Willpower will help you make the initial changes in your diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes, but you must find the passion! Passion, focus, purpose, self-expectation, belief are a must for you to succeed in reaching your fat loss goals.
Winners focus on the positive outcomes! If you are constantly thinking "poor me, I have to give up soda to lose weight" or "everybody else is eating ice cream and I'm not "allowed"", then you will be miserable and you won't get the results you desire. Focus on your goal at hand and know that the seemingly difficult choices you make today will have a positive outcome days ahead.
Instead of telling yourself about all of the things you have to give up and how hard it is, focus on how great your body will feel when you start eating clean and exercising regularly! Focus on the mental clarity you will have and the constant supply of energy without the afternoon crash. Think about the confidence you will have. Think about how awesome it will be to be wearing your skinny jeans again!
Find the passion to stick to healthy eating and regular exercise. Tell yourself all of what you will gain and think nothing of what you are giving up!
If you're still searching for your passion to eat healthy and exercise regularly, then here are 5 tricks to improve your self-control.
- Give yourself a break in other areas of life. If you always mop the floor on Sunday afternoon, skip it (and don't feel bad about it) and use that time to plan your upcoming week's meals. This will make meal time easier and you won't need to exert the same amount of willpower when it's five o'clock and you're hungry, the kids are screaming, the dog is barking and the phone is ringing.
- Have a support system. According to Aimee Kimball, PhD, director of mental training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Center for Sports Medicine, research confirms that "Social support is really important for developing willpower." Kimball says people should share their goals and successes with others.
- Stop stressing about things you can't control. Kimball says to write a list of things that stress you out, make a plan for the things you can control and cross off the things you can't control. If you cross off the things you can't control you won't waste energy, therefore reserving your willpower.
- Get enough rest! According to Roy F. Baumeister, PhD, a researcher at Florida State University, sleep restores depleted willpower. Just think about how you feel when you're sleep deprived. You go for a snack to keep yourself awake and exerting physical energy is about the last thing you feel like doing. Get enough sleep so you don't self-sabotage your weight loss plan.
- Don't skip meals! It turns out that willpower actually depletes your body's blood glucose when you have to exert self-control. Matthew Gailliot, PhD, a researcher at the University of Amsterdam, showed that after an act of self-control, study participants' blood glucose levels dropped. Blood glucose levels did not drop during tasks that where participants were not exerting self-control. Interstingly, when asked to repeat the original acts of self-control, those whose blood sugar level dropped the most from the first task performed worse on the second attempt. Participants who drank and replenished their blood glucose levels in between the first and second attempts were better able to exert their willpower.
Try these few tips to reserve and even increase your willpower. When you start making small positive steps you will be amazed at the passion and success you have!
In good health,
Marie
References
Baumeister, R.F. 2003. Ego depletionand self-regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88 (4) 589-604
Gailliot, M.T., et al. 2007. Self-Control relies on glucose as a limited energy source: Willpower is more than a metaphor. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 92 (2) 325-32.
McGonigal, Kelly. The Science of Willpower. IDEA Fitness Journal. 5 (6).
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