How to Get and Stay Motivated to Lose Weight Awesome Idea
Today, I want to tell you about a universal law of weight loss motivation that has been true since the dawn of man: M = c/t. Here, M stands for motivation.
Then there’s t, which stands for time. Specifically, it refers to how long it’s been since the last time something caused you to really care about losing weight.
It could be seeing an old friend who’s lost so much weight since the last time you saw her/him that you barely recognize her. Or it could be the new girl or guy who just moved in next door who you want to seriously impress.
The point is, there are events in our life that come up every now and then and give us a sudden desire to change ourselves for the better.
We will refer to these events as catalysts.
Thus, c stands for catalyst, and refers to the intensity of the last catalyst you experienced. Let’s go over this one more time.
According to our law, which we’ll call Yevgeniy’s fundamental law of motivation, weight loss motivation is a function of the time since the last catalyst you experienced, and the intensity of that catalyst.
The longer it’s been since your last catalyst, the less motivated you are. The more intense that catalyst was, the more motivated you are.
Okay, now you may be thinking that’s very obvious and we don’t need a mathematical law for it. And yet this equation shows us an incredibly useful insight about how to stay motivated while losing weight.
If we reduce the amount of time between the catalysts we experience and/or increase the intensity of those catalysts, then we can increase our motivation.
There are many things that could go into this journal.
As an example, you could simply weigh yourself every morning and record your weight. Keep doing this short ritual for weeks and months at a time and watch what happens with those numbers.
If you’re following a good plan, such as those suggested on this site, then the overall trend should be a decrease in your weight over time.
At the end of every week, look at how much you weight now compared to only 7 days earlier.
The difference will probably not be huge (and it shouldn’t be), but it will be a solid, concrete, objective improvement to wrap your mind around. In effect, it is a positive catalyst.
By watching that number go down, you are spurred on to work harder because you know what you’re doing is working.
And with each new catalyst, you’re effectively reducing t on average, which again, is the time since your last catalyst. And again, reducing t will increase M, your weight loss motivation.
Of course, if you’re plan isn’t good, those numbers may not be going down. In this way, a weight loss journal can be useful as an evaluation method for your regiment as well as a motivational tool.
Also note that even if you’re following a good plan, there are some weeks that things just don’t go as planned, and at the end of the week, you’re exactly where you were 7 days ago, or worse.
This is where negative catalysts come in. When you see your numbers going up, that will also spur you on, albeit in a different way. You will have a reason to push extra hard the next week to make up for that one.
Either way, the trend should be pretty clear now. The trick is to maximize exposure to these catalysts (positive or negative), these events that make you want to lose weight.
In doing so, you will be constantly reminded of what needs to be done, thus minimizing t in Yevgeniy’s law.
Of course, different people respond in different ways to different catalysts. People who are good with numbers will probably find the weight loss journal fairly effective. Others think from a more visual perspective.
Fortunately, there are plenty of catalysts you can make for yourself using pictures. In terms of positive catalysts, think about why you want to lose weight.
If it’s because you want to live a healthier life style and be able to enjoy the great outdoors, print out some pictures of mountain climbers, marathon runners, and wind surfers.
Put them around your house, or even your place of work, where you will inevitably see them multiple times throughout the day.
If your motivation to lose weight stems from wanting to look your best, use pictures of celebrities at the beach or professional models.
The goal is to have pictures that will provoke a reaction out of you. To choose the right ones, you have to know the reason why you want to lose weight.
Once you’ve picked out the photos and have put them in strategically noticeable places, then every time you see them throughout the day should provoke a response, some desire to lose weight.
In other words, these pictures will be your catalyst, and the more you see them, the more you can reduce t.
Some people may actually respond better to negative catalysts. If you think you’re one of those, you could actually try using less-than-flattering pictures of yourself.
Each time you see your so-called “before” picture, you’ll want to make sure that much more that you improve yourself.
One other way to easily increase the number of catalysts in your life and thus reduce t is to change the structure of your weight loss goals. Instead of losing 10 pounds in one month, go for losing 2.5 pounds in 1 week.
In other words, break your goals into smaller pieces. That way, you’ll have more opportunities to achieve your goals, with each occasion being yet another catalyst.
Increasing the Intensity of Catalysts
Having read the above, it may seem fairly easy to reduce the t in Yevgeniy’s law. All you have to do is increase the numbers of catalysts that happen in your life.
