Making the lifestyle changes that are needed to lose weight will require motivation - the ability to stay positive and focused for as long as it takes to achieve success. Many dieters find that keeping their motivation levels high can be the most difficult part of their entire weight loss journey, but being aware of the obstacles that can arise and planning to overcome them can help to make the path easier.
Research shows that being able to stick with a diet is a bigger factor in success than the diet itself; motivation is the key that can turn a history of failed weight loss attempts into a lifetime of success.
Some people are fortunate enough to be able to make a decision to lose weight, find a diet and exercise plan, stick to it like glue and reach their target without any setbacks or disappointments. Unfortunately, they are often the very people who feel they can advise others on how easily they too could achieve success, if only they would follow the same plan with the same willpower.
However, most people's experience of trying to lose weight is very different. They find that willpower alone cannot help them resist the external pressures from our environment to eat unhealthy, or the internal pressures that come from many years of learned behaviors and ingrained responses around food.
Even major wake-up calls, such as a diagnosis of weight-related illness or a humiliating experience, are not always enough to prompt the long-lasting lifestyle changes needed to lose weight. Instead, too many dieters find that despite their best intentions, diets do not last more than a few days. Rather than blame the diet (no matter how restrictive) they blame themselves and their lack of willpower, and return to their normal eating habits having learned nothing except that they "can't lose weight" or that "diets don't work for them".
All too often, this cycle of failure and self-blame continues until it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and any attempts at losing weight are abandoned. Yet, as we have already seen, being severely overweight is such a serious health issue that it is vital to find a way out of the cycle.
Most people are more likely to snack and comfort-eat when they're tired, but getting a good nights sleep may be more important to weight loss than that: studies show that people who get five hours' sleep or less a night have higher levels of ghrelin (a hunger-inducing hormone) and lower levels of leptin (an appetite-suppressing hormone) than people who sleep for seven or eight hours. As overweight people often have disturbed sleep because of snoring or the more serious condition, sleep apnea, it is well worth exploring how to overcome insomnia and manage breathing better.
There are many ways of staying motivated and finding weight loss success. Our website provides some great information. Don't feel that there is no hope for your situation because there is. By learning more about how to keep yourself motivated you can overcome the difficult challenges of any diet.
