Should we use special occasions as motivators?

IsMollyReallyHungry

From Dr. Martin Binks, a clinical psychologist, obesity expert, and Clinical Director & CEO of Binks Behavioral Health, and Assistant Consulting Professor at Duke University Medical Center.

Should we use special occasions as motivators?

"There's a good reason why people use special events, such as a family reunion or wedding as motivators," he said, they work in the short-term but too often people do unhealthy things, such as crash dieting, pills, or detoxes to achieve their goal which can be dangerous. In addition, "once the event is over, they often go right back to overeating and other unhealthy habits" and regain the weight.

"It's about a lifestyle change," he says of using milestones as motivators. "Use those things in a way that's sensible and well thought-out using good nutrition, healthy physical activity and most of all make sure you have a plan for your health the day after the event."

"It's hard to motivate yourself," he says. "For many people, the best way to stay on track is to have an event to aim toward." He likened it to how an athlete spends months or even years training. This usually involves a series of athletic events with ‘off-season’ training in between competitions. "Why shouldn't the average person use periodic events to boost their motivation as part of an ongoing healthy lifestyle plan in the same way athletes do?"

ladyofivy

Great topic! I'm using milestones (I have surpassed my first two mini goals), but I want to look fantastic for a couple of weddings that are coming up. :n)

MacMadame

My personal experience is that losing weight for milestone events doesn't work in the long run and promotes yo-yo dieting. I've also seen it in others. They lose weight for a special event and then they stop what they are doing.

I have had success with training for events. So I am intrigued by the idea of using milestones in the same way. I think you'd have to think about it the same way I think about my races -- they are ongoing and part of my lifestyle. They aren't "one time" events.

aippolito1

I didn't really use special occasions to motivate me... I just knew I wanted to look better than I did currently for summer. I've been at this six months and I don't look the way I wanted to by summer just because of a plateau and some brick walls I hit, but I do look better than when I started and I'm smaller than I was last summer so I feel great. :happy: I don't think there's anything wrong with using special events or days or moments to motivate. I've been working harder to look good for my trip to Florida in a couple weeks. Of course, I won't have rock hard abs or skinny fat-free legs, but hey. I'll be rockin' my bikini and just relaxing with my man after all my hard work so it's still something to look forward to.

hkystar

I actually chose not to set time limits on my goals.