What Is Your Why For Weight loss? 4 Steps To Finding It And Staying Committed

What is your why? Is it vanity or something deeper that drives you to make healthier choices and stay committed to weight loss goals?  You see, your why should be more than just wanting a better physique; it needs to have emotional meaning. It’s important to identify what motivates you and use that as the foundation for achieving lasting results.

I always tell my clients that your why to wanting to get healthier or lose weight needs to be tied to something deeper like: having more energy, getting better sleep, improving relationships, becoming more active, or gaining clearer focus.  Weight loss will be the byproduct for achieving these things.

Let’s explore the steps for finding your why, setting realistic goals, creating an action plan and staying motivated along the way. I want to help you dig deep and stay committed long enough to reap the results. It’s not just deprivation, it’s about choices. These tips will empower you to get there. So let’s get started – what is YOUR WHY?

Identifying Your Why

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It’s essential to understand why you want to make a change in your life. Identifying your “why” can help keep you motivated and focused on achieving your goals. Your “why” is the purpose behind the action that will drive you forward when times get tough. I like to call it your “purpose statement”. 

When it comes to weight loss, one size doesn’t fit all. Every person will have a deeper reason as to why weight loss will change their life. Some may be looking for improved health, while others are seeking more energy or increased confidence in their appearance. Maybe you want to stay healthy for your children, keep up with grandchildren, or feel confident on the beach. Perhaps you have medical issues associated with being overweight, or you’re tired of being tired all the time.

No matter the incentive, grasping why you’re striving for a transformation can assist in sustaining your dedication and keeping you on track to attaining your ambition. These deeper desires will eventually result in weight loss because you’ll change your habits to achieve them.

Once you’ve identified your why (and it can’t be weight loss), it’s time to determine how you will get started by setting your goals.

Setting Goals

Achieving success necessitates the need for goals. It helps to focus your energy and create a plan for reaching the desired outcome. Goals should be realistic, measurable, and achievable within a reasonable amount of time.

1. To ensure that you are setting yourself up for success, it’s best to break down large goals into smaller tasks or steps. Smaller objectives can be established to make the larger goal more manageable and keep you inspired as you progress.
   • Example: If your aim is to shed 10 pounds by the start of summer, break it down into bite-sized portions – such as losing one-two lbs per week for the upcoming months.
2. You can also set weekly or monthly mini-goals. These small successes will add up over time and help keep you on track toward achieving your overall goal.
   • Example: Exercising five times weekly for 20 minutes or cutting out sugary snacks from your diet completely.
3. When aiming to reach objectives, consider who or what support systems you can utilize to ensure success.
   • Examples:
     • Consider asking for support from friends and family who can offer encouragement when needed.
     • Join a gym with knowledgeable trainers who can provide guidance during workouts.
     • Connecting with an online community where people share their experiences related to similar objectives so that you don’t feel isolated on your journey toward success.

Creating an Action Plan

Once you have your goals set and organized, it’s time to create a plan of action. This is often where people stop. They set their goals but never really decide how they will actually make them happen.  

But creating an action plan is essential to achieving any goal. Think of this as the roadmap that will help you get from where you are now to where you want to be. An action plan will lay out the tasks – daily, weekly, and even monthly- that you need to do.  An action plan involves a timeline for completing each step.

What To Include In Your Action Plan

Create a Start Doing and A Stop Doing list

Create a “stop doing” and “start doing” list.  This helps identify the habits you know you need to stop doing and creates awareness of the habits you’d like to adopt.  Circling back to shedding pounds, if you start to eat healthier, weight loss is often the byproduct.

Using the example of a goal to eat healthier: During week one you would decide to eliminate added sugars from your diet. Week 2 you make sure you are getting five fruits and vegetables a day. Then the next week you make another change from your list, all along the way, creating habits.

Create Timelines That Help Fit In New Routines

Consider how much time and effort each new habit will take so that it can fit into your lifestyle without becoming overwhelming or too difficult to manage.

For example, if your nearest gym is 30 minutes away, maybe exercising at home is a better choice. If necessary, adjust the timeline accordingly so that it works with your schedule and other commitments.

Build-in Rewards

Make sure there are built-in rewards along the way! This could be in the form of self-care after reaching certain milestones or celebrating small victories with an affordable purchase throughout the process of achieving your larger goal. You decide what works for you but make sure you celebrate the milsestones because you deserve it!

Monitor Your Progress

Regularly monitor progress on each task with weekly reviews to both hold yourself accountable and stay motivated!

Keep in mind you might not reach your goals in the first weeks or months but don’t get discouraged. Just make sure these action steps are realistic and achievable so that they don’t become overwhelming or discouraging.

Journaling Your Why

Journaling your why is a powerful tool to help you stay focused and motivated on the path toward creating a healthier, happier life.

Writing down how you feel before beginning any kind of lifestyle change helps you stay connected with yourself during moments of doubt or discouragement, allowing you time to reflect on your progress thus far, as well as what lies ahead if you remain committed over time.

Journaling before, during, and after allows you access to your innermost thoughts, which gives clarity during the journey.

I’m also a big believer in positive affirmations.  Add some of these to your journal to read every day and connect yourself back to your why.  

Expert Tip: As progress is made toward each goal, reviewing your notes and thoughts is insightful! It not only provides motivation to keep going but also allows you to look back over your journey and appreciate how far you’ve come since setting out on your path toward self-improvement.

How To Stay Motivated

Staying motivated can be a challenge when progress seems slow or difficult. I always say, “strive for progress, not perfection.” Weight loss is hard. You need to dig deep inside, find your grit, be patient, and stay the course.

Tips For Staying Motivated

1. Celebrate Small Wins – Celebrating small wins along the way can help keep you focused and motivated on your larger goal. Acknowledge each step forward as an accomplishment and reward yourself with something special, like a massage or a night out with friends.

2. Visualize Your Goals – Take time to visualize what achieving your goals would look like in detail.  Connect to how you feel as you get closer. This will help remind you why you are working on these new habits and give you the motivation to keep going even when things get tough.

3. Find Inspiration – Surround yourself with positive people who have achieved their goals or those who are currently working towards them too. Reading stories of success from others can also provide great inspiration and motivation for your own journey ahead.

4. Break Down Goals into Manageable Steps – Breaking down large goals into smaller steps makes them more manageable and less intimidating, which helps maintain motivation levels over time. Make sure these steps are realistic, so they don’t become overwhelming either; setting unrealistic expectations can lead to discouragement rather than motivation if not met quickly enough.

Maintaining an optimistic outlook and having faith in oneself is essential for sustaining enthusiasm, and believing that anything can be accomplished with the right attitude. Remind yourself of all the successes already achieved in life thus far, this will boost confidence levels while keeping negativity at bay during times of difficulty or doubt.

FAQs To Finding Your Why

Summary

When it comes to staying committed to weight loss, your why is the most important factor. Knowing and understanding your why will help you stay motivated and focused on reaching your goals.

Take the time to uncover what inspires you, establish attainable objectives, devise a plan that fits your lifestyle and document your advancement on this journey.

With dedication and perseverance, finding your why can be a powerful tool in helping you reach success with weight loss. So ask yourself – what is my why?