Losing Weight Will Take Some Willpower

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Grit. Determination. Willpower. Fortitude. Do you have what it takes to persist in the face of challenges? To pick yourself up and carry on even when it seems like you have hit a brick wall? Mental toughness is a term used in psychology to refer to the resilience and strength that people possess to soldier through struggles and succeed. Often experts find that people with a weight problem will also have other problems in their life.
It is this mental toughness that gives some of the world's athletic superstars the ability to push past exhaustion, opposition, and injury to score and to win. It is the same quality that gives even weekend warriors the strength to finish that last mile and power through that final set of reps. I'm not talking about your workout, I'm talking about taking more control of your life and make the decision to eat the right foods and get healthy. It does take will power to change your lifestyle. Stop being the person you are now and decide to live a healthy lifestyle from this day forward.

Changing your lifestyle will make you more confident and give you the power to stay on track. Why do some people succeed in life, relationship, goals and some don't. The ones who succeed never give up. They always find a way. 

So what can you do to cultivate a mentally tough attitude that will serve you well in not only your fitness pursuits but also in other aspects of your life? 

1
Understand What It Takes to Be Mentally Tough


Mentally tough athlete
Henrik Sorensen/Stone/Getty Images

Mental toughness is what helps set great athletes apart from the competition. To cultivate these qualities, it is essential first to understand what exactly makes these mentally strong competitors different from the pack. 
While it originated in the field of sports training, referring to the ability of athletes to stay strong, confident, and competitive, the concept is now widely used to refer to the host of mental attributes that allow people to handle life's difficulties.
  1. Challenge: Viewing challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles.
  2. Control: Believing that you are in control of your life and destiny.
  3. Commitment: Having the ability to stick to tasks and see them through to completion.
  4. Confidence: Possessing strong self-belief in your ability to succeed.
So what does all of this have to do with weight loss? Those who succeed in weight loss are the ones who never give up. There are hundreds of different ways to lose weight but only some of them will work for you. Losing weight is a process of trying different foods and weight loss programs until you find the one that works for you. Everyone can lose there body fat with they want to.

 Believe in Your Ability to Achieve Your Goals
In a 2002 study of ten of the world's most elite athletes, one factor that these top performers named as a major contributor to their success was an unshakable self-belief.
Mentally tough people don't just think they might be able to succeed, they know they can. While much of the research on mental toughness relates directly to the world of athletics and sport, you can apply some of these same principles to other areas of your life.
Whether you are trying to lose weight, drop a bad habit, run a marathon, or excel in your profession, believing in yourself is essential. Avoid negative self-talk and instead focus your energy on staying positive self-encouraging.

Focus on Intrinsic Motivations Rather Than External Rewards

The world's top athletes don't find the will to persevere and win because they are seeking acclaim, money, or other rewards (although those things are undoubtedly nice). Instead, they are intrinsically motivated by forces within themselves. Intrinsic motivations are those that come from within an individual and involve doing things for their own sake. These internal motivations drive people to do better, push harder, be stronger, and see just how far they can go.
Mentally tough people don't focus on the possible rewards that may await them at the end of a challenge. Instead, they see participating and overcoming challenges as rewarding in and of themselves.

Don't Let Setbacks Get You Down

Mentally tough athletes tend to rebound from setbacks with a renewed sense of determination. You can employ this in your own life as well. Rather than becoming discouraged, focus on building the resolve to push through the challenge and achieve your goals.
In one study of elite female athletes, many participants suggested that mental toughness often develops out of negative experiences. Facing difficulty both in their sport and in their personal lives led these top performers to develop new ways of managing stress and excelling in the face of difficulty.

Be Self-Directed

Mentally tough people don't let life happen to them—they create the life they want. By setting goals and then taking the initiative to follow through on pursuing these goals, mentally tough people are able to get the things that they want out of life.
When surveyed about their perceptions of what helped them develop this mental toughness, elite gymnasts cited having goals as one of the strongest influences: "I realized how to set goals and how trying to reach them would help me get to the highest level," one gymnast told researchers.
While they sometimes make it look effortless, it is important to realize that they are simply willing to put in the work. For athletes, this is all about sticking to training regimens and facing competition at athletic events. In everyday life, this might involve taking steps each day toward reaching your goals, even when achieving those goals seems far off or even impossible.
Being mentally tough is not something that just happens suddenly in a moment; it is more about daily habits that help people soldier through the tough times in order to realize their ambitions.
This doesn't mean that you should not accept help or go it alone. Even elite athletes rely on their coaches and teammates to help push them, guide them, and inspire them to work harder and achieve their full potential. Think about College, what does College teach you. It teaches you how to find the answer. No one knows all the answers, but if you know how to find the answer or know where to find help, that's being a self-directed person. Yes, a child needs Mom or Dad to show the way, but at some point, you have to be the adult.

Maintain Focus in the Face of Distraction

Elite performers are able to stay focused on their goals, even when life throws disruptions their way. You aren't always going to have the perfect setting and support for pursuing your goals. Other things are going to compete for your attention.
Mentally tough people are able to maintain their sense of direction and keep working toward their goals in the face of these distractions. When you feel yourself losing focus, look for ways to recharge and bring yourself back on track.

Understand That There Will Be Highs and Lows in Life

Mentally tough people don't expect life to be sunshine and roses all the time. In fact, they expect adversity, but they have faith in their abilities to survive, adapt, and overcome.
According to research, elite athletes report that it is often adversity and competition that helps foster mental toughness. It is only in the face of great difficulty that people learn what they are truly capable of.

Stick With It, Even When It's Hard

Commitment is another one of the four major factors identified by Clough and his colleagues. Consider how athletes are able to power through exhaustion and pain to reach the finish line. The mentally tough are dedicated to seeing it through, even when it's hard and even if they think they might fail.
Many of the best performers suggest that competition, and the inherent success and failure that comes with it, is one of the critical components that contributes to their mental toughness.
The lesson from the world's top athletes is that even though setbacks are hard, sticking to your commitments helps you gain the lessons and experience you need to succeed in the future. It teaches you about your strengths, makes you aware of your weaknesses, and helps you realize that obstacles and even failures don't spell disaster—as long as you dust yourself off and keep going.

Put a Positive Spin On It

Simply working on your goal may, over time, help contribute to a mentally tough attitude. Mahoney and his colleagues found that by exerting more continuous effort, people are more likely to feel a sense mastery, achievement, and productivity, all of which make the pursuit of the goal a more positive experience.
When things are challenging or even unpleasant, pushing forward and attaining that feeling of accomplishment can give you the mental strength to keep going.

Find Support

World-class athletes do not reach the top of their game all on their own. In most cases, they spend a tremendous amount of time with peers who provide support, training opportunities, and a positive environment for personal and professional development.
Friends, family, colleagues, and even your competitors can also help contribute to a 'never say die' attitude. Look to people you admire to help instill these feelings of hard work, determination, grit, and positivity. Seek out people who are going to contribute to your success and encourage you to achieve your goals. Find mentors and look to people who exude mental toughness to help inspire the development of this mental skill in your own life.

Final Thoughts

Mental toughness certainly has a strong genetic component, but research on some of the world's strongest athletes suggests that it is also a skill that can be developed. Look for ways to apply some of these lessons learned from mentally tough athletes to different areas of your own life, whether you are trying to find the strength to stick to a difficult workout routine or succeed in a challenging job. 

As Winston Churchill once proclaimed, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

I write several blogs and e-books, check out some of my other sites.
If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 
There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.
My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/coupon

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