In doing so, you reduce the amount of time, on average, since your last catalyst, and so increase your average level of motivation to lose weight at any given time.
While reading about that, you may have been thinking the effect of losing a couple pounds in one week may not be as powerful as some of the earlier catalysts I mentioned (for instance, the desire to impress a cute girl or guy).
To fix this imbalance, commit to a system whereby if you successfully make your weight loss target for the week, you buy yourself something nice.
It could be a new pair of shoes, tickets to the Knicks game, or anything else that would make sense with your budget.
By tying these sort of rewards with the feelings you get when you achieve your weight loss targets, you are amplifying the intensity of the catalysts (i.e. increasing c).
Again, the idea of negative reinforcement also applies. For example, every time you fail, you could commit to donating $10 (or more, depending on your budget) to a local charity.
Now you have a deterrent to failing, and when you do fail, you have the feeling of losing money on top of the feeling of regret for not making your target. I call it the swear-jar technique. Again, it’s all about increasing c.
Another way to go about it is to work with a friend on losing weight. Human beings are social creatures and the intensity of our experiences is correlated with our ability to share them with those we like.
By doing everything mentioned in this article (and the other articles in this site) with someone else, you’re increasing c yet again.
As an extension to that, consider going to actual exercise classes at your local gym to supplement your solo regiment.
These classes offer ample opportunity to connect with others and learn from them, potentially increasing the amount of catalysts you’re exposed to (reducing t) or increasing the effectiveness the ones you already have going on in your life (increasing c).
It All Comes Down to the Math
M = c/t. At the core, that’s all you need to know to stay motivated to lose weight. We humans are motivated by events, and the more these events happen, the more motivated we are.
It’s a simple concept, but it’s vital. The examples listed here to increase cor reduce t are just that, examples. But the basic equation is what you should pay attention to.
There are so many ways to motivate yourself beyond what’s detailed in this article, and once you understand the fundamentals behind weight loss motivation, you should easily be able to come up with your own stratagems.
With this newly acquired knowledge.
I wish you the best of luck in your weight loss endeavors. If you like this post and you want more then subscribe, comment, like and share :)).
At least now, motivation should no longer be a problem. You have some ideas send mea message.
Then there’s t, which stands for time. Specifically, it refers to how long it’s been since the last time something caused you to really care about losing weight.
It could be seeing an old friend who’s lost so much weight since the last time you saw her/him that you barely recognize her. Or it could be the new girl or guy who just moved in next door who you want to seriously impress.
The point is, there are events in our life that come up every now and then and give us a sudden desire to change ourselves for the better.
We will refer to these events as catalysts.
Thus, c stands for catalyst, and refers to the intensity of the last catalyst you experienced. Let’s go over this one more time.
According to our law, which we’ll call Yevgeniy’s fundamental law of motivation, weight loss motivation is a function of the time since the last catalyst you experienced, and the intensity of that catalyst.
The longer it’s been since your last catalyst, the less motivated you are. The more intense that catalyst was, the more motivated you are.
Okay, now you may be thinking that’s very obvious and we don’t need a mathematical law for it. And yet this equation shows us an incredibly useful insight about how to stay motivated while losing weight.
If we reduce the amount of time between the catalysts we experience and/or increase the intensity of those catalysts, then we can increase our motivation.
Weight Loss Motivation: Reducing t
Perhaps it would be best to get into more concrete examples at this point. Whenever someone asks me about how to stick with their tough exercise regiments or diet programs, I always suggest keeping a weight loss journal.There are many things that could go into this journal.
As an example, you could simply weigh yourself every morning and record your weight. Keep doing this short ritual for weeks and months at a time and watch what happens with those numbers.
At the end of every week, look at how much you weight now compared to only 7 days earlier.
The difference will probably not be huge (and it shouldn’t be), but it will be a solid, concrete, objective improvement to wrap your mind around. In effect, it is a positive catalyst.
By watching that number go down, you are spurred on to work harder because you know what you’re doing is working.
And with each new catalyst, you’re effectively reducing t on average, which again, is the time since your last catalyst. And again, reducing t will increase M, your weight loss motivation.
Of course, if you’re plan isn’t good, those numbers may not be going down. In this way, a weight loss journal can be useful as an evaluation method for your regiment as well as a motivational tool.
