Find Your Passion

A friend asked for my weight loss advice the other day. She's gained 15 lbs. over the last year, doesn't want to exercise lately and has been eating poorly. She knows she has to make a change, but can't get motivated enough to do it. What did I advise her? Two things: 1. Have somebody take a picture of you and post it in a place where you'll see it often (like on the fridge maybe?). 2. Find a new form of exercise that you love and are passionate about doing. The former should help with the diet; the latter will get her moving and motivated to keep moving.

It's an unfortunate truth that in order to lose weight and maintain it, you need some reason to stick to your eating and exercise plan. You can't do this on autopilot! So you need to find a driving force that keeps you passionate about getting and staying healthy and fit for life. Going to your high school reunion and want to look great? Fantastic! That's a great "temporary" motivator, but what happens after the reunion when you don't have to fit into that sexy cocktail dress anymore?

Constantly finding new things to excite you and keep you passionate about health and fitness is a challenge, but it really does work. There are only so many treadmill workouts you can do before you get bored. There's only so many carrot and celery sticks you can eat before you're craving stuffed pizza and chocolate cake. Staying fit is hard work, so pat yourself on the back if you've lost weight and kept it off for a decent amount of time. It's much harder to keep it off for life than to take it off to begin with, which is why you need to continue seeking new reasons to keep going. Want to try outdoor rock-climbing, bellydancing, water-skiing? Interested in honing your sushi-making skills? These are the things that will push you through and help you maintain your commitment. Not easy, definitely challenging, but without question worth the effort.