If you’re looking for advice on how to stay motivated and lose weight, I will let you in on the secret of what works for me. But believe me, I am all too familiar with lacking any type of inspiration whatsoever in getting started on a weight loss journey, and especially so when it comes to actually sticking with a diet for the long haul.
For years I always told myself things like “it’s okay, I’ll start tomorrow”, “this will be my last big meal”, or “I’ll start after the New Year”, and all the various lies you can tell yourself that make you feel better about not doing anything about your weight for just “one” more day.
The problem is one more day turns into a week, a month, a year… and pretty soon years have gone by and you’re heavier than you’ve ever been.
I’ve managed to lose weight in the past, but I’ve never actually kept it off for the long term and I think my problem in years past was I never actually had the right accountability factor to keep me in check.
Accountability is KEY in sticking with weight loss
The thing I’ve learned about losing weight on my own personal journey is I really need multiple factors holding me accountable for losing the weight. I’m willing to be this is actually true for most people.
For many, this might be something like joining a program like Weight Watchers and attending meetings or finding a weight loss buddy so you can support each other.
Here are some suggestions to help hold yourself accountable in your own weight loss journey
Money
I found a pretty unique way of holding myself responsible – betting on my own weight loss. I found this company called Healthywage that actually lets you wager on losing weight. If you end up reaching (or exceeding) your goal, not only do you get your money back but you also get a return on your investment up to 300%!
If I can meet the goal I set for myself by December 2019, I will win $1,957. That is a big enough chunk of money that I definitely won’t let myself fall off the wagon.
And this isn’t just what’s working for me – it’s actually backed up by multiple scientific studies (including a huge Mayo Clinic trial) that money significantly increases the chances of weight loss.
Sure, you can always just put money in a jar each month until you meet your goal, but you’d have to have a lot of willpower not to take it out prematurely, and you wouldn’t be getting any type of return on it.
Read more about Healthywage here.
Document your weight loss
Keeping a record of your weight loss can help you stay on track. For me, I’m video recording my entire journey on my YouTube channel, as well as keeping this blog. If I have people who are following me, I don’t want to let them down.
Plus, keeping a record of it here and on YouTube can help me when I start losing motivation. I can go back and watch my earlier videos and actually see how motivated I was, and how far I have come.
But if you’re not comfortable with that, you can always just make videos for yourself and keep a journal. You can still look back and see the progress you’ve made and it may be enough to make yourself stay on track.
Lose weight with someone, or at least make others aware of your goals
I personally don’t have anyone in my life I’m losing weight with, so that is why the blog and videos can help me – at least I’ll have people online who I’m holding myself accountable to.
But if you have a spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend or just a friend that is willing to join you in weight loss, try and do it together. You guys can encourage each other and will be less likely to give up.
Set small goals
If you have a lot of weight to lose, it’s really helpful to set smaller goals along the way. If you have 100+ lbs to lose as I do, it can seem forever away and hard to stay on track when you feel like the end isn’t even in sight.
I set smaller goals for each 10 lbs I lose, and will reward myself with something small for each milestone I hit. I also set larger rewards for when I hit bigger milestones – 250, 220, 200 and my final goal of 175. This will help keep me on track along the way as each goal is never too far off.
Get a fitness tracker
My Fitbit has motivated me to be much more active, which helps with weight loss. Their software is pretty good and lets you in on all sorts of insights into your health, activity and even your sleep patterns. There’s something about actually seeing how much you’re moving and being able to set daily/weekly goals for yourself that is more encouraging than just telling yourself you’ll do it.
What I really like about Fitbit is you can add your friends and join in on challenges together! This adds another level of accountability and if you’re a competitive person, it can be even more motivating. The Fitbit is one of the most popular fitness trackers so chances are you already have a lot of friends that own one, so you’ll have lots of people to add! You can even add people within the Fitbit forums and community.
I use the Fitbit Charge 2, but I really want the Charge 3 since it’s fully waterproof and the Ulta is super popular. You can buy them on Amazon for cheaper than Fitbit’s official website.
You got this!
You definitely don’t have to do everything I suggested to stay accountable for dropping some pounds, but maybe at least one of my suggestions has sparked a connection with you. 🙂
Feel free to follow my journey here and on YouTube, and if you are publicly documenting your journey let me know and I’d love to follow and support you!
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