Article Advise

submitted: Jul 4th 2008 | by: KurtSchmitt | Total views: 1 | Word Count: 449 | |

Even if you're ready for a dramatic life change, maintaining your weight loss motivation can be a challenge. If you follow a number of rules, however, you'll find renewed motivation as you move toward your goals. We'll discuss four of them below.

Measure progress -- Do you know your personal numbers? Do you know your weight, your measurements, your cholesterol levels and blood pressure? If not, let's start here. Know your weight, but never weigh more than once a week. Ask your doctor to perform lab work and record your information for comparison purposes.

Take your measurements. Measure your chest, waist, hips, thighs, and upper arms and be precise when reading the tape measure. Do this every two weeks and compare your results. A decrease of even a quarter of an inch can make a huge difference in your ability to gauge your success.

Log it -- Keeping a journal is the second rule for weight loss motivation. This is the place where you will keep an accurate record of the numbers we mentioned above. In addition, you will record your daily food intake along with your daily exercise.

Use the journal to record interesting weight loss facts that you come across. Record your emotions during the weight loss process. The journal enables you to discover patterns in your behavior and offers encouragement when your motivation wanes.

Knowledge is power -- The third rule we're going to discuss is to be a good student! What does that mean? Do your research! In order to lose pounds and maintain that weight loss, you must have an understanding of the USDA Food Pyramid Guidelines. You must also be able to judge recommended portion sizes. So, explore the Internet for suitable websites and read diet-related literature.

When you do your research, you'll come across many interesting facts that you'll want to keep. Your journal is the perfect spot for you to have them easily accessible. You'll be surprised at how much your weight loss motivation is boosted when you read a new perspective on old information.

Know your outcome -- Finally, weight loss motivation requires you to have a vision. You must be able to "see" yourself the way you'd like to be. Spend a little time each day meditating or reflecting on how you would like to reinvent yourself.

Visualize the smallest details. This is not about saying, "I want to lose 20 pounds." This is about visualizing the journey to that goal. What will it take to get there?

Following these four simple rules that we've discussed will help your motivation remain at its peak. The dramatic lifestyle change that you covet will become possible and you'll find that the journey becomes pleasurable as your confidence grows.

About the Author

Gail M. Davis writes about your motivation to lose weight . Kurt Schmitt has an online resource on motivation . Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

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