Weight Loss Journal

One of the hardest parts of dealing with a diet is the feeling that you are depriving yourself. Everyone needs a boost and for many people, food is the natural reward. Whether this started in childhood or became an acquired habit later in life, you'll need to find new ways to reward yourself and a new system to follow that will help you stay on your diet and still feel satisfied.

First, make a list of all your "cheat" foods, or the things you normally turn to when you're feeling down or when you want to celebrate. Post this list in an easy to spot location so you can keep it on your mind. Keeping it right there will help you retrain your brain so that you'll be aware of your danger zones and steer clear of them.

Next, you'll need to set up a rewards system based on your diet and exercise plan. Our goal here is to replace the usual food rewards with something that is a lot less damaging to your figure. Take that list once again and write down a column that contains all of the things you enjoy doing. Whether it's a bubble bath, a trip to a museum or a shopping spree, you'll need to list everything.

Start by setting your first goal. It's a good idea to make sure that it is achievable in a small amount of time so that you stay motivated. Whether it's losing that first few pounds or lowering your blood pressure by a few points, keep the goal easy to reach. Now, pick one of the things that you enjoy doing and set it up as a reward.

It's a good idea to make sure that it's not an event that you generally do. This will help you keep the rewards special and make it more fun to reach them. Once you have your first few goals and their corresponding rewards outlined, you're ready to start making progress.

Whenever you feel as though you're ready to give into a food craving, look at that list again and see what you'll get to do if you can hold on and keep on your diet. This can really help you retrain your brain and get rid of problem behavior that leads to the failures of so many diets.

By sticking with your diet and making sure that you reward yourself for your successes, you'll be able to stay motivated for your diet. In addition, since you are replacing food rewards with other activities, you're building a strong foundation for a new and healthier life. This means that long after your diet is done you'll be able to keep that weight off.

Losing weight is difficult, but it is doesn't have to be impossible. We all need rewards and sometimes it just feels better to pat yourself on the back. When you're not using food, you're setting up a whole new future for yourself and guaranteeing your success.

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One of the key components to eating right is getting motivated. While it's easy enough at first to have grand plans, if you don't have enough motivation to do the follow through, there's just no point. In order to make sure that you're successful with your diet, you're going to need to make sure that your priorities are in order and that you have the right kind of motivation.

Before you even start your diet, we recommend making a list of all of the things that you hope to accomplish. Divide these into three columns: Physical Appearance, Body Health, Activities. Now, you'll be able to see all of the things on one sheet of paper. This makes it a lot easier to keep your goals right in front of you. Once you have them all down, redo your list and prioritize the things that are the most important to you. For example, if lowering your blood pressure is a high priority, move that to the top of the health list.

Once you have all of your items prioritized in each column, make a master list that contains them in order of importance. You'll be referring back to this as you start to meet your goals. By putting it on paper, you're giving yourself that visualization that makes it a lot easier to see your goals and meet them. While it's fine to keep it in your head, most people prefer having a hard copy. When you start to check those items off as goals attained, it really is a great feeling.

So, now that you have your list done, you're ready to start on your diet. Make sure that you select one that will make it easy to keep your goals at first. Rome was not built in a day and a good diet takes time to work. Don't doom yourself to failure by going on an extreme diet that you have no hope of keeping. Start small and work your way up. You'll be a lot less likely to call it quits after a few days and you'll be able to keep motivated.

One great way to start small is simply by cutting out a few of the foods you eat or drink every day that contain empty calories. Soda is the best place to start since you'll usually see pretty quick results. Try cutting out one or two a day at first, and then increase the amount until you are no longer drinking it. The results you see will keep you motivated and you won't be depriving yourself of it all at once.

Whenever you feel as though you want to quit with your diet, pull out that list and re-read it. See what you've crossed out and remind yourself that these are important goals that will change your life. It is easy to quit and walk away, but you will be paying the price for it for the rest of your life.

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