Weight Loss Success Ingredients

Have you tried to lose weight time and time again and either lost interest or just gave up? You have probably read many weight loss success stories and thought “why can’t I lose weight and keep it off like them”. People who have been successful in their weight loss have three key ingredients; commitment, knowledge and motivation. To be successful at your weight loss program you must make a commitment and stick to it. In addition you want to gain as much knowledge on weight loss to lose weight the healthy way and keep it off. And lastly, you need weight loss motivation to start, continue and complete your weight loss goal. nnCommitting to Weight Loss Before you embark on yet another weight loss journey you must first commit to the journey. I don’t mean simply say you want to lose weight but really commit to it by creating a plan. Write down your goal. Make your goal realistic and achievable. You can state it in terms of pounds or inches lost or by clothing size or however you want to state it. Next create smaller goals to measure against along the way. By making smaller goals you are not only able to see if you are on track to reaching your long term goal you are also helping boost your motivation along the way. These smaller goals can be by week or month and can be in terms of fat loss, inches or just even by tracking certain changes in your lifestyle like adding exercising or cutting out the junk food. Make small changes to start with if it seems too overwhelming at first. Start planning out your daily and weekly meals and exercise plans. Read your goals often to remind yourself what you want to achieve for the week, month or day. Keep in mind as with any goals there will be unexpected road blocks. Don’t get discouraged just adjust your goals when needed as life will happen and it cannot be avoided. nnKnowledge When you make a plan you want to make sure you can execute that plan. This will require knowledge. Learn all you can about what will work for you. To lose weight effectively you need to create a calorie deficit. This means you must know what the proper calorie intake for weight loss is for you. The amount of calories you need will depend on your age and gender, height and weight and your activity level. You are burning calories by just doing every day normal activities, even sleeping. This is known as your basal metabolic rate and is the rate at which you burn calories without adding structured exercises. Once you understand how many calories you burn through your BMR then you will need to create a calorie deficit in order to lose weight. You can do this by either consuming fewer calories or by exercising more or a combination of both. In order to lose 1 pound a week you need to create a calorie deficit of about 500 calories and for 2 pounds about 1,000 calories deficit. Don’t reduce calories lower tha 1,200 for women and 1,800 for men.nnWeight Loss Motivation The last ingredient you need to be successful at your weight loss is motivation. Finding weight loss motivation is easier said than done and unfortunately is not something you can pick up at the corner store. Weight loss motivation has to come from you and those around you. You just need to find that something or someone to inspire you and give you your weight loss motivation. Get motivated through support. Find a support group through a weight loss program, an on-line forum or just use friends and family. Being able to talk about your frustrations, ideas or thoughts on weight loss is a great way to stay in the weight loss game and keep you motivated. Get inspired by watching and tracking your success. Using tracking tools is a great way to visually see your progress. Create a chart or find one on line. Use a weight loss ticker and watch as it gets closer to your goal. Reward yourself along the way. When you reach one of your smaller goals or a major milestone, celebrate it. Pat yourself on the back, brag to your friends and treat yourself to something. I don’t mean something sugary and sweet to eat but maybe a night on the town with friends or new clothes. Lastly, be your own best motivation by writing down your personalized motivational saying. Make it something you can relate to and get inspired by it. Post it where you can read it often when you need a boost in your motivation. For more motivation be sure to read this article on weight loss motivation.n n