Reward System And Weight Loss

Mind over matter is the key when it comes to dieting. There are so many diet programs, but they generally only deal with the physical nature of losing the weight. The “program” they subscribe to dictates how many calories you should be limited to, or the kinds of food eat. They don’t assist you with how to re-program yourself so that not only will you lose the weight, but you will keep it off.

Milestone watching and building a reward system can be a very useful technique for conditioning yourself. We like to feel good, and when we spoil ourselves, when we reward ourselves, we do feel good. Come up with rewards that have nothing to do with food. Whether it is taking a trip, buying yourself clothing, playing a game, you need to spoil yourself in non-food ways once you accomplish milestones in your food-loss program. Every ten pounds you lose, reward yourself! This does not have to be an expensive habit. Just do something fun. Go bowling, watch a movie. Attach the things you like to do with your milestone program, so that when you don’t achieve the desired result, you still have a reward sitting waiting for you when you do achieve it.

The most important aspect to weight loss is staying positive mentally. When you are depressed you will seek comfort. Chances are you seek comfort by eating food. This is a habit that you will progressively change over time, but the first part of avoiding that habit is to avoid becoming depressed. This may sound easier than it is, but in truth you are in control over your emotions. Emotions are just thoughts, and though it may not seem like it sometimes, you are indeed in control. You can make the decision to not be depressed through the force of your own will. Once you learn how to do this, you will no longer seek the approval of others because you can easily see the good in yourself. Thus you will stay positive, no matter what trial or adversity occurs in your life. Others will notice this change in you and will gravitate towards you. You can utilize these friends in a positive way by recruiting them to help you with your program, exercising with you, role-playing scenarios with you, and enjoying the events you schedule as rewards with you.

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Recruiting Friends - Journal And Weight Loss

We have seen in the previous post How To Start a Journal and Recruit Others to Help. Today we will talk about your freinds and how they can help you in your weight loss journal.

As you knew we all need our friends. That is what they are there for, to help when you need it most. Perhaps you need a friend now. There are a number of activities your friend can assist with. The first is assertiveness training (See Assertiveness Is A Key Factor In Making The Decision To Lose Weight). You can role-play assertiveness with your friend, who can simulate putting you in various circumstances that you find you can’t overcome on your own. By simulating these experiences with a trusted ally, who is only there to give you support and help you, you can practice overcoming these situations and work out strategies with your support to make that happen. It is difficult when we are making changes to trust anyone with our doubts and fears, and even with the admission of a little self-loathing. But your friend will understand, and be there for you. You must trust other people if you are going to help kick your bad habits.

Another area your friend can help with is in the area of physical exercise. It is hard for anyone, even those who are supremely fit, to always be excited about exercising. In your case, going from not exercising often to exercising six times a week is going to be a difficult change of pace. As your exercise, your body will be sore and while you will start gaining energy once you lose weight, eat better, and get more fit, the early stages will be difficult at best. If you have a trusted confident who can exercise at least half the time with you, then it will be a social activity that you can have fun with and which will benefit towards your goal of losing weight. If you can’t find one friend to exercise with enough because of scheduling difficulties or because your friend may be lazier than you are required to be right now, then utilize a few friends.

Don’t be shy about asking all of your friends if they would like to jog with you or play some kind of sport with you once or twice a week. If you can get commitments from three or four people, then you will have a full support group to ensure you are exercising six times a week, and perhaps even the one or two times you have to exercise on your own, you can find the willpower and determination to make it through a full jogging or workout session. This will get easier on both your body and your mind over time.

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Start a Journal and Recruit Others to Help - Journal And Weight Loss

If you have problems being assertive saying no to yourself or others concerning food, and if you are having problems being assertive saying yes when it comes to more exercise, then there are methods for assisting yourself with this process that don’t require you to hire a physical therapist or psychiatrist to fix. You can do this yourself, if you believe in yourself, first and foremost. It may be wise to start keeping a journal of your experiences with the word no.

Your No journal can help you determine when you are strong about no and when your resolve weakens. Are there certain kinds of food you can’t resist having large portions of? Are there certain people that you can’t say no to? Are there places you don’t want to exercise because you are afraid of how people will respond to a “fat person” exercising? These are all areas of your own subconscious preventing you from succeeding.

In truth, if you are serious about losing the weight, there needs to be no food or person that can control you, and the feelings of others, especially strangers, should not be able to hinder you from exercising. It is not enough to wave these off as excuses and get down on yourself. If you keep track of the moments when you are strong or weak by making your no journal, then you can also track progress such as when you successfully overcome such obstacles. These little victories will add up to a lot of good feelings for you, and added confidence. And if you find you cannot overcome these areas, then you will at least know where your weaknesses are, and recruit help from your friends and family to help you. (this is what we will talk about soon)

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Portions Can Make Or Break Your Weight Loss Efforts

A lot of what determines your weight is portions. The body only needs a little food each meal in order to get all the vitamins and nutrients needed to survive and be full. Unfortunately, our capacity for eating is much larger than the minimum portion requirement, so over-doing it is a hard temptation to resist. If you over-do it once in a while, the body can compensate for that, especially if you exercise to counter your indulgence. Everybody splurges now and again. If there is a party, wedding, or holiday dinner involved you should relax and enjoy yourself. Your problem may be that you are over-doing it regularly, and this is where you need to be mentally strong.

Your body may even tell you that it is still hungry once you start the program of reducing your portions. This is because your body is used to receiving more food and is sending out false messages. It is one of the hardest things you will have to overcome early in the process. It will only be once your mind and body make the adjustment and accepts that it only needs less portions will you not feel hungry after only eating the portion requirements you actually need rather than over-doing it as you used to.

Remember, depending on the diet you end up utilizing, you may not need to lose any of your favorites to lose weight. You just need to control the portions and begin viewing food as something your body needs to sustain your life, not a hobby to indulge in.

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