What works for me is to set a long-term goal of how long I am going to stick to plan. Sometimes I just randomly pick a number of months, sometimes it is an upcoming event. For example, right now, my goal is to stay on plan until I go home for the holidays. I'm not going to worry about what the scale says, my goal is to just follow my diet and exercise program (the exercise part is easy, it's the diet I struggle with) until then, no matter what happens with my weight. I tell myself that at the end of that time period, I'll assess my progress and decide if I want to continue what I am doing or change something. And, in this case, I'll also have a few days off-plan while I am visiting the folks. Having that end date in sight really helps me stay on plan in the interim.
I work out with a personal trainer three times a week and I think that also really helps me stay motivated. I'm not sure I can explain it, but the training makes me want to improve myself, be thinner, tone more. I couldn't really put my finger on what it is about the training that I find so motivating. My trainer doesn't tell me I need to work harder or be thinner; if anything, he's tells me the opposite. But I definitely feel like it is a really important factor in my staying on plan. If you are having trouble getting to goal, I would definitely recommend personal or small group training.
I find exercise in general to be very motivating. If I am having an off-plan day, I can sometimes get things back under control just by working out. If I know I have to be off-plan for lunch, I will sometimes purposely hold of exercising until after lunch because I know the workout will help me get back on plan for the day. If I workout before lunch then eat off plan for lunch, I'm likely to eat off plan for the entire rest of the day.
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