How To Get Motivated To Lose Weight

How to get motivated to lose weight can be difficult, especially if you have tried many times to do so. 

1. Set realistic goals. In the past you may have made those goals too difficult (perhaps to lose twenty pounds in just a couple of months, to drop too many sizes in too short a time, etc.). 
2. It is important to set a major long-term goal. Goals such as making yourself healthier in order to enjoy your children and then grandchildren for many years. This allows you to keep that goal in mind when you tend to get lax in your endeavors. 
3. To begin, however, set short-term specific goals (to lose five pounds a month, or exercise or walk for so many minutes at least several times a week, for instance) that can be reached without tremendous difficulty. 
4. Think of ways to incorporate these new eating or exercise habits into your life in a way that won't totally disrupt your normal routine. The easier you make it to follow new habits, the more likely you will be to succeed.
5. Think long and hard as to what the triggers are that cause you to overeat. Think of ways to get around those triggers by either not having certain foods on your premises or at work, or by changing the stress of certain situations by doing something totally different to get your mind off that problem.
6. Shop only with a list of healthy foods for menus that you have written up ahead of time. Fight impulse shopping, especially for snack foods.
7. Eat small meals and healthy snacks six times a day to keep your metabolism working well. 
8. Check out new hobbies and pastimes in order to meet new friends and put some "spice" back in your life. You'll enjoy yourself and won't concentrate on food. 
9. The accomplishment of a goal is truly motivating and will keep you going in the right direction. 
10. Decide on a "reward" for when you reach each goal, but do not make it food! Go to a movie, or buy something you have been wanting, or treat  yourself to a game of golf.   

Don't be impatient.  Realize that lifestyle changes take many months to establish as habits that  you can follow faithfully.  Remember what worked in your quest to get motivated to lose weight and build on that knowledge.