Beginning with a weight loss plan and sticking to it can be challenging and impossible in the long run. However, with a bit of determination and motivation in generous dozes, nothing can stop you. Also, motivation can take you places, help you reach your highest goals. Here are some tips to keep you stay motivated.

Find Your Motivation

When you are on a mission to lose weight, you need to find your reasons for losing weight. Please write down your goals, keep them clear and precise. This will keep you committed to your goal and help you lose weight faster.

Try and go through them every single day so that you do not stray from your goals. And you will stick to your goals even if you have the temptation to give up. Your reasons may include preventing and treating diabetes, stay fit even in your old age, or maybe fit into old pair of jeans. The best to motivate yourself is when the call comes from within.

Have Reasonable Expectations

There are a lot of diets today that promise quick and easy weight loss. However, you do not have to lose more than a few pounds a week, say 1–2 pounds per week. That is a sustainable way to lose weight.

If your goals turn out to be unattainable or too difficult, you are less likely to stick to your diet plan. Research says if you reach your weight loss goals, you are more likely to maintain the weight you have lost. If you need to lose more weight, then there are greater chances of ditching the weight loss program mid-way.

Have Short-Term Goals

Many people trying to lose weight only look for major goals say they set out to lose a certain number of pounds, their end goals. An outcome goal is supposed to be your final target. However, keeping your eyes on that goal alone may impair your goals. They seem too distant and too unattainable. Instead, you can set small goals for yourself.

Say you set a weekly goal for yourself, say exercise for at least four times a week.  A study showed that women who participated in a weight loss program stuck to their goals better when they stuck to their smaller goals. Let’s say your smaller goals are supposed to help you reach the larger outcome.

 Fix Your Lifestyle

Weight loss plans are the most sustainable when you stick to those that you can stick to in the long run. For example, if you follow a particular diet, like the keto diet, ask yourself, is it sustainable? Would you be able to cut carbs forever? Or can you drastically cut down your calories? Yo-yo dieting is the worst kind of dieting, which impairs your weight loss goals, and instead of losing weight, you end up gaining weight. Follow a dietary plan which you are most likely to follow till you reach your weight loss goal and beyond.

Maintain a Journal

The best way to lose weight and maintain that weight is to keep yourself accountable for your habits. Track your everyday habits, your diet. This will help you lose extra weight and keep it that way. Write down the meals, snacks, and everything you eat, even if it is a teeny-tiny crumb you eat from your co-worker’s desk.

A journal will also help you track your emotional state of mind, say you eat certain foods when you are anxious. So, it will help you get a better understanding of your triggers. Whether you use an app or a pen or paper, it will certainly help you!

Celebrate the Smaller Milestones

Weight loss isn’t easy, so celebrate every bit of the process and reward yourself for every gram you lose. Give yourself a big pat on your back for even the smallest of goals. It especially works when you are part of a weight-loss community, where you have people who are on a similar journey.

You can exchange notes and even have someone encouraging and motivating you when the going gets tough. You can share your successes and get support there.

Remember, success does not only lie in reaching your goal weight but also in how you feel, improve your health parameters and energy levels, and so on. Stay motivated in your weight loss journey and keep telling yourself, you’ve got this!