Healthy lifestyles thrive on motivation. When times are rough, motivation keeps you going. When others try to damage your self esteem, motivation keeps you going. When the finishing line seems far, FAR away, motivation keeps you going.

Here are 7 ways to motivate yourself.

Notes around the home
This involves sticking helpful notes around your house, work area, in the car, or anywhere else where temptation arises. For example, stick a note which says, “Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels” on a jar of cookies in the kitchen.

Diary entries
Start a weight loss diary. This could be on the internet in the form of a blog or in a notebook. The benefits of a blog is that you can share your story worldwide, which will inspire others who are getting fit and healthy. The benefit of a notebook diary is that you can write anything and never fear who will read it.

Goal list
Celebrating reaching a goal is a GREAT motivator. To keep yourself pumped and motivated, it’s great to have many goals; for example, instead of aiming to lose 5o pounds, celebrate every 10 pounds lost. Smaller goals are much easier to manage so you’re less likely to quit. Which one would you rather say, ‘I’ve got 80lbs to lose’ OR ‘I’ve got 10lbs to lose’?

Buddy system
Some people need buddies to help keep them on track. When you feel low, your buddy can give you good advice because they know exactly what you are going through. In return, you’re there for them when their healthy lifestyle falls off the wagon.

Progress reports
To compile a report for each stage of your weight loss journey, you should:
1. Take photos of yourself.
2. Measure different parts of your body, such as your stomach, thighs, arms, etc.
3. Weigh yourself.
4. Have your body fat calculated.
5. Test your fitness e.g. how long you exercise for, the weight of the dumbbells you life, etc.

When you’ve reached your next goal weight, look back at your old reports and you’ll be amazed at the progress you’ve made. I love taking out my measuring tape to compare how wide my waist used to be to how slender it is today. Photos show the changes even better!

Success stories
You can find so many success stories across the internet, in magazines, at fitness classes, and from family and friends. Hearing what others have battled against is great for boosting your morale when you feel that your goals are beyond your reach. Success stories can always give good ideas that you haven’t considered before.

Motivation Collage (MC)
To create your own motivation collage:
1. Take a sheet of paper OR an empty notebook (they can be big or small).
2. Find photographs of things which push you to lose weight e.g. bikinis, flat stomachs, celebrity bodies you admire, etc.
3. Stick them down on your paper/in your notebook.
4. You could also fill your MC with healthy tips, diary entries, and the rest of the topics I have discussed on this page. The decision is yours.
5. Refer to the book on a regular basis. Try not to wait until you’re feeling really low because ‘prevention is better than cure’. It’s easier to keep your mood/motivation level high than it is to raise it from the doldrums.