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Knowing why you want to lose weight has been found to be really important for successful weight loss (1). Focusing on your weight loss “why” helps you to maintain motivation to lose weight when you hit challenging days or weeks- or when the going gets tough.
Everyone will have a different reason to lose weight. Sometimes this is about your health, or fitting into an item of clothing that has become too tight. It may be because you want to enjoy being more active. The important thing is to really take the time to think about why losing weight is important to you, so much so that you're willing to give it your best shot and keep going when challenges arise. Here at Boots Online Doctor, we advise you to engage with an emotionally charged reason, or “why”, for wanting your weight loss to be a success story. Write your “why” down, framed in positive language. To make this super simple, we have a free poster for you to download and complete with your “why”. Put it somewhere you'll see it everyday - so you can remind yourself of why you're changing your habits on a regular basis. The more often you repeat this positive message to yourself, the more it will stick.
For example: “I will successfully lose weight, so I can have the energy to run around with my children; I want to be the best parent I can be” or, “I will lose weight to feel increased confidence and I will put myself forward more at work” or, “I would like to look and feel great when I go to my graduation”
Goal Setting
Setting a weight loss goal can increase your chances of successfully losing weight (2). When setting your goals, we recommend that you set a long term goal and write this down. We also recommend that you create some short term, smaller goals that are more easily achieved. When you achieve your first small goal it's really important to celebrate your achievement. Celebrating your successes can create a sense of positivity and we know that this helps to keep you motivated on your weight loss journey, which increases the chances of you achieving your long term weight loss goal (3). For example, if you're aiming to lose 3 stone in total, losing 3 stone is your long term goal. Now create a first step towards achieving this goal, a small achievable goal. We recommend that for long term achievable weight loss, aim to lose 1-2lbs or ½ to 1 kg a week, with or without medication. Based on this, your first short term goal could be to lose 7lbs (or half a stone) in the next 8 weeks. Once you have worked out what your long term and short term smaller goals are, write them down and put them somewhere you'll see them as a regular reminder - this could be on the fridge or in a notebook. It can be helpful to share your goal with a friend or family member to keep you accountable. Is there someone you can share your goal with?
