Stay Motivated with Lifestyle Changes & 5 Steps for Your Promise
January 15, 2018Learn How you Can Stay Motivated With Lifestyle Changes!
Do you recall the excitement you had when you made a decision to embark on lifestyle changes? Can you visualize where you were? What were you doing when the decision and the excitement were there? Keep that image with you for a moment.
Do you recall when you first started your wellness journey? How did it feel? What were your lifestyle/wellness goals? What was your vision for the moment, for the coming weeks and for your future? Let’s keep this image with us right now as well.
Where are you now? Have you met your goals that you set out for yourself? Have your new routines become your habits yet? Have you stubbed your toe on anything? Is your motivation still at its heightened level that it was with our initial decision to make changes?
Take this time to think about the questions above…..
5 Ways To Stay Motivated With Lifestyle Changes and Your Promise
Now let’s strategize… It is possible to remain motivated, so you can meet all your life’s goals - to stay motivated with lifestyle changes, maintain excitement and most of all maintain and live within your vision.
1. Create and See Your Vision
Have you ever planned a vacation? Did you have a vision of where you were going and what you wanted to do and wear? That’s your vision and your vision is crucial for your lifestyle/wellness goals. Your vision is what you are working towards and how you imagine your life.
Why do you want to lose weight? You must go beyond the WHY and beyond “I want to lose 15 pounds” or “I want to fit into a size 8”. Go a bit deeper. What will weight loss bring you? For many people, it will bring increased energy and better health. It may even allow you to participate in something you have been longing to do. Find YOUR heart-felt reasons to make changes that will keep you motivated in the long run.
When you start to slide back into your old habits, just ask yourself, is this choice bringing me closer to my vision?
2. Set Daily Goals Each Week
One strategy that can keep you excited, mindful and focused is to set specific goals each week. Let’s sit down at the beginning of each week and map out some simple goals that you can set for yourself. These don’t have to be huge goals, just simple ones.
Goals help you to stay focused, excited, motivated to accomplish and aware if you have challenges while changing habits.
Post your goals as reminders on your device to aid in the visual reference and/or anywhere that will give you a prompt.
3. Schedule Your Exercise
When embarking on a new wellness and exercise program, many people go at it whenever the time permits. This is a quick way to slip out of the “habit”. It becomes too easy to let other things in your life become the priority. Schedule your exercise routine the same time each week. This commitment and predictable routine will help you to create a habit which will get easier and easier to maintain.
Think of this as keeping your appointment with yourself, as you would a doctor’s appointment. It is equally important (if not more)!
4. Identify Your Support
Support comes in all different forms. This may be a walking buddy, family member, friend, group meetings, or professional services. No matter what road you take it is crucial to have your support system in place. This not only keeps you motivated but also helps to keep you accountable. Professional services such as a registered dietitian, personal trainer, and/or psychologist can all help to provide sound advice and strategies to help you reach your goals. There are many wonderful resources out there to provide these kinds of services.
Build your support system around your pillars of wellness: nutrition, fitness, behavior, mental wellness, and self-discovery.
5. The Promise to Make to Yourself
Ok. You’ve tried all of the above and your old habits feel too strong of a deterrent.
This is when you break out the Promise. Make yourself a list of 3 minimum steps you promise to take daily.
These steps to stay motivated with lifestyle changes will differ for each person. The key is they have to be completely easy and attainable for you and still work towards your goals. It could be saying a positive affirmation to yourself, smiling in the mirror, walking for 10 minutes, etc. The promise creates a safety net to prevent and or catch you when things start to derail. You can agree to do the minimum. After all, you did Promise yourself!
Make up your Promise so when things aren’t going well or you feel your motivation changing, you can stay confident in your VISION and YOUR PROMISE.
 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Willo Wisotsky is a NY State Licensed Psychologist and is affiliated with New York Bariatric Group. Dr. Wisotsky has committed her research and clinical practice to the field of eating disorders and obesity with its related medical and mental health comorbidities. Dr. Wisotsky practices from a Behavioral Medicine approach with an emphasis on improving overall well being, increasing mindfulness, motivation, quality of life and health.Read more articles from Dr. Wisotsky! |
