How not to lose focus of your weight loss goal

Although most people start their weight loss program with their goal in mind and how good they are going to feel once they achieve their weight loss goal, as the program progresses they lose focus of their objective and the benefits they are going to reap by sticking to the weight loss program and instead they start focusing on the discomfort of exercising, missing their favorite TV shows because they have to go to the gym and not be able to eat whatever they want.  As you know, we are a “NOW” society, everything is now, we don’t want to wait for anything.  So the immediate pleasure of eating what we want now and watching our favor TV shows or doing whatever we want, NOW, usually wins over the future benefits we will receive if we go through some minor discomfort now.  So minor pleasure now and avoiding minor discomforts now VS achieving major benefits in the future by going through some minor discomforts now, unfortunately, in most cases the first one wins. 

How to keep your focus on your goal:  You can avoid making this mistake by preparing yourself the right way before you even start any weight loss or exercise program.  When you decide you want to get in shape and/or lose weight, before you start your first workout, you want to sit down in a quite place and write down all the reasons why getting in shape and/or losing weight is important to you.  How you are going to feel once you have achieved the body you want?  How is it going to affect your life and how other people see you?  Anyway just keep writing all the benefits you are going to reap from getting in shape and/or losing weight.  Don’t be shy; write down as many benefits as you can think.  No one needs to see this list.  Once you have completed the list, start another list of the negative effects if you continue with your current lifestyle habits.  How you are going to look and feel, one year from now if you continue the way you are, and without making any lifestyle changes.  How would your body look?  How much you will be weighing? In what shape your health will be in?  How would other people seeing you?  Do the same thing for 5 years from now, 10 years from now and 20 year from now, if you think you could live another 20 years with your current lifestyle.   Don’t leave any detail out.  It would even help talking to people that did not take care of their health when they were younger and how they are suffering today because of it. 

After you write these two lists put them aside and you are ready to begin your weight loss or fitness program.  Once you get started with your program and you find yourself focusing on the current discomforts you have to go through to achieve your goals, pull out these two lists, to first remind yourself of the benefits you are working towards and also the consequences of not sticking to your program.  The choice is simple, you can choose to go through the minor discomforts now and reap the health benefits and the tremendous pleasure that goes with it in the future, or continue as you are today, and suffer some major discomforts in the future from all the diseases like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, etc, that you will most likely develop if you continue with your current lifestyle.  It is your choice.  This might motivate you to stick to your weight loss program.