Motivation To Lose Weight

Everyone wants to lose weight but very few people are serious about it. Most people have not found the real motivation to lose weight. Weight loss is going to challenge the core of your character. You are going to need to cultivate habits that may be the exact opposite of your current habits. Without a strong enough “why”, it is very unlikely that you will continue the journey when the going gets tough.

Here are 5 common drivers for most people to lose weight.

1. Losing Weight for Vanity
This is the main reason for many people to lose weight. People want to look good. Carrying excess weight makes one feel miserable and depressed.

Unfortunately, this is the weakest motivation to lose weight unless there is a deep enough desire. Most people who try to lose weight for vanity have to go through a lot of pain. They have to cross a threshold where they can’t take the mental of physical pain anymore. Its only when they cross this threshold that they decide to do something serious about their weight.

2. Losing Weight to Impress the Opposite Sex
This can be a strong motivation for younger people and for those who are looking for partners. Whether one likes it or not, physical appearance does play an important role when trying to woo someone. A lot of people who lose weight to impress the opposite sex do succeed because the desire can be very strong.

3. Losing Weight to Keep up With Spouse
This can be a strong motivation to lose weight for someone whose spouse does not have a weight problem. This desire gets even greater as the couple age. The overweight person tends to age faster than the slim spouse. The slimmer spouse gets more attention from the opposite sex. This can be a very strong motivation for the other spouse to lose weight.

Spouses who try to keep up with each other do end up living very healthy lives. They are able to maintain healthy weight levels as they are constantly competing to keep up with one another.

There are times when the overweight spouse tries to sabotage the slimmer spouse. It is easier for the overweight spouse to drag the other down to his or her level rather than rise up to the challenge and lose weight.

4. Losing Weight for an Occasion
This is an extremely powerful motivation to lose weight. One could be preparing for a wedding, a reunion or a holiday.

People who have such goals almost always achieve them. Setting specific and measurable goals yield unbelievable results. The only downside to this type of motivation is that it is a short term goal. Once the occasion has passed, there are no follow up efforts or concrete steps to maintain the weight loss.

5. Losing Weight for Health
This is another strong motivation to lose weight. Health is something that you do not miss until you start losing it. Most of the time, an increased appreciation for health comes from a wake-up call. This wake-up call could be the sudden death of a friend in the same age group. It could also be attributed to a doctor’s visit.

Increased awareness about health need not come in the form of a health calamity. It could also come from increased awareness via education. People who are lucky enough to have this awareness are the ones who end up having healthy and sustainable weight loss.

Identify Your Motivation to Lose Weight
Find out why you want to lose weight. Make sure that the reasons are not superficial. An example of a superficial reason is trying to lose weight because your friends are doing it. Another superficial reason could be because your spouse wants you to lose weight. Unless there is a deep desire within, you would quit at the first obstacle that comes your way.

Tips on Losing Weight

I browse the internet last last few days to search for some healthy food recipe but instead I stumbled upon few tips on losing weights. Well, I guess sharing is caring.

You know the drill when it comes to losing weight--take in fewer calories, burn more calories. But you also know that most diets and quick weight-loss plans have about as much substance as a politician's campaign pledges. You're better off finding several simple things you can do on a daily basis--along with following the cardinal rules of eating more vegetables and less fat and getting more physical activity. Together, they should send the scale numbers in the right direction: down.

1. Once a week, indulge in a highcalorie-tasting, but low-calorie, treat.
This should help keep you from feeling deprived and binging on higher calorie foods. For instance:

Lobster. Just 83 calories in 3 ounces.
Shrimp. Just 60 calories in 12 large.
Smoked salmon. Just 66 calories in two ounces. Sprinkle with capers for an even more elegant treat.
Whipped cream. Just 8 calories in one tablespoon. Drop a dollop over a bowl of fresh fruit for dessert.

2. Treat high-calorie foods as jewels in the crown.
Make a spoonful of ice cream the jewel and a bowl of fruit the crown. Cut down on the chips by pairing each bite with lots of chunky, filling fresh salsa, suggests Jeff Novick, director of nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa in Florida. Balance a little cheese with a lot of salad.


3. After breakfast, make water your primary drink.
At breakfast, go ahead and drink orange juice. But throughout the rest of the day, focus on water instead of juice or soda. The average American consumes an extra 245 calories a day from soft drinks. That's nearly 90,000 calories a year--or 25 pounds! And research shows that despite the calories, sugary drinks don't trigger a sense of fullness the way that food does.

4. Carry a palm-size notebook everywhere you go for one week.
Write down every single morsel that enters your lips--even water. Studies have found that people who maintain food diaries wind up eating about 15 percent less food than those who don't.

5. Buy a pedometer, clip it to your belt, and aim for an extra 1,000 steps a day.
On average, sedentary people take only 2,000 to 3,000 steps a day. Adding 2,000 steps will help you maintain your current weight and stop gaining weight; adding more than that will help you lose weight.

6. Add 10 percent to the amount of daily calories you think you're eating, then adjust your eating habits accordingly.
If you think you're consuming 1,700 calories a day and don't understand why you're not losing weight, add another 170 calories to your guesstimate. Chances are, the new number is more accurate.

7. Eat five or six small meals or snacks a day instead of three large meals.
A 1999 South African study found that when men ate parts of their morning meal at intervals over five hours, they consumed almost 30 percent fewer calories at lunch than when they ate a single breakfast. Other studies show that even if you eat the same number of calories distributed this way, your body releases less insulin, which keeps blood sugar steady and helps control hunger.

8. Walk for 45 minutes a day.
The reason we're suggesting 45 minutes instead of the typical 30 is that a Duke University study found that while 30 minutes of daily walking is enough to prevent weight gain in most relatively sedentary people, exercise beyond 30 minutes results in weight and fat loss. Burning an additional 300 calories a day with three miles of brisk walking (45 minutes should do it) could help you lose 30 pounds in a year without even changing how much you're eating.

9. Find an online weight-loss buddy.
A University of Vermont study found that online weight-loss buddies help you keep the weight off. The researchers followed volunteers for 18 months. Those assigned to an Internet-based weight maintenance program sustained their weight loss better than those who met face-to-face in a support group.

10. Bring the color blue into your life more often.
There's a good reason you won't see many fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: Believe it or not, the color blue functions as an appetite suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red, yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies find they encourage eating.

Courtesy of Reader's Digest Stealth Health.