Motivation to lose weight is not just a picture of a supermodel on the fridge. Even if a good weight-loss mindset is everyone’s concern, it’s definitely a challenging one. We come across tons of coaches on Instagram and YouTube every day who promote excellent workouts combined with a diet. Unfortunately, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution when shedding kilograms, which is why most of us cannot “endure” a diet or accustom ourselves to regular physical activity by following tips from the Internet. It is hard to stay motivated without finding the right way to get in shape, which is convenient for us. However, luckily our FitLine expert team, including professional athletes and nutrition experts, prepared exclusive content for you, which will help you throughout your weight-loss journey. In this article, you will learn about the necessary steps to change your lifestyle.
Motivation hints from Nathalie Hendrikse
We asked the professional handball player Nathalie Hendrikse to share her motivation strategy. Here is what she recommends:
- Dividing a big goal into smaller ones, so you can better notice and measure your progress
- She says Ups and Downs are normal and human, and sometimes you’ll need to take a step back even when moving forward
- Nathalie’s next advice is not to compare yourself with others. There are many incredible examples on Instagram of how fast people lost weight; however, you never know the truth behind it. She is sure you will see results if you believe that the moment you start this journey is already progress
Get inspired by the legend of basketball Antonello Riva
This year, you are especially lucky since the legendary athlete Antonello Riva will lead you through the ProShape challenge. Antonello is a former basketball player from Italy who used to play from 1977 to 2005. He holds the record for most points scored in both the top Italian league and the national team. As he’s also our successful partner in the PM-International business, he will share with you all his valuable tips to help you stay motivated. To make sure you don’t miss any of those, follow us on Instagram and Facebook for the daily content from our coaches.
Based on the feedback of our experts, we wrote down a short guide for you on what you’d need to keep your motivation high.
How to motivate yourself in 3 steps?
- Define your “why?”
It’s essential to understand whether you want to lose weight because of social pressure or because you don’t feel comfortable in your own body. Pleasing others before loving yourself is difficult and not necessarily healthy for our personal well-being. If you are happy with your body, but fashion dictates otherwise (e.g., heroin chic in the 90s), or all your friends are trying to get rid of 3 kg – is it necessary to follow peer pressure?
You should also ask yourself if and how your life would be better if you became slimmer; would it actually change anything? If your answer is “I want to lose weight because I am aware of overeating junk food and doing zero physical activity”, then you should first of all:
- Establish healthy habits
There is a difference between losing weight just to look skinny and being driven by a healthy lifestyle. Instead of going to extremes and limiting yourself on everything, you can develop healthy habits step by step that will make your weight-loss efforts more bearable.
If you develop healthy habits, after a while, you will wonder how you could live without those. So, on this path, patience is your right companion. There are just a few important rules to follow:
- Learn to listen to such signals as hunger and fullness
- Start the day with a large glass of lukewarm water
- Schedule your meals!
- Take time to eat (and chew properly, don’t swallow huge pieces at once, even if you’re hungry like a wolf)
- To stay motivated, measure your progress regularly. If you are afraid of the scale, you can measure your success by an old pair of jeans that have become too tight for you
- Create an enjoyable workout that suits your needs
What you should avoid, on the contrary, is not eating anything at all. The ravenous hunger can appear very quickly, and then you risk to eat three times as much.
3. Start with love, acceptance, and patience with yourself
Don’t put pressure on yourself. You might also have a stressful day and eat more chocolate unexpectedly. Don’t obsess that this was a colossal failure, and criticize yourself too much for it. You can continue with your healthy lifestyle the next day. Too much pressure and criticism can only confuse you on your weight-loss journey and create an inner conflict with yourself.
So, to sum it all up, carefully consider your motivations for losing weight; the main ones should be patience, patience, and health. You can create a clear plan of action when you have a better understanding of your goal. And if you have a clear plan, it’s also easier to make it to your goal.