Easy Weight Loss Strategies That Work!

Motivation in a Minute!

It's the beginning of the week, you can't wait to start, you've never felt so motivated, this time you know you will lose that weight Right!.............right?

Finding our motivation can be easy - at the beginning! You start the week with great intentions, excited about the change you are going to make to your life, you know what you have to do and you are confident that this time, you can do it!

For the first few days you are on track, in fact you may be doing even better than expected. Resisting those huge temptations makes it all the more difficult to accept when you fail over something seemingly small a few days later. It may be something as simple as a bad day at work or catching a bad news story. That little voice starts telling you not to bother, this is just like all the other times you've tried and failed, you have no willpower. Sound familiar? So once you've found the motivation, how do you keep it going for the long haul?

"People believe that through discipline alone, they can create behavioural changes," says Charles Stuart Platkin, author of Breaking the Pattern: The 5 Principles You Need to Remodel Your Life. "But typically, willpower doesn't last very long."

Changing the way you feel about yourself, your daily habits and your belief system sounds daunting, but by making it happen one minute at a time you will get there. Try the following seven tips to help get you started:

1. Get to know yourself: Write a daily journal of everything you do. You will start to notice times your energy levels are low and when they are up. Note the things that happen that make you feel great and those that make you feel not so great. Try to increase the amount of minutes and actions in your day that make you feel good and decrease those minutes and incidents that make you feel bad. These things are within your control more than you realise. For example, when that colleague at work you've been battling next gives you trouble, don't let them get to you, instead change your behaviour and smile or compliment them. You'll be surprised at the change in yourself.
2. Forget the deadline: If you've set a deadline for losing weight, that's fine but it can seem a difficult goal to reach when you are struggling to stay on track. Not meeting a deadline can happen for a number of reasons. The overall result is usually feelings of shame and failure which invariably lead to giving up. Take it one minute at a time, make your goal getting through the next day and when the temptation is at its worst, just get through that next minute and the next. If you slip up that's ok, you can get back on track in just one minute's time!
3. Declutter: Get rid of the clutter in your home, your car, your office. A messy home is a messy life. Use those nights in front of the TV to file away the clutter in your home. Go through your wardrobe, get rid of what you don't need or haven't used in years. You'll be surprised how liberating this is. Get rid of the clutter and take control of your environment, make it work for you. If this sounds like too big a project, start with the car. Remember, just one minute at a time. It may just mean picking up one thing every time you take the car out.
4. Move: Take your walking shoes with you everywhere you go. Get moving, it's the number one motivator and it's so easy. Don't think about it, just do it right this minute. Get up and move. If it hasn't worked for you in the past then forget planning 40 minutes of exercise four times a week, use this minute now to get up and go. Every minute counts! Forget joining the gym, it's easy to make excuses not to go. Every minute is an opportunity for you to move now. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk to the furthest coffee shop. Dance around the lounge to your favourite song or even walk to the second bus stop before getting on the bus after work. Even if you are not a morning person, get up one morning before you think about it and go for a walk, you will be amazed at the difference it makes to the way you feel for the rest of that day. Simple exercise clears your head and gives you clarity, it increases endorphins and makes you feel happier, and it brings oxygen to your blood making you look younger, making you feel stronger and healthier and actually gives you more energy. You will sleep better at night and a side benefit is you'll lose weight faster!
5. Don't deprive yourself: If you want a treat, have a treat. Depriving yourself of something you want can lead to obsessing and ultimately grabbing for the whole packet. Have a few pieces of that chocolate and enjoy it. And if you do eat the whole packet, in another minute you can get yourself back on track.
6. Get rid of toxic people: Many of us have people in our lives who we know deep down, don't have our best interests at heart. You may recognise that you are always feeling down after you speak to them. Get rid of these people from your life. Don't be afraid to let them go. Sometimes you need to close the door on one person to make room for new friends to come in. You will be amazed at how quickly this happens. It only takes one minute.
7. Break old habits: It's been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Break down your goals and tackle them one at a time. You will find that rather than struggling to hit that deadline, the minutes will go by and your task will become easier and easier. Before you know it, you will have created a positive new habit or broken a bad one!

The main point to remember is to be good to yourself. You should be congratulated just for choosing this road to success. Recognise it won't always be easy, but if you can just get through the next minute and the next after that, it will get easier with each minute and suddenly, you'll find yourself looking in the mirror at the person you always wanted to be! Not only will you be looking at a slimmer you, you'll be stronger, fitter, you'll be more positive and mentally you'll have the motivation to handle anything that comes your way! Congratulations, your sixty seconds starts...............start your weight loss program now!