Why does motivation go through the roof at the beginning of the weight loss process, and then disappear somewhere? What can demotivate and who can be the best motivator? These questions interest many who want to lose weight. In this article we will look at the reasons that prevent you from starting a new, "harmonious" life.
The fact that a person, regardless of gender and age, is not indifferent to his appearance and the appearance of other people is an obvious fact. One of the most interesting things to do is stare at an attractive person, fantasizing about his character and lifestyle. Our own appearance also comes under our close attention. We are trying to understand our preferences and, perhaps, hide something - both from ourselves and from others.
Throughout our lives we work on our own image - you can imagine how important the impression we make is for us! This is especially true for women.
The paradox is that external attractiveness is often more important than health concerns.
Man is a social being. Therefore, it is important to consider the role of appearance as a very strong motivational factor. But the question arises: why then do overweight people so often lack this factor in order to create the very image that a person needs so much, since ancient times?
What is motivation
The term "motivation" is derived from the word "motive" (Latin movere - ‘to set in motion, to push’). Motivation is a set of not only internal, but also external forces that encourage some kind of activity. It is needs and feelings that are the main motivational factors. Hunger, sexual desire, thirst, and a feeling of insecurity are always accompanied by emotions.
Emotions are a psychological factor. For example, positive emotions indicate a satisfied need, while negative emotions indicate an unsatisfied need. Due to the higher emotionality of women, it is they who often experience strong emotional stress.
The experience of an unmet need causes discomfort, and a desire arises to eliminate it. For example, if a woman is dissatisfied with her weight, she wants to get rid of this shortcoming, and, it would seem, there should be more than enough motivation to achieve the goal.
Why then are there problems with this driving force? How to find motivation to lose weight? It is important to understand that human activity is multimotivated, that is, it is simultaneously influenced by different motives that may contradict each other. This is where the problems begin.
Factors of lack of motivation
- Lack of knowledge. First of all, ignoring the psychological causes of excess weight. Although it should be noted that increasingly, clients of nutritionists and dietitians themselves talk about the possible causes of overeating.
- Lack of support, even if your loved ones wish you only the best. This is why they may think that everything is fine with you anyway. If you cannot find support in your environment, you can contact a psychologist.
- Unscrupulousness of would-be specialists and focus only on results that are obtained quickly and are traumatic for both health and psyche. They do not teach how to maintain the results obtained, what to do if a relapse occurs.
- Constant breakdowns and relapses (which require support from a specialist when working with eating disorders) reduce motivation and mood.
- Slow weight loss with the right comprehensive approach, as a result of which short programs are chosen. An example of such a choice is the goal of "losing weight by summer. "
These factors negatively affect motivation when losing weight and lead to the inability to cope with the problem on your own. A person losing weight goes through certain stages: at the beginning of a weight loss marathon, in the wake of group euphoria, he strictly follows the recommendations, and then the enthusiasm disappears. Apathy appears, often protest, followed by a breakdown.
Food addiction
Almost every overweight person has a food addiction. This conclusion suggests itself due to the connection between well-being and behavior. That is, a person who does not have any addiction will change behavior when their health worsens.
If behavior does not change and continues to destroy a person’s health, we can talk about a hidden reason for being in this state. With excess weight, a bunch of physiological problems appear (illness, lack of energy, poor skin and hair condition) and psychological ones (low self-esteem, shame, guilt, constant anxiety, depression, chronic depression), but the person is in no hurry to change anything. then he continues to overeat, that is, we are talking about food addiction.
Day after day, food is used, among other things, as an antidepressant and sedative, to muffle the feelings and emotions that arise in the race in a circle: diet - breakdown - guilt - diet. Food relaxes, improves mood and even relieves pain.
The child’s psyche develops on the basis of "pair relationships": mother - child, breast - milk, mouth - stomach, care - support. Food satisfies important desires for an infant from the very beginning of his life.
For him, delicious food is an ideal mother. A mother who understands and accepts anyone or anyone. It is important to remember that food has not only a physiological significance for a person, but also a psychological one. It is a powerful regulator of psychological balance. That is why it is so difficult and takes so much time to work with excess weight and food addiction, with breakdowns, setbacks and relapses.
