More and more, in the streets of cities, we see women with very round shapes. If previously their age was estimated at 45+, today more and more young girls under 30 are also starting to suffer from the problem of overweight. A bad diet, a sedentary lifestyle leave their mark on our appearance, sometimes stronger than genetics.
Surprisingly, often many young women do not even think about taking serious care of their health and losing weight, they think that it is too difficult a process, or, on the contrary, too easy: you just have to want it -and the fat will disappear by itself. But that's not the case at all. And the sooner we start to control our weight, the easier it is for us to keep it at a normal level.
How to motivate yourself to lose weight, what goals to set, where to start so as not to crack and finish? After all, it is important not only to lose weight, but also to consolidate low weight for a long time, to make it the norm.
How not to start losing weight
Let's say you are serious about losing weight. Sports and diet immediately spring to mind. And then comes that darling Monday, where you start a new life, register for the gym, give up buns, sweets, eat only vegetables and cereals without salt, torture with daily physical exertion.
And then a few weeks go by, a vacation arrives - and you break down. After all, 1 piece of cake, 1 missed day of sports will not affect anything. "I'll take care of that later, " you think, and grab the second piece of candy.
After such disturbances, the next time in the gym it is already more difficult to train, I really want to feel sorry for myself, reduce the load. Then you skip a few more workouts, some weekends give them up altogether in favor of barbecues with friends in nature. Little by little, your enthusiasm goes away, sport does not bring joy, it becomes a heavy occupation, it is more and more difficult to follow a diet, and the pounds lost in the first weeks return.
This is the most losing weight loss scenario: start exercising and losing weight intensively with great enthusiasm, then let go. After that, few can start over from the beginning.
To prevent this from happening, you need to lose weight gradually. It is forbidden to limit yourself to food until you pass out, as well as to exercise with the last bit of force. And the biggest key to success is the right motivation! The stake must be placed not so much on the refusal to eat as on the sport and the regular training.
Motivation is the most important key to successful weight loss
Now let's see where the correct process of losing weight begins, which can easily become your habit, a way of life, and will not require extreme efforts or excessive restrictions.
How to motivate yourself to lose weight? There are several simple guidelines for this:
- Remember the reason that gave you the idea of being overweight. For example, a ugly, bulging belly in your favorite dress, unsuccessful photos, a feeling of great internal discomfort against a background of thin friends. An important incentive can be the desire to please the opposite sex. Or maybe you are horrifyingly awaiting the start of the summer season and scared to take your clothes off on the beach?
- Once the most important reasons for wanting to lose weight are figured out, you will feel very uncomfortable with those extra pounds. Decide for yourself that you are starting to lose weight right now, forget about the mystique "next Monday"!
- Change your diet on this day, sport should become a compulsory daily activity! Take an interest in the fitness centers closest to you, subscribe to one of them.
- Throw out any food that seems unnecessary, harmful, unhealthy from the refrigerator without regret. Be guided only by your own logic. In the future, as you deepen your knowledge of good nutrition, the habit of buying only healthy foods will become unconditional. After a few months of such a life, it will be difficult to imagine how it was possible to eat what is now on the shelves of the refrigerator!
- Print your ugliest photo, hang it next to a photo of the person with the figure of your dreams. When there is an overwhelming urge to eat something high in calories, to eat in the evening, look at these photos.
- Repeat to yourself: a delicious cake only stays in your mouth for a few minutes, and on your stomach for several weeks. Remember that 100 grams of candy is a minimum of 30 minutes of intense sports activity!
- Make sport an integral part of your life. At first, you will force yourself to go to the gym by force. But if you don't give up you will surpass yourself, in a month or two it will be hard to imagine your life without training!
- Start shopping for smaller, cute clothes. Getting started is a great incentive!
- Accept your conscience. Don't test your willpower. If you just unbearably want something sweet or unhealthy, eat it. Only such "weaknesses" should occur infrequently, as an exception, for example, to reward you for longer exercise.
- Avoid rigid diets. The main rule that should be followed every day: "The number of calories consumed with food should be less than the number expended in the gym. "
Sport is the most important factor in successful weight loss
For people with a good metabolism and a moderately active lifestyle, exercise is not as important as it is for those who are prone to overweight.
Normal daily activity for thin people is enough to restore energy balance. But if you are already overweight, then exercise should become a regular and compulsory activity, like brushing your teeth.
If you are new to sports, it is best to train with a trainer for the first few months. He will teach you how to properly organize your day, note the appropriate physical activity, diet, teach you how to safely use exercise equipment.
When starting out on your own, remember that any workout should start with a 10-minute warm-up of all the muscles and end with a hitch and stretching.
Strength training is desirable in alternation with aerobic exercise, to give different muscle groups a rest for 1 to 2 days after strength training.
The most effective and energy-consuming exercises are considered interval training, cross-fit, complex sports activities, in which all muscle groups are involved.
Whenever sport starts to annoy you, when you're tired of exercising, think about your favorite dessert. This is one of the options for good intrinsic motivation. If you actively play sports, burn 600-900 kcal per workout, then you can afford 50-100 grams of cookies or dark chocolate. After all, the calorie content of these candies is 2-3 times lower than your energy costs.
The right diet during weight loss, active sports can look like this:
- In the morning - foods high in carbohydrates and calories. Prefer slow carbohydrates.
- Lunch: fruits, sweets, proteins.
- Lunch: protein and a little fat.
- Before sports training - fast carbohydrates + quality protein.
- After sports - protein food. Eliminate fat, fast carbohydrates.
You need to eat 4-5 times a day, give up snacks between meals, be sure to eat before playing sports.
Final recommendations
The most important thing to improve motivation while losing weight is to see the first results. Usually they do not appear until 1. 5-2 months after the usual rhythm of life has changed, and sport is an integral part of it.
With some nutritional restrictions, 3-4 weekly workouts at the start, there won't be any noticeable improvement. This period will be the most difficult. After all, I had to give up so much, it's so hard to do it, and the result sucks. But if you last the first few weeks, from the second month the pounds will start to melt. Believe me, this will be the best motivation to continue leading this lifestyle!
Try to surround yourself with like-minded people, strong people who pursue the same goals. Together it is much easier to adhere to the correct diet, to observe the training process.
Remember that a positive attitude, strong urge, exercise, and maintaining a negative calorie balance are actually all it takes to successfully cope with the problem of excess weight!