Session 16: How to Stay Motivated

This is our last session and it's confession time regarding weight lost and the food, calories, and exercise minutes that we have been recording. Let me start. I had no problem with recording the weight, calories and exercise minutes, but this I have to confess. I lost only half of my weight loss goal. Sigh...

I am not worried; that's still better had I not gone through this Physical Activity Program. Had I not gone through these 16 sessions of the DPP's Lifestyle Program, I would have gained pounds instead of losing half of my weight loss goal. What I will do is go through these sessions on my own again. Hopefully I will lose the other half in the process. If you have any suggestion, let me know by contacting me at my website.

Now how do we stay motivated is the burning question. List the changes we have made including our activity minutes, our eating plans of less calories and fat grams and the weight we have lost. Put the list up on the fridge. We will be so proud of ourselves, looking at the list once in a while.

Take photos of yourself if you have achieved your weight loss goal. Do fill out a contact form in my website to avoid spam. And I will inform you where to get in touch with me so you can send me the photos. I will have them uploaded in my web site for all the world to see. Wouldn't every one envy us then. How cool a way is that to keep us motivated!

Since you have lost the weight you set out to lose, now is the time to reward yourself. Think of what you have been meaning to have and do get it, within reason of course. Lucky ducks! I wish I were one of them, but please help us those who are not as lucky by sending us some words of encouragements.

For some of us who did not reach our goals, how can we improve our progress? Maybe we can have some kind of a friendly contest. For your homework, keep recording your weight, food and fat gram intake plus your exercise minutes. And think of a way you keep yourself motivated.

We are done but it is not over. Do these sessions again by yourself or with a group of friends and let us know how you're making out. Make sure though that you find out from your doctor that you don't have a condition that will be against the type of exercise you want to undertake. Next week, I will write about how some participants of this program did it.