What Does It Take to Lose Weight? Find Out Now

I’m not going to make you wait to find out. The answer to successful weight loss is two things: having a goal and having incentives. If you don’t have both of these – clearly defined – it’s much more difficult to lose weight. Kind of like taking a trip without figuring out where you’ll end up, or why you want to go on a trip in the first place.

You might think that just knowing that you’re too fat is an incentive. Well, maybe, but surely that’s not the only reason you want to lose weight. What is it about being fat that bothers you the most? What is it about being overweight that keeps you from being happy? Is it the fact that your clothes don’t look good on you?

Do you hate the way your thighs are dimpled from cellulite or is it the way that your butt hangs over the seat when you sit in those chairs in your doctor’s waiting room? Maybe you really feel bad that you can’t run around with your kids, or that you think that they’re embarrassed by the fact that they have a fat mom. (Although they love you and you know it, you’d really like to look nicer for them.)

Is your incentive a health concern? Do you have high blood pressure, a heart condition, high cholesterol or inflammation? Is it the way that being overweight puts a strain on your joints that’s bothering you? Or does your back hurt from carrying all that weight in front of you?

There are many good incentives to lose weight: family, health and self-esteem. You probably realize that, no matter how we try to deny it, our self-esteem is very tied up in how we look. It’s just human nature. So, looks can be a big incentive too.

Then there are your goals. A vague one like “I want to lose a lot of weight” isn’t a really good place to start. A better goal would be a “twenty pound weight loss” or some other realistic but firm target, depending on how much you need to lose. Of course, don’t forget to give yourself a deadline along with your goal. Make it reasonable – 2 lbs a week is a sensible weight loss goal for most people – but make it firm.

People who put their goals and incentives in writing are more likely to achieve those goals than people who don’t. Write a short list of your goals and incentives and put it where you’re likely to see it several times a day. Make a poster out of it and decorate it and hang it up on your wall. Why not?

Telling other people about your goals is a very good way to give yourself support in reaching those goals. Reinforcing your incentives by having them in front of you can really help when you’re tempted to cheat on your diet or miss an exercise session. Get your goals and incentives mapped out. They’ll be much easier to reach, and your weight loss journey will be a lot shorter.