While many people pursue weight loss out of aesthetic concerns for their waist line, a more important benefit is that it improves your health. While following your medical weight loss program you will need to find ways to stay motivated.

Regularly exercising and eating a healthy diet is the best way to get rid of extra pounds, but it is easy to lose focus and become bored while working out and eating a regular, healthy diet. Fortunately, a number of tools can be used to keep yourself motivated and keep your workouts and eating routine more exciting.

Here are four tips to help you stay motivated to lose weight:

• Set realistic goals. Goals that are too easy will quickly cause you to become bored, while goals that are too far-fetched will cause you to become frustrated and possibly abandon your goals entirely. Instead, give yourself both realistic short-term and long term goals such as losing 5 pounds the first month or exercising four times a week initially. Starting out with smaller goals allows you to build momentum for success.
• Use photos and a journal. Documenting your hard work — and results — has been shown to help keep people motivated and focused in their weight loss efforts. Keep a daily journal of the foods you eat and physical activity you do each day. Take a photo of yourself at the beginning of each month and post it in a place where you can see it every day. If you are trying to reduce specific pockets of fat in addition to your overall weight loss goals, take photos of your problem areas to have a record of your improvements.

Add variety to your routines. Let’s face it. Eating the same foods or using the same exercises in your workout can lead to boredom. When this happens it is time to change up your routine. If it is nice out, take the opportunity to go outside for a walk, bike ride, or run instead of heading off to the gym. Remember, the more you enjoy the activity, the more likely you are to stick to it!

Reward Your Successes. Sticking to an exercise plan, eating healthy and losing weight are not easy tasks for many people. It takes patience, hard work, focus, and dedication. Therefore, when you receive results reward yourself!