4 Ways to Help You Commit to Your Weight Loss and Wellness Journey

Weight loss and wellness are something many want to pursue; globally, around 45% of people are trying to lose weight. You may be one of the many attempting to improve your weight and well-being, but you’ve likely encountered difficulty staying motivated. It’s not uncommon to feel challenged by the journey, but it doesn’t have to feel impossible, either. Fortunately, there are ways to keep you on the right track—even if you hit some setbacks.

4 Ways to Help You Commit to Your Weight Loss and Wellness Journey

Here are a few things you can do to help you commit to your weight loss and wellness journey:

Do something you enjoy

You might think that losing weight involves a lot of sacrifice and restriction. However, a sustainable way to stay committed to your weight loss and wellness journey is to incorporate the things you love, from food to physical activity. You don’t want the process to feel like a chore, making it less likely for you to stick to it.

For exercise, do an activity you enjoy wherever you feel most comfortable. You can figure out if you’d prefer to join a gym or stay home or if you want to be alone or with others. When it comes to food, you can make a meal plan that factors in your favorites, allowing you to have a balance of nutritious meals and the ones you love. Finding healthy alternatives for ingredients or dishes can also help you find balance while enjoying what you eat.

Find support

Making a major change to your lifestyle can be challenging, so having a support system to motivate you and hold you accountable can help you stay on track. Family and friends can be a massive help in your journey, but having a group of like-minded people in your corner is also a great way to keep you committed.

Joining a weight loss workshop can help you connect to coaches and others on a similar journey. You don’t even have to look far to find these groups; you can search “weight loss meetings near me” and find various local results. You can find a coach who knows and understands your needs or find a group of peers like you who can keep you committed. Virtual and in-person meetings are also an option, so you can still attend meetings in whichever way suits you best.

Set realistic goals

You can set big goals and high standards, which makes it more disappointing when you can’t achieve them. After discouragement, you end up giving up. Instead of pressuring yourself to reach challenging goals, set realistic and smaller goals that can easily be achieved.

You can make goal-setting a morning habit by writing down your wellness goals for the day. These goals could include walking for 30 minutes or eating one plant-based meal for the day. You can also set goals for the month—like losing one or two pounds per month—and what actions you can take to get there. Writing them in a journal can help you consciously try to achieve them and track your progress.

Be compassionate to yourself

It’s easy to feel like a failure for gaining a pound or two or being inconsistent with your diet or fitness plans, but having a negative mindset won’t do you any good for staying committed. Instead of being harsh on yourself to foster motivation, be self-compassionate. You might think being kind to yourself will encourage complacency, but it can do wonders for your body image and self-esteem. It can also help you dismantle internal biases about weight and weight loss, like the belief that you’re less valued if you weigh more.

You can practice self-compassion by writing positive letters or notes to yourself and keeping them for when you feel discouraged. Daily positive affirmations can also help you promote positive thoughts and beliefs about yourself, allowing you to heal and grow. When you’re compassionate, you can give yourself the grace you need to accept the situation, allowing you to recover and get back on track without beating yourself up.