Staying Motivated While Losing Weight

If you have tried to lose weight in the past and failed just because you couldn't keep yourself motivated, or simply you did not have a good motive to begin with, you are not alone. Many people wake up one day and say "I'm going to start losing weight from this day forwards". They watch their diet and exercise for a day or two, and then they forget about it. This is usually due to a lack of motivation. People are motivated sometimes and at times they're not. If you're ever going to be successful on losing weight, you will need to keep yourself motivated all the time.

Listed below are tips that you can use to encourage yourself whenever you are feeling apathetic. These tips will also help you to deal with temptation of calorific foods, laziness that comes up when it's time to exercise and when you are being a coach potato.

    Never forget the purpose you are losing weight for. If you're losing weight to look attractive, say that out loud every morning "I'm going to lose weight and look attractive". If you're losing weight to be healthy, say "I'm losing weight to be healthy".
    Never forget the benefits of losing weight. Imagine how energized you be, the level of impact it will have on your productivity, how seductive you will be to the opposite sex.
    Take a picture of yourself while you are overweight. Keep this picture with you at all times. Whenever you feel like eating fattening food, ask yourself "Do I want to be like this forever?" If you have already lost some weight, ask yourself "Do I want to be this again?"
    Keep a picture of your favorite actor/actress, player or model. Whenever you feel unenthusiastic, take a look at his or her abs, legs, hips and tummy. This will make you want to be like him or her and might give you the stimulus you need.
    Create a spreadsheet with columns: date, calories eaten, calories burned, food #1, food #2..., exercise #1, exercise #2..., and weight. Update this file every day except your weight. Weight should be updated weekly. Looking at your progress will help you focus and stay motivated.
    Look at yourself in the mirror everyday and visualize you being slim and trim that you always wanted.
    Watch fitness and exercise related TV shows every day. After looking at people working out and eating healthy, it might encourage you to do the same.
    Look at before and after pictures. Internet is flooded with these types of pictures; a simple search at Google will bring thousands of results.

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Benefits of Weight-Loss Surgery May Outweigh Risks for Some, Experts Say

The benefits of bariatric (weight loss) surgery may outweigh the risks for some severely obese people, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association.

By restricting food intake and/or preventing full absorption of food as it passes through the gastro-intestinal tract, bariatric surgery is meant to reduce a person's caloric intake.

The statement-writing committee reviewed available scientific literature and concluded that bariatric surgery can result in long-term weight loss and significant reductions in cardiac and other risk factors for certain people who are severely obese, which is defined as having a body mass index of 40 or more.

"The statement is not an across-the-board endorsement of bariatric surgery for the severely obese," statement lead author Dr. Paul Poirier, director of the prevention/rehabilitation program at the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Laval University Hospital, cautioned in an American Heart Association news release. "Bariatric procedures are generally safe; however, this is not a benign surgery. At the moment, bariatric surgery should be reserved for patients who can undergo surgery safely, have severe obesity and have failed attempts at medical therapy."

Specifically, bariatric surgery can lead to improvements in weight-related health problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol, liver disease, high blood pressure, obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular dysfunction, the authors say.

The statement authors also noted that some recent studies have suggested that bariatric surgery helps prolong the lives of severely obese people.

However, like all surgeries, bariatric surgery does carry surgical risks -- including infection, internal bleeding, blood clots and death, according to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. It also has long-term implications for patients' lifestyle. For example, patients have to make lifelong behavior changes, such as eating less and taking vitamin and mineral supplements, and follow up with the surgical team.
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