How to Stay Encouraged on Your Permanent Weight Loss Transformation Journey

By: Beth Thomas

Have you ever caught yourself saying any of the following?

"I'm not losing any weight. I might as well just give up."

"I can't even see a difference. It looks like I haven't lost anything."

"I have so far to go."

"I should be further along by now."

If these statements sound familiar, I want you to know something. Our eyes deceive us sometimes, and we are often our own worst critics! Many of us are programmed to look for our flaws. Our thoughts automatically point out everything that's wrong with our bodies, and too often, we unintentionally overlook some of the most impressive wins we've had!

So, here are five tips to help you stay encouraged on your journey to permanent weight loss transformation:

1. Start taking progress pictures (back, front, and side views).

2. Have someone else, like a trusted family member or friend, look at progress pictures with you. Often, our loved ones see things that we miss. When I do this with my clients, they're surprised by some of the tangible body changes that I've observed and that they didn't even recognize.

3. Track your body measurements, in addition to your weight. Viewing your measurements can be eye-opening when you may not be seeing a drop in the scale reading or when you've convinced yourself that your waistline hasn't shrunk at all, despite your best efforts.

4. Track your non-scale wins just as regularly as your weight. For example, my clients use our check-in sheets to record all their weekly victories so we can celebrate together and have something to review when they're feeling discouraged.

5. Always be kind to yourself! Remember that permanent weight loss transformation is a process that takes time. Your ultimate victory of reaching your goal and maintaining it for life will come from you loving yourself enough to "stay in the game" every day, not constantly beating yourself up for not being perfect!