Weight loss has become one of the major concerns of the 21th century although, paradoxically, producing food for an ever-increasing population is also one. It has been shown that populations or countries where hunger had been a major issue at some point, produced generations which were afterwards very much concerned with eating a lot. However this is not the case with all over-eaters, or with those who are overweight. While some people are born with hereditary and genetic conditions that make them predisposed to gaining weight, other people have eating disorders based in psychological issues. And then there are also those who simply love to eat, the gourmands. So how can we find that weight loss motivation?
If you start reading and researching, everyone has an opinion about how to get weight loss motivation; some advertise hypnosis, others psychotherapy, religion, spirituality, or even stupid things like looking at pictures with fit people. The truth is that the best motivation to lose weight can only be found within yourself. Just like each person needs different things in order to lose weight, so do they need different things to get motivation for it. Some people take a picture with them when they looked their best and use it as a guideline of sorts to inspire them to look like that again; but doing that or comparing yourself with people who look very good can only lead to depression and a loss of motivation. It is hard to keep focused and remember that even those who look fit now had their own issues with weight loss and had to make sacrifices themselves.
Another false motivation is looking at pictures with you at your worst all day; you can’t be motivated by seeing how bad you used to look. And another reason why weight loss motivation has to come from within is the fact that you don’t have to do it for somebody else, or for society to accept you easier. This is something you do for yourself, for your own health, and not just for aesthetic reasons. Having a normal weight lets you lead a normal life with all the possibilities that being heavy weight forbids from doing. Even practicing more dynamic activities is somehow tabu for overweight people, even though they could do them; this is because you come to feel ridiculous in your own body, so you avoid showing it.
Motivation to lose weight doesn’t come easy, which is why you need to have patience with yourself; the most common problem people who want to lose weight have is that they expect fast or immediate results. This never happens, so many of them lose the motivation to go on, thinking that it is pointless and not worth the effort. But if you have the patience to wait for a few weeks or a month, when you actually see the difference, there is no greater pride; you’ve done something all by yourself, you helped your body and now your body starts helping you. Remember that you and your body are a team and not opponents, and it will be all the motivation you ever needed.
