How To Stay Motivated When Trying To Lose Weight

This is the 7th article of an 8-part series! I sent this information out to all of my Transformation Challenge Participants. Click the link if you want to learn more about it or participate in the next one! Cash prizes for the winners!

A common theme that I always notice towards the end of a challenge is the lack of motivation. Motivation comes and goes for everyone so if this is you right now, you're not alone. Maybe all you need is a mindset shift.

Most find that the hardest part of losing weight is motivation. People start with impressive goals and are excited, but after weeks of exercise and lifestyle changes, they lose focus and motivation and slip back into their normal way of life. This is especially true for people who are trying to lose a lot of weight or when they don’t feel like they’re making any progress. Here are some strategies that can help you maintain your motivation:

1. Motivation gets you going but discipline keeps you growing. Motivation comes and goes but discipline stays after motivation is gone. Practice discipline because it is more reliable. 

2. Remember your why. Why are you doing what you do? Be so committed to your goals that nothing can get in your way. 

3. Set Goals. Speaking of being committed to your goals, set them. Be clear about them and write them down because without knowing where you want to go, you might end up somewhere else. More on performance-driven goals below.

4. Track your progress. You can only manage what you measure and sometimes adjustments have to be made. 

5. Stack small wins. Greatness is a lot of small things done right stacked on top of each other. That’s how you make big accomplishments. 

6. Create Habits. We don’t think about strong habits so if you can create a daily routine for yourself a lot will get done without thinking twice about it. 

7. Surround yourself with like-minded people. If your five friends are successful, you’ll become the sixth. Find individuals with similar goals and hold each other accountable. 

8. Do what you love. If you find something you truly enjoy you’re more likely to stay consistent. 

9. Ask for help. You’re not suppose to have all the answers when learning something new or trying to accomplish something you never have before. If you need more help with your fitness journey, reply to this email.

10. Visualize Success. Imagine yourself reaching your weight loss goals and visualize the positive outcomes it will bring to your life. Be sure to create vivid mental images of yourself achieving success and use these visualizations as a source of motivation.

Mindset Shift

Everyone who participates in my challenge has an aesthetic goal, and nothing is wrong with that. However, if you're losing motivation, it could be because you're ONLY focusing on aesthetics. Part of the reason why so many people adopt a short-term mindset and fall into the trap of looking for quick fixes is because all they care about is the scale.

Performance goals are a specific outcome from your training. For example, trying to lift a certain weight or run a certain distance. Benefits to adding performance goals to your aesthetic goals:

1. They make progress quantifiable. You know whether or not you squatted 400 lbs or ran faster than last time. You have concrete proof of your progress. Things are a lot more complicated when it comes to the way you look and the scale. 

2. You focus more on what you want to achieve rather than on what you want to change. Positive framing shows higher success rates over negative framing when it coming to goal setting.  

3. Reaching a performance goal gives you a confidence boost and a nice hit of dopamine. Realizing that you’re capable of something makes you appreciate your body/health so much more.

4. Aesthetics are a bonus to almost every performance goal. Want to lost 10 lbs? Set a goal of running a 5k. Want to build muscle? Set a goal of squatting 200 lbs.  

Focusing on performance rather than aesthetic goals has kept me motivated and disciplined for the last 10 years. It has made me fall in love with the process and addiction of wanting to be better. When I walk in the gym I push myself harder and harder because of this and when you push yourself hard, you get great results.

As always, reach out with questions at any time and check out the next article in this series!

Paul Rabic