Also note that even if you’re following a good plan, there are some weeks that things just don’t go as planned, and at the end of the week, you’re exactly where you were 7 days ago, or worse.
This is where negative catalysts come in. When you see your numbers going up, that will also spur you on, albeit in a different way. You will have a reason to push extra hard the next week to make up for that one.
Either way, the trend should be pretty clear now. The trick is to maximize exposure to these catalysts (positive or negative), these events that make you want to lose weight.
In doing so, you will be constantly reminded of what needs to be done, thus minimizing t in Yevgeniy’s law.
Of course, different people respond in different ways to different catalysts. People who are good with numbers will probably find the weight loss journal fairly effective. Others think from a more visual perspective.
Fortunately, there are plenty of catalysts you can make for yourself using pictures. In terms of positive catalysts, think about why you want to lose weight.
If it’s because you want to live a healthier life style and be able to enjoy the great outdoors, print out some pictures of mountain climbers, marathon runners, and wind surfers.
Put them around your house, or even your place of work, where you will inevitably see them multiple times throughout the day.
If your motivation to lose weight stems from wanting to look your best, use pictures of celebrities at the beach or professional models.
Once you’ve picked out the photos and have put them in strategically noticeable places, then every time you see them throughout the day should provoke a response, some desire to lose weight.
In other words, these pictures will be your catalyst, and the more you see them, the more you can reduce t.
Some people may actually respond better to negative catalysts. If you think you’re one of those, you could actually try using less-than-flattering pictures of yourself.
Each time you see your so-called “before” picture, you’ll want to make sure that much more that you improve yourself.
One other way to easily increase the number of catalysts in your life and thus reduce t is to change the structure of your weight loss goals. Instead of losing 10 pounds in one month, go for losing 2.5 pounds in 1 week.
In other words, break your goals into smaller pieces. That way, you’ll have more opportunities to achieve your goals, with each occasion being yet another catalyst.
Increasing the Intensity of Catalysts
Having read the above, it may seem fairly easy to reduce the t in Yevgeniy’s law. All you have to do is increase the numbers of catalysts that happen in your life.
In doing so, you reduce the amount of time, on average, since your last catalyst, and so increase your average level of motivation to lose weight at any given time.
But how do you increase the intensity of catalysts? How do you increasec?
One way is to create a reward/punishment system. Let’s go back to the weight loss journal for a minute.While reading about that, you may have been thinking the effect of losing a couple pounds in one week may not be as powerful as some of the earlier catalysts I mentioned (for instance, the desire to impress a cute girl or guy).
To fix this imbalance, commit to a system whereby if you successfully make your weight loss target for the week, you buy yourself something nice.
It could be a new pair of shoes, tickets to the Knicks game, or anything else that would make sense with your budget.
By tying these sort of rewards with the feelings you get when you achieve your weight loss targets, you are amplifying the intensity of the catalysts (i.e. increasing c).
Again, the idea of negative reinforcement also applies. For example, every time you fail, you could commit to donating $10 (or more, depending on your budget) to a local charity.
Now you have a deterrent to failing, and when you do fail, you have the feeling of losing money on top of the feeling of regret for not making your target. I call it the swear-jar technique. Again, it’s all about increasing c.
Another way to go about it is to work with a friend on losing weight. Human beings are social creatures and the intensity of our experiences is correlated with our ability to share them with those we like.
By doing everything mentioned in this article (and the other articles in this site) with someone else, you’re increasing c yet again.
As an extension to that, consider going to actual exercise classes at your local gym to supplement your solo regiment.
These classes offer ample opportunity to connect with others and learn from them, potentially increasing the amount of catalysts you’re exposed to (reducing t) or increasing the effectiveness the ones you already have going on in your life (increasing c).
It All Comes Down to the Math
M = c/t. At the core, that’s all you need to know to stay motivated to lose weight. We humans are motivated by events, and the more these events happen, the more motivated we are.
It’s a simple concept, but it’s vital. The examples listed here to increase cor reduce t are just that, examples. But the basic equation is what you should pay attention to.
There are so many ways to motivate yourself beyond what’s detailed in this article, and once you understand the fundamentals behind weight loss motivation, you should easily be able to come up with your own stratagems.
With this newly acquired knowledge.
I wish you the best of luck in your weight loss endeavors. If you like this post and you want more then subscribe, comment, like and share :)).
At least now, motivation should no longer be a problem. You have some ideas send mea message.
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