Keeping Motivation Top-of-Mind

Being crystal clear on your motivation for weight loss—and keeping it top-of-mind to draw on when faced with daily food choices—is essential for sustained success. This requires digging deep to identify what truly will motivate you to “win” the moment when tempted to indulge in immediate enjoyment instead of staying true to your long-term goals. Most of us share the broad goals of improving our health and feeling and looking better. But the challenge is to identify with true candor and specificity what the real driving forces are motivating you to lose weight—and to remind yourself of those motivations regularly so you can rely on them for inspiration.

Here is a list of motivators for weight loss. Check any that apply to you.

• I’ll get more compliments about my appearance..
• I’ll have more confidence.
• I’ll be able to wear a smaller belt.
• I’ll be able to wear more fashionable clothing.
• I’ll feel happier when I look in the mirror.
• I’ll feel better in a bathing suit.
• I won’t feel so self-conscious.
• I’ll reduce my blood pressure.
• I’ll reduce my cholesterol.
• I’ll reduce my risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes.
• I’ll be more active.
• I’ll have more energy.
• I’ll feel more optimistic.
• I’ll feel more comfortable with my younger colleagues.
• I’ll make a better impression on people.
• I’ll be able to keep up with my kids.
• I’ll be able to compete physically at a higher level.
• I’ll enjoy physical intimacy more.
• I’ll feel better about myself because I have accomplished something challenging. I’ll be able to date with more confidence.
• I’ll feel more comfortable in public.
• I won’t have to endure comments about my weight from my family.
• I’ll be more comfortable eating in front of others.
• I’ll feel more in control.

With complete candor and honesty, list any additional motivation you have for losing weight. This might include motivation that otherwise might feel superficial or even embarrassing to admit, such as “I want to be unafraid to have my picture taken” or “I want to make my class mates envious at my reunion”. Digging deep and giving voice to these deep-seated motivations can have a powerful effect in keeping the big picture front-and-center when faced with inevitable struggles.

1. Review the motivations that you checked in Part 1 and listed in Part 2.
2. Select your top three motivations—true, deeply felt reasons—for wanting to lose weight.
3. Write them on index cards or post-it notes or print several copies from your computer.
4. Place them in strategic places (nightstand, bathroom mirror, refrigerator, car dashboard, computer keyboard, and so on) where you will read them regularly.
5. Alternatively, if you want to keep your motivations more private, read them at least once daily, preferably first thing in the morning.

Connecting with your motivation at times when you are not feeling challenged or tempted will help you develop your “resistance muscle” when you are, in fact, challenged or tempted. With practice, you will be more able to consciously navigate food challenges when you keep your idealized goals in mind. Your ability to keep your personal motivations front and center as you proceed throughout your day will help you answer this question in the moment: Is this short-term enjoyment worth the risk to my long-term desires?

Keep this question at the forefront as you contemplate making exceptions to your food plan. And don’t forget: the goal is not to eat perfectly all the time, but to make the exceptions less frequently and with more intention.

At your next appointment, be prepared to discuss these questions with your counselor:

1. Did you read your motivators daily? Why or why not?
2. When you felt challenged, were you able to access your motivators that helped you combat urges to eat off program?
3. If you were able to, how did it make you feel?
4. Based on your experience this week, how can you use this process moving forward?