Inspiration for weight management
Jim Rohn, the American motivational speaker aptly described the symbiotic relationship we have with our bodies: Take care of your bodies. It’s the only place you have to live. Many of us recognize this great onus and have taken up the responsibility by adhering to prescribed exercise regimens and healthy meal plans. After working so hard to achieve an ideal body size, we need to continue inspiring ourselves to pursue weight management. It’s never easy staying within the boundaries of ideal weight, so occasionally, we need to seek motivation, within and without.
Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation
There is a place for both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation for weight management. Say a spouse or a friend commends you on how to fit your look. Remember the time your trainer applauded your svelte frame, your strength, and your endurance? You’re flooded with a warm feeling of self-appreciation which motivates you to continue doing your best to maintain your weight. This type of inspiration coming from external sources is called extrinsic. Even though very effective, you cannot count on its constant availability. Here is when intrinsic motivation comes in. You need to be the endless, dependable source of your own motivation. Make a list of reasons why you should follow your weight management regimen. Does it improve quality of life or life expectancy, look, and feel good, stand as a role model for a loved one, prevent lifestyle diseases such as diabetes? Have a self-introspection session to arrive at intrinsic factors that you can draw inspiration from whenever needed. There will be many times when you will be tempted to steer off your feeding or fitness plan but a quick look at your list reminds you why you must stay strong.
How your body type motivates you
An ideal meal and fitness plan is based on your body type. As part of building a strong base for self-motivation, one should be aware of body types to steer yourself to an achievable weight management goal. If you are an endomorph, with a large frame and higher body fat, keep in mind that you can easily gain weight. By avoiding bad snacking habits or drinking carbonated drinks, reducing portions, and following the appropriate fitness plan, you are placing priority on the prevention of sugar and fat intake. A mesomorph will take advantage of its ability to lose any extra weight fast by enrolling in an enjoyable fitness activity. With calorie counting, they can enjoy an assortment of meals. Lastly, if you are an ectomorph, you enjoy a small frame but still must be careful about checking unhealthy fat levels. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your body type helps streamline your motivation for weight management.
The emotional aspect of weight management
It all starts within you. There are many causes of weight shift, both avoidable and unavoidable. For one to successfully remain fit, it is imperative to delve into the causes of the shift and deal with it inwardly before any outward bodily change is reflected. What are your bingeing triggers? Do you eat when you are sad or stressed? Are there childhood traumas that might have caused an unhealthy reactionary habit? If need be, one can seek professional help to psychoanalyze the causes of bad eating habits. With this, you can now start applying habit-changing skills such as eating within your meal plan, snacking healthily, adequate hydration, and exercising. Meanwhile, as you maneuver the emotional aspect of weight management, keep yourself motivated by acknowledging the satisfying feeling you get after achieving short-term goals. For example, if you set out to drink a healthy smoothie instead of carbohydrate load and you did, that is a success worth celebrating. Sometimes, concentrating on the number on the scale can be discouraging if the change is not what is expected. Instead, enjoy the small wins.
Another brilliant way to boost emotional satisfaction is rewarding yourself after a win. Remember that a win should be self-defined to avoid the strangling limits of comparison. Whatever goal that you set and achieve should be celebrated. You can have a fun night out, wearing a nice new outfit or buying new exercise attire. It could be a bottle of perfume or new trainers. Whatever it is, will encourage you to continue pursuing weight management as the gifts serve as reminders for your gains.
"Fake it till you make it," is an important mantra for self-inspiration. By picturing the end results before achieving them, you get more motivated to work towards a weight management goal. Seeing yourself strutting around wearing your dream dress floods you with positivity, a key ingredient for self-motivation.
Smart habits to maintain motivation
As much as we could have established both internal and external streams of inspiration, there will be times when motivation wanes. When this happens, give yourself a break. It’s only natural. Do not condemn yourself or punish yourself. Instead, acknowledge the weakness and intend to do better. Depriving yourself of favorite foods, say chocolate or a cheesy treat, for an extended amount of time can be debilitating. Allow yourself to indulge albeit responsibly and as prescribed by a dietician.
For smart weight management, you are encouraged to seek an individualized plan. You can design one yourself or seek professional help with a good meal and fitness plan. You must be wary of the numerous fads floating all around and instead follow a focalized plan based on factors such as body type and preconditional diseases. A plan should be attainable. The goal should be to keep off extra weight.
Managing weight is about looking good. By losing any piece of clothing that fails to flaunt your hard-earned body, you are committing to looking fit. Lose any clothes that a bigger in size so you never go back. This is a way of making a commitment to yourself that you will work to manage your weight.
Awaken the competitor within you by enrolling in team sports or recruiting friends to play in group sports. This is a way of having fun as you exercise. A competitive spirit overwhelms all other small fears and insecurities. It’s easier to stay motivated while playing with others compared to when exercising individually.
Keeping a weight monitoring diary is another smart way to monitor weight. If you are into journaling, you can include weight notes as you write about your wins. This is also a way of recording your wins. If you have a digital diary, you can include photos to make it help visualize your achievements.
Motivational strategies from celebrities
Living in a digital time, we need to take advantage of countless health, fitness, and lifestyle apps available in that space. Many celebrity trainers have developed apps that will help you train the comfort of your house. Additionally, they usually have a healthy eating segment where you can draw recipe inspiration from.
You must have come across videos of your favorite celebrities during extreme exercise regimen, sweaty and tired, but still exerting through the relentless declarations by their trainers. Many times, these statements are harsh, calling out laziness and asking the trainee to work harder or risk failing to attain their goal. Many celebrities prefer harsh and stringent trainers who will not sugarcoat reality. Sometimes, all you need it a little bit of tough love.
For many celebrities, money is no object, and are therefore able to stock healthy foods from anywhere in the world. There are endless organic choices, high in protein and fiber to replace sugar, sodium, and fat-filled food. Change your home and office to reflect your health goals. Organize your food in attractive utensils and cut in beautiful shapes. Look for recipes that will transform any boring healthy food to something attractive and sumptuous.
Bottomline
Al in all, there are many weight management inspirations. The goal is to find one that will pick you up on those days you feel down in the dumps. Even on those days, instead of giving up, practice self-compassion. Love yourself in the state you are, appreciating your body in all its wins and failures. We are always a work-in-progress and should learn to appreciate all attempts at making ourselves healthier. Jess C. Scott reminds us that a fit, healthy body—is the best fashion statement.