6 Ways to Increase Weight Loss Motivation – Martha Beck
The life lesson: to increase your motivation to lose weight, you need to find what works for you. The successful woman: life coach, author, and Oprah Magazine columnist Martha Beck.
Beck says that appreciation and gratitude increases your motivation to lose weight and stay slim. Why? Because when you’re happy, you don’t do as much “comfort eating.” You don’t feel anxious or depressed – which both often trigger overeating. Plus, the stress hormone (cortisol) that accompanies anxiety encourages your body to hang on to fat.
That’s why many women lose weight when they fall in love!
To learn more about Martha Beck’s theories and research, click on The Four Day Win: End Your Diet and Achieve Thinner Peace. And, read on for her ways to increase your weight loss motivation…
6 Ways to Increase Your Weight Loss Motivation - Martha Beck
Remember: you need to find what works with your personality. Exercising in a group Pilates class may work for your sister – but walking on your own may be better for you. You need to tune in to your own likes and dislikes.
1. Use exercise as your “me” time. Combining solitude and sweat is what works best for me! I run and do Pilates at home alone – rarely do I work out with others – to let my mind wander, my creativity flourish, and my energy increase. If I had to go to the gym or yoga class, I…just wouldn’t! If you’re struggling with an illness, read Coping With Chronic Illness – Natalie Goldberg.
2. Get the right equipment. Maybe the best way for you to increase your weight loss motivation is to stock up on the exercise balls, spinning outfits, Pilates mats, and Yoga gear. Or, maybe you need to join a running group – and all you need is a good pair of running shoes. To figure out your exercise personality, look in your closet or basement: how many old pieces of exercise equipment or fitness clothes do you see? If it didn’t work before, it may not work now. Try something new!
3. Join an outdoor club. I was single when I lived in Calgary, Alberta – and I joined the Calgary Outdoor Club and was thrilled at what they offered! Hiking, ethnic dinners, movie nights, white water rafting, trips to Mexico – all for singles who wanted to do exciting things but didn’t want to do it alone. This was perfect motivation for me. I chose physical activities that challenged me, and I lost weight because my body was being stretched in new ways (sometimes literally!).
4. Try new physical activities. If you’ve always been intrigued at the thought of belly dancing or rock climbing, then grab a buddy and try it out. The more new workouts you try – even if you’re not spectactularly successful – the higher your self-confidence will climb, the better you’ll feel about your body….and the more you’ll be motivated to lose weight.
5. Join a team. This way to increase your weight loss motivation works if you love the comaraderie that accompanies soccer teams, softball teams, or walking groups. Knowing that your teammates or fellow exercisers are waiting for you could be all you need to get and stay fit.
6. Work with a personal trainer. Some people need the discipline and structure of a personal fitness trainer. If you can’t afford it, talk to a trainer about bartering. Can you offer a service that she needs, such as doing her accounting, babysitting her kids, or cleaning her house? A personal trainer may motivate you to stick to your weight loss goals – and not cost an arm and a leg!
For more weight loss tips, read 10 Ways to Lose 10 Pounds – Julia Cameron.
Friends, what works for you to increase your weight loss motivation? I welcome your comments and questions below…
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hi am in lvu wid my boyfriend,i am very much mad on him.bt hez nt careing hw mu ch i lvu him bcoz of ths i hve lots of mind stress,nor i cant frget him nor i cant leave him,plz tel wt wil b solution.my condition ly thing to do sucide
A step is a great idea — I love fitness DVDs, but haven’t tried a step workout yet. Let me know how it goes, FitRosie!
I like to walk at home with Leslie Sansone, time just zips by & it makes me feel great!
I just got a step to try & a couple of DVDs to go with it & I think that will make a challenging change.
Getting some new gear like trainers or a tea shirt with go faster stripes or what ever pleases me also gets me in the mood to try them.
I totally agree! I do the 10 Minute Solutions DVDs at home — I have about 7 of them, and it’s way, way better than going to the gym. Those DVDs are all the weight loss motivation I need.
.-= Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen´s last blog post..Smart Ways to Save Money – 5 Tips for Financial Growth =-.
Hi Laurie, It’s well worth getting the right equipment to work out at home. I joined the gym about a year ago, and found I didn’t really get there very often. Now that I’ve got equipment at home, I’m working out on a much more regular basis, it is easier if you’ve got the stuff at home.
Hi Anita,
Thanks for your tip about this diet! I’m not a fan of any type of weight loss regime or diet, but it’s good to know that there are some diets that work for some people. And, it’s good to hear that publishers are walking their talk
Laurie
.-= Laurie PK´s last blog post..Teaching Kids about Money at Christmas – Tips for Parents =-.
