Welcome to Carol’s Corner. Make yourself at home. Pull up a chair, grab your favorite drink, and get comfy. Not enamored of my picture today. Had a weird expression on my face. But hubby blurred the other ones, so had to use this one. It’s one of my more casual looks. I sure am getting the wear out of these boots. We got dumped on part of last week, and now again the last two days. Winter can’t end fast enough for me.

My FiBit attire. The band has a nice embossed design

So, I’m having a hard time deciding what to talk about today. Having the tail-end of a migraine and I feel like my brain is half here. So let’s pose a little question. What do you do when you suddenly can’t find the motivation to keep on the journey you’ve been on in the last six months? You feel like you’re in a rut and can’t dig your way out. Are you struggling to keep your diet motivation? Do you need some inspiration to continue with your diet? Well, how about trying some of these tips from dietician, Juliette Kellow?

Just Look Forwards Instead Of Backwards.

Don’t dwell on diet mistakes of the past. Just because you gave up too easily and regained unwanted weight, does not mean it will happen again. Thinking negatively will almost certainly result in you giving up. So instead, put past mistakes behind you and instead, focus on the success that lies ahead.

Reflect On Your Successes.

Start out by reminding yourself of how much better you look and feel. Next look at some old pictures when you were bigger, and reflect on the differences in your appearance now. Doesn’t it feel great having a trimmer waist, slimmer arms, or a more chiseled face? Now put on an old piece of clothing that used to be too tight. Is there any better feeling in the world than to put on a pair of your favorite jeans, that before wouldn’t even go past your hips, but now goes and easily snaps up at your waist? How can that not ignite the fire inside your belly!!! Also checking your overall weight and inch loss to date can really help give you a much needed boost. Keep a chart to moniter your progress so you can see your progress in black and white.

Do Some Math.

If you find your motivation sliding, get out a pen and paper. Try to add up all the time you spent worrying about the following.

1. Your weight

2. Your shape

3. What you eat

4. Feeling guilty about not exercising

5. How you look in your clothes

6. Whether people are looking at you ( not in a good way)

7. If your health is suffering

8. Anything else that’s linked to your size.

Now, add up the hours in a month when you felt great about your size, shape, and diet. Chances are you will find that the negative thoughts seriously outweigh the positive ones. So, do you want to go another month, wasting all your time thinking negatively about this journey you’re on? When you think positively, you generally feel happier with the result, thus regaining your motivation to bring your journey to fruition.

Come To Grips With A Weight Loss Plateau.

Finding out that after a hard week of dieting and exercise yielded no results at the scale, or even maybe a gain, can be extremely discouraging and demotivating. But sadly, it is very common. Research has shown that after about 4-5 weeks of steady weight loss, some people may increase in weight by a pound. The reasons for this aren’t really known. It’s probably just our metabolism adjusting and it seems to be the bodies way of adjusting to all the changes we are going through. Many see this as a sign that their diet isn’t working,then give up prematurely and quickly pile on excess unwanted pounds. Instead you need to see this as your body sending a positive message that it’s been through some pretty rough changes, and is preparing for more. Realizing this will help to keep you positive and focused through this difficult time and regain your weight loss motivation.

Pay Attention To Your Food Diary.

People who generally write down everything they eat and drink are usually more successful at losing weight and keeping it off. The reason: keeps you more focused on every morsel that passes your mouth. After weeks or months many of us get complacent and just ditch the food diary. We think we know what we’re doing, but suddenly you’re not watching your portion sizes and consequently the scale stops moving in the right direction. We start getting back into our bad habits like having more treats or skipping breakfast. Then as they say, things go south, so when this happens, don’t quit, start getting back in the habit of writing everything down that you consume and you will start to see those pounds drop again and your excitement for the journey will return.

Cut Calories A Little.

Maybe you’re saying, “What is motivating about this”? But if you’ve been at a standstill, reducing your calories by just a small amount may be just what your body needs to get the scale moving again. There is good reason to do this as the pounds fall off. Simply put, when you lose weight, you need less energy to move around, so you need fewer calories to continue losing weight at the same rate.

Get Support.

Surrounding yourself with a good support network can really spur you on, so enlist the help and support of your family and friends.

1. Is there a friend you could exercise with?

2. Could your partner also do with eating a more healthy diet?

3. Could you encourage your work colleagues to have a fruit run instead of a chocolate run every afternoon?

4. Make the most of any support groups you are part of, like my group, ” Carol’s Inspiration Station”, or, “The Leslie Sansone Group” on FaceBook, and anyplace else you find people who are part of this never ending journey to health and fitness.

I realize that this is a time consuming issue of Carol’s Corner, but it is packed full of useful and important tips to help keep you motivated along the winding road that is our journey into health, wellness, and fitness. Thanks to Weight Loss Resources for this valuable information. http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/weight_loss/weight_loss_tips/motivation-weight-loss.htm. Stay strong, stay focused and walk the walk. Believe it, live it, do it. Till next time, God Bless.