Why Doesn't Fear Motivate People to Lose Weight?

My sister-in-law is a dietitian and was talking to a doctor one day about weight loss. He told her that generally, when he tells his patients to lose weight, they don't follow his advice. They don't change their daily routine to fit in exercise and they don't change their eating habits. And the next time they go to the doctor they either way the same or even more.

This may come as a shock that people are ignoring their doctor's warnings, since doctors only tell people to lose weight because they want them to avoid a slew of negative outcomes: diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attacks, and other problems. I know from talking to my clients that before they lost weight, they lived with a looming fear in the back of their minds that they could spontaneously have a heart attack one day and die. But that fear didn't equate to a strong motivation and actions to change. Why not?

One day seems like it will never come. One day you may get diabetes and one day you might have to take medication for it. It's different than, if you don't exercise today, you will suffer major consequences today! The reason that fear doesn't motivate well is that people become complacent and feel like they are getting by well enough. Maybe they don't consider their situation ideal, but it is not uncomfortable enough for them to get moving and make a change. They figure that to start changing their habits today would be more uncomfortable and inconvenient than just doing the same old same old.

So if fear doesn't motivate, what does? Stay tuned for tomorrow's post, that will be about the BEST way to motivate yourself to adopt healthier habits.

To read FREE chapters from the book Stop Overeating Today!, visit www.stopovereatingtips.com

How to Run Like a Tortoise and Beat the Hare

If you already have a copy of my book Stop Overeating Today!, you know that my first chapter/tip talks about the tortoise and the hare and advises people to not try to revamp their entire eating and exercise routines overnight. I want people to be excited when they read the book and be zealous, but I also want them to be realistic. Have you ever heard anyone say anything similar to the following:

- "I made a goal today to run for 30 minutes every day!" (This person never goes running)

- "I am going to bike for 10 miles 3 days per week." (This person has no habit of bike riding)

- "I made a goal to never eat cake again!"

I'm all for ambitious goals, but I want people to also feel a sense of accomplishment and success by setting smaller and realistic goals, especially when they're starting out. That's key to maintenance. Lots of people can lose a bunch of weight by doing something drastic like a juice fast, but six months later, did they keep the weight off? Let's revise the above goals:

- "I made a goal to go running tomorrow for 30 minutes!"

-"I am going to bike for 10 miles this week."

- "I made a goal to only have a small slice of cake at the birthday part this weekend and to not go back for seconds."

After achieving success with your first small goal, you are now on your way to setting more small, simple, and reachable goals. The feeling of success with propel you forward and help you grow into setting even bigger and more exciting goals. Leave me a comment and let me know how your goal setting is going!

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To find out more about the book Stop Overeating Today, visit: http://www.stopovereatingtips.com

Visualize Thin and Healthy

Do you need weight loss motivation, especially when you feel like overeating or not exercising? One of the most powerful weight loss tools is tapping into the power of visualization. Anyone can start practicing visualization today. It is easy to learn and has fantastic results.

To begin, create a simple goal in your mind, such as going on a walk outside for exercise. Now, answer a couple questions. When would you like to go on this walk? After work? In ten minutes? Visualize yourself getting everything ready so you can go. Will you need to change your clothes and put on your running shoes? Do you need to fill up your water bottle? In your mind's eye, see yourself going through these motions with crystal clarity, as though it were actually happening. Now, decide where you will go on your walk. Will it be around your neighborhood? If so, imagine and picture the route you will take and the sights you will see, as the sounds you will hear, and how good it will feel to be using your muscles and accomplishing your goal. Now that you have everything mapped out in your head and you have visualized with crystal clarity how you can accomplish your goal, all you need to do is get going. Visualizing helps clear your mind of obstacles that may stand in your way when you are not clear about what your goal is and exactly how you will accomplish it. It gives you a sense of empowerment and motivation and is a weight loss tool you can utilize on a daily basis.

Get the book or get more advice: http://www.stopovereatingtips.com