As the publisher of the number one bestselling CRAIG CLAIBORNE GOURMET DIET, I have tried both Glickman’s and Claiborne’s regimes, and Glickman’s works far better.
I lost 20 lbs in 10 days, and made a major alteration to my permanent diet that keeps the weight off. The diet is simple, sound, easy to master and execute and it works.
Most diets are about as complicated as IRS instructions for your tax return and one can quickly find an excuse for giving up.
Following up the diet with a sigmoidoscopy to take advantage of the newly cleared intestinal tract should be the ultimate way to detect and prevent colon and intestinal cancers.
Any book this short that is this clear and this good should be in everyone’s library.
Hi Kari,
No, I didn’t know Martha Beck is speaking in Calgary! Very cool. I lived there for a year, before I moved here to Bowen Island, BC.
Do you have tickets to see Beck? I hope you blog about it!
Laurie
.-= Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen´s last blog post..13 Tips for Easy Halloween Costumes, Parties, and Pets =-.
Love Martha Beck – great post! Did you know she will be speaking in Calgary on October 5th?
.-= Kari DUnlop´s last blog post..Glinda Girls ‘Spread the Bliss’ to Deserving Women in Calgary =-.
Sandra,
No worries about ranting — that’s what Jane is here for!
I love this bit about exercising:
“I’m so tired of exercising,” said comedienne Jann Karam. “I think 5,000 sit-ups should be pretty much permanent. You should be at home, you’re on your last and final jumping jack, and you get that phone call: ‘Congratulations! You have completed the exercise portion of your life. Welcome to the incessant eating section.’ ”
Wouldn’t that be something — to be done with exercise forever??
I just wrote an article for Health magazine, about keeping your brain healthy until you’re really, really old (it’ll be in the Sept 2009 issue, if all goes as planned). A brain expert from Princeton said that exercise is the number one way to keep your brain strong and prevent diseases such as Alzheimer’s…because the more oxygen you get flowing throughout your body, the healthier you are.
I don’t know about you, but keeping my brain healthy is vital. In fact, I wanted to go off on a huge eating binge yesterday (I’m bad for emotional eating) — and you know what stopped me? The fact that it’s bad for my brain. I’ve written articles on how bad excess sugar and fat is for our bodies, and I know what happens when I binge…and it ain’t pretty.
For you, Sandra — and all women struggling with weight loss motivation — I think finding your trigger is the key to exercising regularly! It’s different for every woman: some like to sweat, others want to look gorgeous, and still others just want to have healthy brains.
What’s your trigger? What would keep you going back for more? (It might help to read my 10 Health Benefits of Exercise on Quips and Tips for Achieving Your Goals http://theadventurouswriter.com/blog/quipstipsachievinggoals/health-wellness/fitness-goals-health-benefits-exercise/ )
Also — another key to weight loss motivation is finding activities that you LIKE doing. If you have to force yourself to work out, then you won’t do it for long.
Did the guilt trip work yesterday?
Laurie
In terms of excerise, little works for me. I don’t like sweating, never did even when I was thin. I was never that into sports. I wasn’t a gym class hater, I really enjoyed it, but I didn’t do any extracurricular sports.
I did start fencing back in 2002 and loved it enough to not mind the sweating. But the 45 min. drive each way started getting old, the dynamics of the club changed and it wasn’t fun anymore. I barely went in 2008 and quit early this year. I do miss it, but there is nowhere else to fence that is any closer.
Having to change into my exercise togs, jump around my living room to a DVD until I sweat, having to then take the time to shower and change clothes again to me is a drudge. But I have to do it, don’t I. I have trouble with keeping it up because it is a drag. (In large part because the instructor is always saying the exact same thing.) I don’t like classes because even beginner classes usually aren’t really beginner level and there are always people there who are already thin and can breeze through whatever it is, making me look fat and foolish.
It is hard work to keep “pumping myself up” with thoughts that I’m putting on just to keep trying to feel positive about it all. (Goes for the dieting too.) I’m lying to myself and having to make like that’s a good, happy thing.
I’ve had times when I’ve kept up exercising regularly for as much as two months and never have gotten to where I feel perked up or energized by it. I wish I would as I think it would help. It’s supposed to happen, but it hasn’t. Two months isn’t long enough.
Then there’s this; I’ll get sick and not exercise till I’m better and it’s hard to start back up. Or I go on vacation and it’s hard to get back at it once I’m back home.
Speaking of all this is a good guilt trip. I’m going to go jump around to my DVD or do my mat routine. I should do both but I don’t know if I will, I don’t want to end up exhausted and in tears later, which is what usually happens.
Again, sorry to rant. These are sore subjects and I’m rather depressed today already.
Sandra