It’s amazing how much (sometimes reliable) nutrition and health information we can access on the internet. 50 years ago, you couldn’t google “gluten-free foods” or “carbohydrate counting” and find a number of articles to read. (And google wasn’t an existing verb or website back then of course, either) So it makes sense that I come across some knowledgeable clients who are pretty well-versed in healthy eating. If you’re looking for weight loss advice, your Google search yield will be almost endless. Which leads me to the point of this post – many people aren’t struggling with their weight due to lack of nutrition and exercise knowledge. I often hear from individuals that they aren’t sure how I can even benefit them as a dietitian, since they feel that they have “heard it all and know what to do”. So if more and more people have been able to find plenty of weight loss tips, exercise advice, and healthy recipes by simply performing a 2 second search on Google, why is there still an obesity epidemic in our country? It all boils down to motivation.
I love talking to individuals who have successfully lost weight and changed their lifestyle. I’m always curious to know what truly helped them stick to their goals and maintain motivation. Unfortunately, too often I see people lose 5-10 pounds then slowly gain it back. I wanted to share some tips I’ve gathered from my own experience and talking to others about how you can maintain motivation to stick to a healthy lifestyle, lose the weight and keep it off.
1. Take it one step at a time. If you’re skipping breakfast, not exercising, and eating out for dinner 5 nights a week, chances are you’re not going to drink a kale smoothie each morning, hit the gym 4 days in a row, and prepare 5 home cooked meals starting next week. I believe many people have an “all-or-nothing” approach and want to revamp their whole lifestyle at once or not do anything at all. Try setting one small goal for yourself each week. I think a great place to start is by increasing your water intake. Drinking more water boosts energy, helps keep your metabolism up to speed, and can help you eat less. Once you’re drinking enough to have you hitting the bathroom every 4-5 hours, then consider adding breakfast in a few days a week. Taking it one step at a time really helps you ease into new habits and make them stick. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself by doing a 180 on your current routine. You will get burnt out and give up.
2. Don’t wait until Monday. I hear this one a lot, too. “I haven’t starting losing weight YET or going to the gym x amount of times per week YET, but I’m planning to start on Monday” (or another date in the future, usually after a certain event that involves high calorie food). We always need that weekend to let ourselves go, huh? Even if you need to go to the grocery store and stock up on healthy foods or get your gym membership set up, why can’t you “start” TODAY? I’m sure there is something you can do to start moving in the right direction. You can always get started on exercise by doing some simple strength training moves at home or even taking a few breaks at work for 5 minute walks.
3. Which leads me to my next point: rarely is there an ideal time to get started. Life seems to never go as planned. It’s hard to start an exercise routine when you’re in the middle of moving to a new house, putting in longer hours at work, or on vacation. And I know having house guests or redoing your kitchen can lead to eating out more often. But still try to think of ways to promote a healthy lifestyle. Can you go for a walk on your lunch break at work and do some light strength training exercises in front of the TV that evening? Maybe even choose healthier restaurants or make the best of your options (order something lower in calories, ask them to hold the cheese, etc). I truly am sympathetic and I know it can be very frustrating when you are trying to lose weight and life throws you a curveball. Following a healthy lifestyle is not easy and you’ll need to learn to roll with the punches if you want to lose weight and keep it off for life. If you keep waiting for a “good” time to start, it may never come.
4. Expect setbacks and learn to work with them. It can be a major motivation buster to be faithful to your 5 day a week exercise routine for months or even years then be thrown off by a knee injury, illness or new work schedule. I’ve been there and know that lying on the couch complaining about it and watching Netflix doesn’t do a thing to help the situation (ahem). However, I try to keep in mind that there is always a boxing DVD that focuses on upper body only I can do in my living room. And when I work late and arrive at home hungry and tired, veggie omelets or frozen turkey burgers can be cooked quickly and will save calories and money over a call to Papa Johns. Try to develop habits and options that you can fall back on regardless of the stressors you’ll face in life. You may not always be able to lose weight when going through a rough patch, but you should be able to avoiding gaining through healthy habits.
5. Discover what you enjoy about a healthy lifestyle. You know what I hate? Running on the treadmill. I can suck it up sometimes, but I’d usually rather have a root canal. My point is, find your niche in exercise and healthy eating. This greatly improves your chances of sticking to a healthy lifestyle permanently. I’ve found that I love Zumba and blasting music while I pedal away on the elliptical. I also adore almond butter and blueberries. I’m sure the general population would rather eat a piece of cake over fruit and go to a bar instead of an aerobics class, but hopefully can still appreciate a juicy slice of watermelon and a good endorphin-pumping workout. If you hate raw vegetables-hey, that’s okay! There are plenty of great tasting steamed and roasted veggies to add low calorie sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber to your diet. And don’t drag yourself to spinning class three days a week if you dread it. Maybe Pilates is more your style. If I was limited to running on the treadmill for exercise and could only eat salads for meals, I’d still be on the couch watching Netflix! Choosing healthy foods and sticking to exercise may not always be the easiest or most enjoyable option, but the more you appreciate these habits and enjoy them, the more likely you are to make them a permanent part of your life.
Thanks for sticking with this post; I know it’s a long one. Please share any other thoughts or tips you have about staying motivated!
To lighten things up, here's a picture of my dog, Ripken, practicing his down dog with me.