by Joan Inong

Created on: November 14, 2009

Often, people think of the difficult task of losing weight as a negative thing. Thinking of weight loss in this way can lead to lack of optimism, lack of enjoyment, and unhappiness in general. It is important to note that happiness is a crucial part of losing weight and successfully keeping it off. So, with that in mind, here are a few ways that can help you feel more positive about following your weight loss plans.

Celebrating milestones

Weight loss plans should be treated like any process. You will need to celebrate the small victories that you earn, so that you have motivation and incentive for continuing your success. So, whenever you lose 5 or 10 pounds, you may want to celebrate by doing any of the following:

- Going out with friends or by yourself

- Treating yourself to a small (1/2) serving of your favorite food

- Buying yourself new exercise equipment (such as new dumbbells) to make your weight loss goals easier to obtain

See your results

When you are able to see your results clearly, you will be able to keep thinking positively about your weight loss. Think of this as an incentive. You can see your results in a variety of ways. For example, you can go shopping for clothes. Compare your new clothes to your old ones. How do you new clothes fit? How do they compare to your old clothes? Are they smaller or larger? When you see how successful your efforts have been, you will continue to follow them.

Track your goals and successes

Use a calendar or a sheet of graph paper to track your goals. To do this using a sheet of graph paper, you will need to make an "X" and "Y" axis. The "X" axis is a horizontal line, and the "Y" axis is a vertical line that intersects the "X" axis. Underneath the "X" axis, mark down several dates. On the "Y" axis, mark the numbers ranging from 1 to 10. For the first date on the "X" axis, if you lost 2 pounds, make a dot on the 2 corresponding to the "Y" axis. For the second date, which may be a week or two after the first date, if you lost another 4 pounds, make a dot on the 4 corresponding to the "Y" (with respect to the "X") axis. Continue with this process.

As you can see, the most important part about any of these activities is that you see the results of your work. Whenever you have accomplished something, whether big or small, it is always important to reward yourself, whether big or small.

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