For many of us mums trying to lose pregnancy weight, realising that we have big numbers to lose to reach our goal can feel really overwhelming.
And when you do want to lose weight (and a significant amount at that) it can be hard to stay focused on the day to day, as your goal seems so far out of reach. ‘What difference does it make if I eat these chocolates today when I still need to lose 20kg?’ you might ask.
So today we have some tips for how you can get started AND stay motivated when you have a long way to go to reach your target.
Break it down
If you would like to lose 20kg in 12 months, don’t keep telling yourself ‘I need to lose 20kg’. Instead, break this major goal down into a monthly goal of 2.5kg for the year. Doesn’t seem so scary now does it?
You can also set yourself non-weight related goals. For instance you might commit to no take away for a month; or decide to put four exercise sessions in your diary per week and stick to them.
Reward yourself
As part of these smaller goals, set yourself up with some little rewards to treat yourself when you reach them. This will really help you to stay motivated.
For instance maybe when you lose the first 5kg you will buy yourself a new pair of workout shorts or get a pedicure. Or when you kick the second goal, you might order the Comfort Eating Cookbook or the Healthy Mummy Post Pregnancy Exercise DVD.
This can be much more fun as you can enjoy the high of achieving your smaller goal rather than waiting to celebrate your major goal when that could be over a year away.
Use the scales less often
For a lot of our mums, it has been helpful to only weigh-in every couple of weeks or even once a month.
Weighing yourself daily can set you up in a negative cycle of ‘today is a bad day because I put on 800g since yesterday’.
In fact, your body can fluctuate wildly due to things like fluid retention (say if you’ve eaten something salty); if you have consumed more fluid than usual; hot temperatures outside or air conditioning inside, which can cause dehydration; or even hormonal changes that naturally occur in your body.
Get support
Having people around you to encourage you on your journey is an invaluable source of inspiration. Getting friends on board can be a huge help to keep you accountable to your goals and keep you motivated.
Signing up to the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge is also a great way to keep you focused on your goals.
It outlines in detail ideas for exercise, as well as exactly what to eat for all meals and snacks (so that you don’t have to dream up new ideas for yourself each day). It even has a shopping list so you can make sure you have it all on hand.
You also have thousands of other mums on hand who are doing the challenge with you, as well as the support of our Motivating Mums who are there to answer any questions you might have along the way.
Also try to get your partner and family on board too. This way you can all enjoy the benefits of healthy eating – and you don’t have to cook two meals! You can read more about getting your partner on board here.
Tasheena Snow lost 45kg with the 28 Day Challenge read more about her story here
Find a buddy
Try to find a friend to be your weight loss buddy, and you can keep each other motivated and inspired. This could be a work colleague, a neighbour, your partner, a relative or a good friend.
Or why not jump onto our Facebook support group and see if you can find a buddy there to help keep you honest? You can send each other private messages or even texts if you felt that this could be helpful. Read more here about why we love the buddy system.
Use several measurements of success
As we all know, sometimes the scales are not our friend (and sometimes they are just plain nasty). So having other ways to measure your success can be a powerful motivator.
For instance you can take your measurements and update these on a monthly basis. Many mums find that even though the scales haven’t had a huge shift, they’ve lost centimetres off their waist and that can give you a really big lift in the motivation side of things.
You might also take your photo in the same clothes and same position once a month and use that as a way to see how far you’ve come.
Banish the term ‘diet’
Instead of feeling as though you are on a diet (which has connotations that it’s something you are only doing for a set period) think of your new way of eating as a focus on healthy living instead.
For instance you might decide that you will reduce your processed food intake, limit added sugar, or up the amount of leafy greens you eat each day.
Making commitments like these to improve your health will mean that the positive results will naturally follow
