If the one thing that seems to be missing from your weight loss efforts is the motivation to get started on a plan or to stick with it, you might be surprised at how much control you have when it comes to this seemingly mysterious, fired-up feeling.

While motivation seems like it comes and goes whenever it pleases, its not a random force. Maintaining motivation is a skill, and you can get good at that skill, explains Liz Josefsberg, who is the author of Target 100 and has been a weight loss coach to thousands of people, including Charles Barkley and Jennifer Hudson. And the discipline to stick with it doesnt have to be any kind of unpleasant struggle, either (more on that later).

To get your motivation where you want it, you have to let go of what motivation isnt. Its not this thing outside of your control, and its not going to be high all the time. Its supposed to have peaks and valleysthats what being human is, she says. And when you hit a valley, all isnt lost. You can move it toward the peak again with some simple steps.

If youve already been on a weight loss program but youre not as excited about what youre doing as you used to be, the first step to getting your momentum back is actually identifying that your motivation is waning. Sounds obvious, but too many people berate themselves or try to power through this feeling without stopping and noticing that its happening, and then trying to figure out why its happening. This doesnt have to be a major investigation. Just ask yourself whats up. Most people dont identify it, says Josefsberg. They dont recognize that theyre bored, or that something has changed. What has changed could be something as simple as you dont like going to the grocery store any longer because theres construction on the way and it takes forever to get there. And it can be worked with.

If the way youve been doing things isnt working any longer, change it a little bit. Dont be afraid to get away from the one program fits all mentality. Ask friends what theyre doing and see if any of their principles or recipes make sense for you.

You dont have to make dramatic changes to get your weight loss motivation going again. For instance, if keto is really working for a friend, you dont have to go all in, but you might try a keto recipe or two. Or ask yourself what aspects of a keto lifestyle you might want to play around with, Josefsberg says. Similarly, if intermittent fasting appeals to you, try skipping breakfast for a week and see how it goes. Instead of berating yourself over whats not feeling right at the moment, experiment with new strategies that might get you excited about weight loss again.

Once you play around with something appealing, put it into practice and see what happens. Doesnt work? Try something else. The process is an exploration of trying new things so you look forward to your plan again. It sounds simple, and thats the best partit can be. You dont have to do something drastic in order to get your motivation on the upswing.

Once you have that motivation rolling again, all it takes is discipline to keep it going, right? I think discipline is highly overrated, Josefsberg says. Sometimes, what gets you to do the healthy thing is simply remembering to do it.

It sounds oversimplified, but you have schedules and alarms for everything else you do, so why not set up your weight loss strategies that way, too? Suppose you want to stop cruising the office at 3 PM for somethinganythingto snack on. Set your alarm for 2:50 and go to the fridge to get the healthy snack you packed (because you set a reminder on Sunday night to put it in a container so it was ready for work on Monday).

It doesnt have to be complicated. Andanother myth busted hereit doesnt even have to require a lot of discipline. When it comes to being healthy, discipline is totally overrated. The trick to sticking with something is to set up your environment to support your decision to be healthier, says Josefsberg. Its about being a little bit prepared and creating an environment for success.

In other words, you dont have to have the discipline to resist cookies if there arent any in the house. You also can bias your healthy life to success by indulging your natural tendencies in setting up this environment. That means if youre not the type to do one big shopping trip for the whole weekno matter how many people on Instagram it works fordont do it if you dont like it. Want to grab a few things a few times a week? Theres your plan.

All of thisunderstanding whats going on behind the scenes with weight loss motivation and disciplinehelps you the kind of short- and long-term weight loss success youre looking for.

Link:
Tips to Get Motivated and Have Discipline to Lose Weight - menshealth.com