose weight for yourself, not for others.”
6. Stock only healthy food in these three places – kitchen, pantry, and fridge. Retain only what qualifies as healthy in these places and dump everything else away. An organized pantry, kitchen, and refrigerator will always motivate you to eat healthy.
6. Start with small goals – you are probably getting demotivated because you are not seeing big numbers on the scale. Don’t aim at losing 10 kg in 15 days, it won’t happen! When it doesn’t happen, it would disappoint you and push you to go back to weight gain. Be happy if you are just losing one or two kilos here and there, these will add up to big numbers!
7. Stop measuring your success in big numbers, as we have mentioned earlier, get excited when your clothes become loose instead because weight loss is not only about drop in weight on the weighing machine, it’s also about inch loss.
8. Find a role model and get inspired with their weight loss. Follow their story on how they managed to lose weight and get healthy.
9. Picture yourself on how you would look after losing the amount of weight you wanna lose – visualization is an important factor that helps to keep you going.
10. Don’t compare yourself with others – beat your previous targets, compete with yourself, and get healthy.
11. Don’t make weight loss destination, make it your lifestyle. Don’t stop after reaching a certain weight for which you have worked through all the way. Instead, make what you got there your lifestyle.
12. Keep a food journal. It’s the most easiest thing to do – keep a weight loss diary and note down every little thing that you eat. In fact, let it be a record of your progress. Let it help you weed out wrong kind of food that might be hampering your progress.
13. Be patient: You didn’t gain weight overnight and you wouldn’t lose it the same way – patience is the key.
14. Find people with common intention and make a group. People on Rati Beauty diet programs motivate each other to lose weight the healthy way.
15. Don’t weigh yourself all the time – it’s not the correct thing to do. Instead of the numbers, as we have mentioned earlier, check whether your clothes are getting looser. Weight loss is not just about dropping weight on the scale, it also means inch loss from the waist.
16. Make a list of what all the things you have achieved after losing some weight – how energetic and active you feel, how you are able to shop for clothes more easily now, etc.
17. Make a to-do list for everyday – keep everything off the to-do list that would throw you down from the weight loss wagon. For example, do not eat out frequently, do not miss your workout. Make a schedule and stick to it.
18. Remember weight loss is not just about getting into shape, it’s also a sure-shot way to prevent diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and a variety of other lifestyle disorders. Remember these diseases do not wait for you to get old – they can strike you in your 20s and 30s, so buck up.
19. Do not follow a diet program that you cannot sustain for long, eat healthy, without following any fad diet.
20. Do not deprive yourself of good food. Losing weight does not mean bland and tasteless food. Once you have deprived your body of tasty and healthy food, it would cause cravings and you will soon feel demotivated, and get back to unhealthy eating habits.
21. Note down triggers that are demotivating you and try ways to weed them out. Stress and emotional dependency on food are common factors. De-stress by working out and doing yoga.
22. Reward yourself for sticking to clean eating and workout: If you have followed clean eating for 6 days, indulge in a treat on the 7th day. Likewise, gift yourself something if you have worked out at least 5 days in a week. Rewards reinforce positive behavior.
23. Believe in the power of positivity. Try to look at positive side of everything, ponder on how far you have come, and how far you would go if you stick to the plan.
24. Change your workout routine: Most probably, a change in workout routine or doing exercise which you would enjoy will tip the scale in your favour.
25. Be kind to yourself: Don’t blame and then punish yourself for not achieving goals that others have easily done. Be kind to yourself, keep working, and soon you will get there too.
Most importantly, visualize yourself getting into your old jeans which you have refused to part with because one day, you will be able to get into it!