Reasons for low motivation
In the process of working with excess weight, a person is simultaneously affected by multipolar motives: on the one hand, the fear of losing an ideal image and condemnation from society, and on the other, the fear of losing a powerful tool for maintaining emotional balance.
Emotions and feelings that throw those losing weight out of balance are quite serious conditions. The most common: shame, guilt, fear, anxiety, helplessness, despair, melancholy, boredom, fatigue. Every day we experience many different feelings and emotions.
Let's consider some of them in detail in order to understand the depth of the problem and the next time when motivation is reduced, do not rush to condemn yourself. Try to figure out where demotivating factors come from.
- Fatigue. This is a loss of strength after prolonged work. But this need requires sleep and rest, not food. However, in addition to physical fatigue, psychological fatigue may also appear when suppressed emotions take up too much energy. The inability or unwillingness to look for other tools of self-regulation makes tired people grab food. The idea of constantly overcoming oneself for the sake of something or someone is combined with the inability to replenish resources with rest. How to solve a problem? Take a walk in the fresh air, meditate, read a book, plan to go to bed early, take a magnesium bath.
- Boredom. Do you know that feeling when waiting too long leads to burnout and lingering boredom? With the loss of meaning in life and the seeming meaninglessness of what is happening, talking about motivation to lose weight is pointless. Melancholy, despair, emptiness. . . Strong and complex emotions cause discomfort, and in the case of food addiction, only food helps to cope. How to solve a problem? Find something to do that sparks your passion! When was the last time you drew? Have you picked up a new book? Have you tried cooking a new dish?
- Fear of hunger. Genetically and historically, the fear of starvation provokes increased appetite. Therefore, a huge number of people eat much more than their stomach capacity allows. A festive table or cupboards and refrigerator full of food will definitely reduce motivation. How to solve a problem? Don't forget to drink water! Eat slowly, without being distracted by gadgets and conversations. The salad plate should be deep - a bowl is ideal. The size of a flat plate should not exceed two palms. Remember the principle of balance - the right combination of proteins, fats and carbohydrates helps satisfy hunger for at least 3-4 hours.
Cheat sheet on macronutrient and water intake:- protein - 1 g per 1 kg of weight;
- fats - 1 g per 1 kg of weight;
- carbohydrates - 3-4 g per 1 kg of weight. Don't forget about fiber! The norm is 20–30 g per day;
- water - 30–35 ml per 1 kg of weight.
- Shame and guilt. These are the two strongest feelings. Weight loss is a process usually with ups and downs, breakdowns and setbacks. And every time a relapse occurs, a person experiences a feeling of shame and guilt for his weakness. And in order to punish himself for this offense, he goes on a strict diet, which again leads to a breakdown. And so on in a circle.
I eat, which means I exist. A passionate desire to feel active is one of the motives for eating excess food. A society in which material values are the measure of social success leads to a range of negative feelings, without working through which you will not be able to increase your motivation.
How to set goals correctly to increase motivation
So, negative emotions interfere with weight loss. In other words, the consciousness is overloaded with experiences that take away the energy so necessary to mobilize the strength to lose weight. And the range of these feelings is great: from finding yourself to fighting loneliness.
It turns out that there is a desire to lose weight, but the motivation quickly passes. The fact is that those who dream of losing weight ignore issues that are really important to them and, when formulating motivation, are guided only by secondary, superficial desires.
Many girls really want to lose weight, trying again and again to force themselves to do it, but at the same time they remain overweight, having tried different methods. Have you ever thought this strange? The only correct strategy: it is important to strive not to get rid of something, but to get something.
The most important thing in increasing your motivation to lose weight is having a clear vision and planning for that "something. "Goal setting trainings are based on this secret, which, in essence, teach you to "make wishes correctly. "It's difficult to lose weight if you don't understand in great detail what slimming will give you. It’s not easy for a girl to refuse another piece of candy if she doesn’t remember the very swimsuit in which she will parade along that very beach and notice those very looks. No principles of rational nutrition will help you lose weight without exciting fantasies about yourself and how you feel in a slim body, in different outfits, in different life situations.
A swimsuit is not the only motivator. The body of overweight people experiences serious stress. The consequences of fatty tissue deposition and muscle tissue deficiency are early aging, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, disrupted detoxification processes. . . This is not the entire list of the consequences of excess weight.
