I’ve been on the Med-Fit program for about six months now, and I’m half-way to my weight loss goal.  If I’m going to reach my goal I need to stay motivated – and that’s not always easy to do.  But I wanted to share some of the things I do that help keep me on the straight and narrow…

Revisit my WHY
My big why is always my son, Beck.  I want to be an active and energetic presence in his life – and I want to live a long time to see him grow!  I remind myself of this constantly, and it helps me keep going when I might not feel like it.

Imagine my life if I give up
It might seem like a bit of a downer, but it helps me to imagine how my life would be if I gave up dieting and went back to the way things were.  If I went back to my old ways what would that look like in a year or five years?  How would I feel about myself?  How would it affect my family?  It scares me straight!

Set non-scale goals
A scale is an important tool in any weight loss journey, but there’s more to weight loss than the number on the scale.  I have a Pinterest board dedicated to activity goals… like climbing the 224 stairs at Seven Falls or hiking to Hanging Lake.  These are just other ways to mark my journey and see how far I’ve come.

Develop strategies to deal with emotions
This one is definitely a work in progress.  It’s very much two steps forward, one step back kind of thing for me.  Just when I think I’ve figured it out – I learn that I haven’t.  Finding ways to cope with difficult emotions and the stressors of life has to be one of the most important things to do in any weight loss journey…  you know – because life likes to hand out lemons!

Shift my focus to self-appreciation
It’s so easy to fall into the negative self-talk trap.  I’ve found myself saying things like “I’ve lost over 60 pounds but my stomach is still huge”.  That sort of thing doesn’t do any good, and thanks to my favorite podcast Living Right with Bill Cortright I’ve learned to stop the negative self-talk in its tracks and shift the focus to something positive.  So now if I say “I’ve lost over 60 pounds but my stomach is still huge” I switch the thought to “ok, but my legs are getting strong and lean and the rest of my body will catch up”.  Positive self-talk is powerful and it’s a great motivator.

So those are just a few things I do to keep me going on this journey.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint – so it’s important to find ways to keep yourself focused and on track!

~C