Motivation:

It is very important that you do as many as the following tasks as possible. If you do not you will find that it is very difficult to stay motivated and you will find it hard to achieve your goals.
Decide exactly what your goal is and describe it as accurately as possible e.g. instead of saying “I would like to lose weight” you need to say “I would like to be 10 stone, have a 28 inch waist and fit size 10 clothes” Be as specific as possible.

Set a deadline on the calender for your goal and then set a target for the end of each month.
Accept that you are Fully responsible for your own weight and fitness. The bottom line is, you have the power to say yes or no. Resolve now to stop blaming others and life’s events from getting where you want.

Write out a list of the things that normally stop you from achieving your goals and work out a solution before you begin.

Write out a list of 10 small lifestyle changes you will make to help you achieve your goal. Over a 2-3 week period try to gradually implement all of the changes.

Write out 5 reasons why losing weight will be good for your life. Is it holding you back your social life? Is it knocking your confidence? Do you feel unwell? Write down the 5 reasons and hang it where you can see it easily and refer to it in tough times.

There must be a song that gets you in the mood for exercise. If not find one. This is a brilliant method of motivating yourself. Tape it a few times and leave copies in key places - kitchen, car, bedroom. Play it when you need to get in the mood for exercise. Examples - theme from Rocky or its raining men.

Spend €200 on a set of clothes that are 2 or 3 sizes too small. Might sound crazy but you are going to fit them soon remember. Take them out every now and again and see are you any closer.

Payback - if you have a bad day(and you sure will - I do too!) on your food plan or exercise. Don’t panic. Don’t quit. It is not an excuse to. Use a payback system. Either go extra good on your food plan to catch up or start to pay back the minutes of exercise you missed over a few sessions.

Give yourself treats and rewards for achieving results. This is so important. Buy yourself something you really want when you get to a successful level. Repeat this monthly.
The 15 minute rule. Okay, you don’t feel like exercising at all. So you make a deal with yourself. Go to the gym or go for your walk and set a goal of just 15 minutes agreeing that if you still feel the same after that you will go home. 9 times out of 10 you will stay and see the whole programme through. Normally after the first 5 minutes you feel 10 times better.

View your programme in stages or steps or as a ladder. Every step you climb is better and better. If the going gets tough get your weight to a new level and cut back and just maintain it there awhile. That in itself is a major achievement. Human nature means you will have good spells and bad spells. Standing still for a while at the same level is not a bad thing - you are still on the journey to your destination. You will get there - hundreds and thousands have with my programmes.

Tell people who are important to you about your goals so that they have expectations also. Feeling you can’t let them down will help you stay focused.
Sign yourself up to a walk or jog a 10k event in the near future and collect your sponsorship for it. A goal like this will help you keep to your own goals.
Nominate the exact days and the exact times you will exercise. Stick to these as much as possible. Put them in your diary and make them as important as critical meetings.
Keeping a diary of your exercise and healthy things you do helps you stay focused.
Place motivational pictures and articles at home and at work to constantly remind you of your own goals.
If you work at these tasks above and review them weekly, you will be amazed at how motivated you get and stay. The most important thing is that you are not leaving your motivation to chance but are actively working on it. Not continuously working on your motivation is one of the biggest mistakes of all when it comes to weight loss.
Do not just try 1 or 2 of these things. The more you do the better. Do them all and you will be super motivated all the time. I would say you should do at least 10 from the above list. Grab a pen and paper and write out your checklist of 10 items.