The thought of the time and effort that you need to spend if you are planning to lose a large amount of Fat can be intimidating. It is no wonder then that so many people “fall off the wagon,” so to speak, at one time or another on their Fat loss journey. To make the effort less tedious and to keep yourself motivated, you should make it a habit to reward yourself for your efforts every now and then.
What you can do is to write down small, short-term goals that you want to achieve. Let’s say you and your doctor decide that a loss of one pound a week is something you can do, or that doing some brisk walking one hour three times a week is your exercise regimen to start with. If at the end of the week you are able to meet those goals, then treat yourself to something small and yet significant enough to make you feel good.
A massage is a good example of a small yet satisfying reward. Or add to it a bit and get a manicure and a pedicure too, something that will make you feel pampered. Or maybe you can purchase certain items that will inject more fun into your efforts to lose Fat. Examples of these may include new exercise clothing, colorful new workout accessories like dumbbells or exercise balls — maybe even some new motivational books or DVD’s.
Some people reward themselves with a serving of their favorite food after they reach a certain short-term goal: a slice of cake, perhaps, or some ice cream. The reasoning behind this is that it prevents negative feelings of food deprivation. Others believe that such self-reward methods shouldn’t be attempted very early on, when the Fat loss regimen is only a few weeks or months old as they can be too much of a temptation that can lead to overindulgence.
As you progress on your Fat loss journey, you will find yourself ticking off more and more short-term goals on your list and moving closer and closer to your ultimate goal. Remember, you also have to have a long-term Fat loss goal reward, one that you will only indulge in after you have reached your target Fat. It must be something you desire enough to work hard for, something that will reinforce the satisfaction you will feel in having achieved your goal.
