Where do you get ‘weight loss motivation’? Good question, especially since most of us are so ‘addicted’ to snack and junk foods! And, once you know what you should eat, you then have to learn how to fight those cravings for the wrong foods! Not so easy…

Don’t we all love crackers, chips and cookies? Sure we do. How do we not eat them? The answer is: don’t buy them at the store. How do you not eat them when others do around you at home? Another very good question.

We have to develop more ‘willpower’. This takes time. We can do this. Often, we need the support from others. Sometimes, we aren’t going to get that. But, you do want to avoid being around the ‘temptation’ of bad food, if at all possible. Maybe, this is just not possible. We have to keep on trying, no matter the obstacles. We have to find substitutes!

One shopping tip is not to go to the store hungry! Make sure you eat enough before you go. We don’t want to be motivated to lose weight from fear of ill health. But, preventing it from happening in the first place is a worthy pursuit. We don’t want to feel the pain of a heart attack and suffer potential long term consequences of a stroke.

For me, my ‘weight loss motivation’ was that I didn’t want to die from a heart attack. That’s valid motivation. But, it went further than that. I was tired of not having any energy. I felt ‘sluggish’ all the time.

I also like my clothes to ‘fit right’. But, I don’t like tight clothing. I prefer the ‘baggy’ to the ‘tight fit’, unlike women when they are at their ‘perfect weight’. I also got tired of having a ‘beer belly’. 

Furthermore, I didn’t want to be an ‘old man’ stuck in a wheel chair or in a rest home. There are those centenarians who are still active in mind and body. I want to reach that age healthy and energetic. I think I’ve found the way to be the healthiest and live the longest. It’s through what foods we eat.

Number one, we should know what our healthy weight is. You need to look at the BMI chart to find out. Then, you have to know how many calories you need each day to lose weight and maintain it.

Weight loss motivation tips:

• For women, figure 100 pounds for a height of 5 feet, plus add five additional pounds for each inch of additional height
• For men, it is 106 pounds for a height of 5 feet, then you add six extra pounds for every inch of height after that
• You can estimate your calorie needs by approximation: by multiplying your healthiest weight by 12

Note- the above are only approximations. Be sure to check with your doctor before you change your diet.