Embarking on a weight loss program is a great first step towards achieving the goal of a slimmer, healthier you, but staying continually motivated, focused and inspired is not always easy.
One minute you are feeling positive, unstoppable and determined to shed the extra kilos but then something happens to dampen your enthusiasm.
It might be a bad day at work, or perhaps a week of torrential rain or the return of a niggling back problem has kept you from your daily exercise – whatever the setback, getting back on track can be a challenge.
Support from a sidekick
Sydney Personal Trainer Goran Veg recommends finding a partner to train with as an important first step to staying motivated.
“You become accountable to that person, even if it’s your personal trainer, and it keeps you honest,” he said. “You are not always going to be in the mood to train, so knowing you will let that person down if you don’t turn up for the session is a good way to stay motivated and keep the momentum going.”
Goal setting is also part of Veg’s methodology ... but not just any old goals. He encourages his clients to set “big, powerful and scary goals” to ensure a more satisfying end result.
“The trick is to break those goals down into small, baby steps to make them more achievable,” he said. “Otherwise the task will be too overwhelming. I always say personal training is as much about psychology as anything.”
Crunch time
The next step? Draw a line in the sand, according to life coach Michelle Duval, who specialises in helping people with health and fitness issues. It’s essential that once you decide on your goal, you make the decision to develop the necessary habits and behaviours now – not later.
“Often people have an abstract vision of what they want to achieve so the first step is defining what success means for them,” she told The Biggest Loser Club. Whether you want to fit back into your skinny jeans or completely transform your body, it pays to pin down your true objective.
“We ask individuals to really think about the core motivation behind their goal because that helps them to achieve it,” she said.
Keeping up momentum
If you had your very own life coach on tap, how would they keep you motivated and focused towards your weight loss goal?
Duval’s advice is practical and methodical. The trick to maintaining momentum is not to leave it too long between noting change, patting yourself on the back and celebrating achievement. Focus on small incremental action steps.
Here are some ideas on how you could break your goal into smaller, bite-sized action points:
- Give yourself the goals of losing 1kg, increasing to 3kg, and again to 5kg.
- Aim for a loss on the scales, no matter how tiny, for eight consecutive weeks.
- Increase the time you spend exercising by five minutes each gym session until you reach a certain amount.
- Try a new fitness activity in addition to your usual routine each fortnight.
- Get a pedometer and increase your steps by 5% each week.
- Find a new way each week to save 100 calories, for example having your sandwich without butter, switching to low-fat dairy, forgoing sugar in your coffee or skipping an alcoholic beverage.
Then count and acknowledge every small achievement and improvement. Give yourself a ‘high five’ and share your progress with your friends and family.
“Ultimately the aim is to set up new habits and skills that will create a positive lifestyle change,” Duval said. “Really, our role is to help them create their own sustainable motivation so that they don’t need us.”