Achieving your weight-loss goals involves so much more than just saying no to dessert. For many, the journey to becoming healthier and dropping to your goal weight is a lifestyle change. It’s about cooking and eating better, incorporating exercise into your daily routine and sticking to good habits that support your journey. But sometimes, even with all that effort, you hit a point where you just feel … stuck. We’ve all been there.
Here are six tips to help you stay on track when things get tough:
1. MAKE A NEW GOAL
Even if you just want to achieve the weight loss for you, it’s nice to put a time frame around a certain pound loss so you have a goal in mind. An easy way to do this is to think about events you have in the future and choose one of those. Whether it’s a wedding, a high school reunion or just a party where you’re likely to run into people from your past, do what works for you.
2. ENLIST A BUDDY
Find a friend or family member who may want to join in your fitness goals. You’ll be much less likely to skip your morning spin class if you know Sally will be waiting for you. If you can’t get a full-time fitness partner, try enlisting different coworkers to go on walks with you at lunch or ask your mom or partner to text you to check and see how many steps you’ve gotten in each day.
3. MAKE A PROGRESS CHART
You know how satisfying checking something off your to-do list is? You’ll get the same satisfaction if you put a calendar somewhere visible in your home and mark off your progress. It could be the workout you did that day, your current weight or even writing down an inspirational quote. The more filled up that calendar is, the better you’ll feel.
4. MAKE A VISION BOARD
Get out the art supplies and do a little crafting. It could be cut-out photos from magazines of the clothes you want to buy or a photo of you from when you were your goal weight (just stay away from unrealistic magazine model photos, please) — or both. Combine the inspiring photos with energizing quotes and other motivating words and place it somewhere you’ll see it every day. Every time you see it, it’ll remind you what you’re working toward and how great you’ll feel when you get there.
READ MORE > IS THE QUALITY OF CALORIES MORE IMPORTANT THAN QUANTITY?
5. CREATE A REWARD SYSTEM
Having a reward system can be tricky because you don’t want these treats to necessarily be food-related, so think about what other things make you happy. Maybe it’s a massage or buying those new jeans when you get to a certain weight or taking yourself on a trip. You can even include the reward on your vision board and combine these two together! Make sure to take a moment and appreciate how far you’ve come and reward yourself for how hard you’ve worked. This isn’t easy!
6. SWITCH IT UP
It might be time to switch it up from your typical meals or fitness routine. Luckily, MyFitnessPal has lots of workout ideas and recipes, so browse around and try something new to get you motivated. Might we suggest Savory Steel Cut Oats and this 6-Week Belly Fat Blasting Walking Plan?
