Did you know that our country has the highest rate of obesity and overweight among Asian countries, with 64 percent in the male population and 65 percent in the female? In the new norm that we live in with working from home and food deliveries, keeping ourselves in check with healthy meals round the clock can be challenging. Not only are Malaysians notorious foodies, most of us also lack the motivation to start eating healthy and to lose weight as well.
Although gaining the courage to lose weight can be tricky to tackle, getting the motivation to do so can be achieved over time. Have no fear, here are a few ways for you to tell yourself to start losing weight.
1. Define your weight loss goals
The first step before you begin your weight loss journey is to determine the reason for you to do so. Are you doing this to get healthier in general or are you aiming for a specific body goal at a specific time?
List your reasons and be clear about them. Once you have them written out, your reasons to lose weight will help you persevere until you reach your goal. If you want to lose weight because you want to feel lighter on your feet, for example, then revisit your reasons everyday to remind yourself.
2. Establish realistic weight loss expectations
Let's face it - speedy or miracle weight loss products are a scam. Not only do they often harm your body, losing too much weight within a week is also unhealthy and unrealistic as even experts only suggest losing 500g to 1kg within a week.
Rather than aiming to lose half of your weight within a set time limit, try to lose five to ten percent of your current body weight. There are studies that prove that losing this amount of weight has greatly boosted the dieters' health. In fact, setting and achieving these realistic goals makes you feel more accomplished as well.
3. Concentrate on the process
When it comes to losing weight, Nietsche's famous quote 'The end justifies the means' is not applicable. The process matters just as much as the end results.
Set your own process goals, like exercising on your own for three times a week or signing up for virtual exercise groups and regularly joining them. Focusing on keeping these processes going will help you stay motivated to lose weight.
4. Choose a diet plan that suits you
There are various diet plans that became popular over recent years, like the keto diet, clean eating and intermittent fasting. In order to help you stay motivated in your weight loss journey, it's important to clearly examine your lifestyle before you choose a diet plan.
No matter what kind of lifestyle you lead, the key takeaway is to choose an eating plan you can stick to for a long time. Stay away from extreme diets as they are more likely to be a setback in your weight loss journey.
5. Keep a food journal
Remember the time you used to write about what happened everyday in your diaries or journals? In order for you to further motivate yourself to lose weight, you can also start a food journal and record your daily meals and snacks.
Not only can the food journal help your track your meals and identify the ones to reduce intake on, you can also keep track of your progress to lose weight.
6. Reward yourself when you can
Although the ultimate reward would be when you reach your ultimate weight loss goal, your weekly successes matter too. Losing weight is no easy feat, so you should definitely reward yourself when you tick your small goals boxes.
You can reward yourself by going for a mani-pedi session or indulge in a bubble bath in the comfort of your own home. The point is to acknowledge that you achieved those little goals and you deserve to celebrate them!
7. Have a good social support
To reiterate, losing weight is not an easy feat. Just as life has its ups and downs, there are times where you will feel down and demotivated to continue your weight loss journey. These are the times where your social support has a crucial role.
Tell your friends and family that you're trying to lose weight and be healthier. Tell them when you've lost 1kg or when you've managed to exercise four times a week. True friends and family members will be there to support you and keep you motivated to be healthier. If you want, you can even get a weight loss buddy and be each others' partners in crime. Tell each other when you've accomplished your goals and congratulate each other too.
Losing weight and leading a healthier lifestyle may seem daunting to most of us. However, it will be hard to stay daunted once you keep yourself motivated and keep going until you reach your weight loss goals. Let's all aim to lead a healthier lifestyle and keep ourselves and our friends motivated to do the same.
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