Weight loss, like everything else in life, occurs in stages, over time. Each stage is marked by different emotions and levels of motivation. To maintain your weight — and control over food — you need to be aware of where you are in these stages, and — if necessary — take steps to bolster your flagging motivation and confidence.
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Stage 1: Pain and 1Desperation. Once in a while, you will feel disgusted with yourself for your lack of control or hate to look at yourself in the mirror. Although this stage propels one to push through with his or her weight loss program, it can also become a black hole, which can change motivation into loathe and desperation.
Stage 2: Action. The point at which you make the crucial move of getting into some sort of weight program or putting yourself on a diet. You’re fed up with being fed up. Instead of hating yourself or fantasizing about being thin, you decide to take matters into your own hands and actually lose weight. Motivation and commitment are typically high.
Stage 3: Structure. You start applying the principles of the weight program to your day-to-day life. You set up a schedule for yourself, plan what to eat, and eliminate some foods from your diet. Although motivation and commitment are high during this stage, they can easily be undermined.
Stage 4: Recognition. The turning point. You are beginning to see results. Your clothes feel looser, you see more definition in your face, you have more stamina and endurance. These results can either give up— because you feel a little satisfaction, or move forward — because you know that you can still do more.
Stage 5: Success. You’ve reached your weight goal! Hurray! Every time you look in the mirror, you feel a little thrill of pleasure. The intense satisfaction of having achieved your treasured goal convinces you that you’ll never go back to your old ways again. Motivation and commitment are high.
Stage 6: Maintenance. The most high-risk stage of any weight-control effort. It comes as the rush of success starts to wear off. You’ve gotten used to seeing yourself in the mirror. Your friends are no longer amazed at your appearance.
Now, more than ever, you need to make use of your motivation to keep fit. Keep pictures of your old, unhappy self around as vivid reminders of what the good old days were really like.
Once you reached the sixth stage, keep on moving! If you’ve stopped going to the gym, go back. Exercise generates neurochemicals that lift your spirits and reduce your appetite. The time and sweat you put in at the gym can give you a sense of control of your body.
Form an alliance with one particular friend who is also keeping her shape, and when you both feel lethargic about working out, call and motivate each other not to skip work-out.
Remember, the key to food control and weight control is resilience.