It’s better to forget the abstract words that once didn’t help you find harmony - "I’ll lose weight, be more confident, healthier and more beautiful" - and start thinking about those joyful moments that await you.
A correctly set goal is the best motivator in losing weight.
List of basic rules for goal setting:
- Your goals (in our case, these are thoughts about being slim) should be framed in small plots (stories, scripts, histories, essays - as you like) with you in the leading role, where you describe in detail the situation in which you will be very comfortablethanks to your slim body. These stories should begin with a detailed description of your figure in one or another clothing (or without it), then - your appearance as a whole, including accessories, hairstyle and makeup; your actions within this situation (how you came, sat down, turned your head, moved your eyes, etc. ) and most importantly - descriptions of your sensations and feelings (how you feel your body, how happy you are, proud of yourself, how confident you areand are satisfied). As a result of this design, the fantasy acquires the energy that is in the feelings and which charges you with the desire for happiness - and it will guide you, even if you are not fully aware of it.
- Important: in your goals, describe only what you will gain with harmony, what you will become, and not what you will get rid of! And all this in the present tense, as if it had already happened. You cannot write for your own purposes about disappeared folds, swelling, shortness of breath! Describe slender legs, graceful ankles, thin waist and easy breathing. Our unconscious, our inner girl, cannot see what is no longer there. You just need to wishful thinking - then the unconscious will perceive these images as a fait accompli and make your body lose extra pounds.
- You should have several such fantasies or stories, at least seven. They should be reflected in different areas of your life: personal life, communication with loved ones, work, leisure, health, self-realization. Everyone has their own list. After all, you need harmony not as an end in itself, but as a means to improve life in all its manifestations. Being slim in itself does not bring happiness, but, oddly enough, it can be planned in the form of such pleasant situations associated with being slim. Remember that achieving your goals should bring you real joy, not profit, so that they are appreciated and supported by your inner child. You dream and write goals for him.
- Each of your goals should have a time and space framework so that at a certain time you can say to yourself: "Oh! It's done! I motivate myself. I am losing weight".
- And for goals to come true for sure, they must be realistic and must depend only on you. For example, you cannot plan that someone will fall in love with you, but you can assume and describe your confidence, joy, pride and admiration for yourself in some important situation, and your mood will do the trick. . .
- Your goals should be both immediate and short-term, and distant and long-term. You will need to distribute them over the entire period of weight loss so that, as they gradually come true, they "warm" you and stimulate you to new achievements. You need to be proud of yourself, praise and reward yourself for every goal that comes true. Remember to update your "joyful plans" as they progress. There is only one condition: the reward should not be in the form of a sweet bun or burger. What do you like? New dress, going to the theater, meeting friends? There must be at least seven goals at all times. Once the targets run out, the weight will stop.
- You are on the right track if, in the process of fantasizing, thinking and writing goals, you experience joyful excitement, impatience and itching in your fingertips: "Oh, I wish I could hurry up! "Oh, how much I want this! How great it will be! "You can "test" an already completed goal by mentally holding and weighing it on one hand, while placing your favorite product on the other. Imagine its smell, taste. . . What outweighs? If the product is still preferred, your goal may be unfinished or not entirely accurate.
Goals are a powerful driving force in your journey to get fit. They will work somewhere in the depths of consciousness, showing the right direction.
What to do - step by step plan
This article is not an instruction or a guide to action. It may force you to start analyzing possible reasons for your decreased motivation. As practice shows, there are significantly fewer motivating incentives in working with excess weight than demotivating ones, so the latter need to be carefully worked out.
- Determine the relevance of the goal: do you really have a desire to lose weight?
- Remember the importance of a balanced diet. A deficiency of vitamin D, chromium, B vitamins and complete fats in the diet leads to increased appetite.
- Seek professional help. If you are convinced that you have a desire to lose weight and it is relevant today, it is better to seek help from a psychologist or psychotherapist, since it is often difficult to cope with the problem on your own due to internal resistance.
And before you begin to put into practice the acquired knowledge, we will give you the main advice: do not fight with tricky fat, force yourself to lose weight. It is important to build friendships and partnerships with your own body. The most rewarding motivator is yourself.