Want motivation on weight loss? Don’t rely on your willpower!

Controversial advice – I know, but there is psychological proof for it, so please bear with me and I’ll explain.

Most advice you’ll hear about how to get motivated and keep motivated when losing weight (or for any other goal in life actually), will teach you to rely on your will power for the support you need.

You’ve heard it all, right? And did any of the advice work?

You see – the problem with relying just on your will power to get you through the tough times, is that your will power is finite.

Research shows that it’s like a muscle. You over-use it and it fatigues. If you don’t let it rest sufficiently enough to recover, it won’t be much use to you for the rest of the day.

The added problem is that we don’t just use our will power to get us to stick to a weight loss or healthy living plan.

No – we use it all day long. From the moment you stop the alarm in the morning, trying to get out of bed and get ready for the day. Then when we’re getting the kids ready… Then countless times at work… and then back at home in the evenings. Our will power ‘muscle’ is pumped all day long.

No wonder that by the end of the day we collapse on the couch with zero energy. And the next obstacle we face will face zero resistance.

Oreos? Yes please )

Bottom line is that if you have nothing else to fall on to for motivation, you will not succeed at losing weight and more importantly keeping it off.

So what’s the alternative or the solution?

The way to make sure you have weight loss motivation “on tap”, is to use your will power to get you going, and then to form techniques and habits to reinforce and back you up each time you feel you’re wavering.

The techniques are very logical. But making them into a habit, i.e. an action that requires little to no conscious thought on your behalf is not so simple.

But before you run for the hills at the challenge, hear my 5-step system to forming “on tap” motivation. And know that it takes about 30 days of consistent application to start form a habit. Just 30 days!

This 5-step system can be applied to every side of your life – not just weight loss. Imagine if every time you needed to motivate yourself to get something done, or to resist doing something, you can just turn on your motivation “tap”…

So let’s get on with the practical bits. Pay attention – I will only write this once )

5-Step system to “on tap” motivation

1. Become clear about your target.There’s no getting around this – you must first know what you want to achieve. Be specific. Be bold. Be realistic with your goals.The secret to acing this step?The clearer you can see the end result you desire – the more likely you are to succeed at getting that end result.
2. Find your deep POWERHOUSE WHY.Your POWERHOUSE WHY is a term I only half came up with. The WHY concept is not new – Tony Robbins talks about it. Eben Pagan does, and many others. I’ve thrown in the POWERHOUSE bit because I wanted to reinforce the fact that his has to be the most powerful reason you can think of to doing what you want to do.So dig deep in your soul and find your POWERHOUSE WHY.
3. Create techniques to support your cause.Once you find your POWERHOUSE WHY – create a habit around it. You can do something as simple as reinforcing your connection with it each morning.After finishing brushing your teeth, take a minute or two to remind yourself WHY you want to lose weight. Say your WHY to yourself in the mirror and FEEL IT.The point being, that next time you’re about to decide if you should have that cake – your WHY will automatically come to the rescue.
4. Learn to focus on what you enjoy.This is simple to understand – difficult as hell to do! All it means is that next time you decide to focus on what you can’t eat because you’re trying to lose weight. Make a conscious effort to shift your focus to what you CAN eat instead.It makes a huge difference. It opens and refreshes your mind.And after doing it consistently a few times – it becomes a mind game… i.e. it becomes fun.
5. Reward yourself!!!I like this one. This one’s easy all-round.Simply decide what rewards to give yourself at which achievement milestones.One tip tho’ – if you’re rewarding your weight loss success – don’t make the reward food )

   Shoes – yes. A fun day out – perfect! Food – no…

   OK, you should have enough to go off and get permanently motivated now. I’ve kept it short on purpose. I want you to make of my 5-step system what makes best sense to you. If I over-explain stuff there’s no room for your own brain’s input.

   And unless YOU OWN this system – you won’t adopt and use it. And what good is that for you?

   Did this help? On my site FitHappyHealthy.com I (Anita) aim to put other health and fitness information like this, into the context of real life for you. We are so overwhelmed with information at the moment that most of the time we don’t use it because we don’t know how to, and how it can impact us. Well, on FitHappyHealthy.com – you can finally see the sense )

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If you’re ever going to achieve your ideal weight, you’re going to have to develop a diet plan that you can do “forever.” Of course, people often get excited when they first start a new diet plan, but this excitement often wanes within a few weeks.

They say “success leaves clues;” people who consistently follow their diet plan have several things in common. I’ve written this article as a way to identify the signs of a good diet plan.

If these signs are not present in your current diet, you may want to make some adjustments to your plan.

Here are the 5 Signs That Your Diet Plan Will Last:

1. You Love Your Diet Plan – Want to know if your new healthy diet plan will last? Ask yourself, “Do I love this plan?” If you’re excited about your daily food choices and how much you get to eat, you probably will remain on your diet for a long time.

However, if you have to force yourself to eat the foods associated with your diet, your plan will probably fail explicably. It’s almost impossible to consistently do something you despise. Why? Because the “raging current” of your desires will always pull you in their direction. The secret is to either change your desires, or find a plan that reasonably supports your desires

2. Your Environment Supports Your Diet – It’s easy for me remain on a raw food diet during the day, because my wife is on the same diet. When we go to the grocery store, we buy plenty of raw foods, there’s always an abundance of choices. I live in an environment that supports my diet plan. I even have friends who are on the same diet, being with these friends give me additional support.

However, if everyone I knew ate snacks and fried foods all day, everyday, it would be very difficult for me to stay on track. Not impossible, but difficult.

The key here is to find friends, family members, or associates who support your diet so you can create an environment where your diet plan can flourish. You don’t need everyone you know on the plan, but support is always beneficial.

3. Your Diet Produces Daily Rewards – If you’re not receiving daily or at least weekly benefits from your diet, why would you continue? Every morning when I eat my “kiwis or apples” and drink my “green tea,” it puts a smile on my face.

Additionally, when I weigh myself every morning, I can see results and the benefits of my diet. Benefits give you the motivation you need to succeed. These benefits may come in the form of additional energy, mental clarity, weight maintenance, weight loss or weight gain.

Your diet plan must consistently provide you with benefits.

4. Your Plan Includes a Workout Routine – A daily, or almost daily workout routine is a constant reminder, to keep your diet going and it also helps you to see the benefits at a faster rate, thus allowing you additional motivation to continue your diet program.

5. Your Diet Includes Personal Goals – Last, but never least, is setting goals. Your diet plan needs to be centered around your goals. Goals give you something to aim for, and they also serve to motivate you into action.

A goal of maintaining your weight in the range of 163-164 pounds (as an example), gives you reason to continue your diet plan. You know that if you venture off to far from your plan, you won’t make your daily goal. This constant reminder of having a goal will help to keep you on track.

In Closing

Now you know the secret to developing a consistent diet plan. If your current diet doesn’t include the traits above you may want to make some changes. Do your research and find a permanent (doctor approved) diet plan that will work for you. Just having a written plan of what you can and cannot eat will go a long way in keeping you on track. Thank you for reading.

If you have any additional comments please include them in the comments section below.

Mr. Self Development is an author who teaches a practical guide to success and wealth. Please visit him at Mr. Self Development.com. If you’ve enjoyed reading this article, then you may want to subscribe to his feed, follow him on Twitter, or read one of his most popular articles, “How I Manifested a Seven Bedroom Home at 24.”

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

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4 Musts to Staying Committed To Your Diet

The Massive Benefits of a Healthy Diet and How To Make Yours Stick