Wouldn’t it be be nice to get paid to lose weight? I mean, who would turn down a little cash for all the effort it takes to drop the extra pounds? Getting paid to lose weight was the focus of a recent study that found that people who are paid to lose weight actually lose more. Of course it’s not surprising, but it’s still interesting.

For this study, over 200 people were divided up into three different groups. The first group of people were encouraged to lose weight but weren’t offered any type of “reward” for their efforts.  The second group of people were told that if they lost weight, they’d get paid $7 for every percentage point of body weight that they lost.  The third and last group was told they’d get $14 for every percentage point of body weight that they lost. Any guesses which group was the most successful?

Yep, you guessed it, the group getting paid $14 for each percentage lost the most weight. Those in that group averaged a 4.7 pound drop in weight while the group getting paid $7 lost an average of 3 pounds, and the group getting paid nothing at all lost about 2 pounds on average. With more than 64 percent of American adults overweight or obese, perhaps employers should start offering some type of monetary reward to those employees who drop pounds? In the end it could potentially save them money if their employees are healthy, miss less work, and have less visits to the doctor.

This made me wonder if I’d be more motivated to lose weight if there was money involved, although feeling healthier and looking better has been enough of a reward for me, and hopefully it’s enough for you as well.

Source: Reuters

For one reason or another, it’s always easy to be hard on ourselves. I know I am. When I’m hard on myself, I tend to be more negative as well, which doesn’t help in any situation, especially when you’re trying to lose weight and change your lifestyle. That’s why it’s important to praise yourself at all times, but especially when you stick with your weight-loss program. It’s easy to get discouraged when you get on the scale and you haven’t lost as much as you expected, or when you know you could have eaten better, but try to stay positive, think positive, and learn to keep yourself motivated.

Here are a few ways that you can praise yourself -

1. I’m lookin’ good!
2. Wow, my clothes are really starting to feel lose.
3. I’ve been eating so healthy, and I’m feeling good!
4. I’m starting to notice that I have more energy.
5. It’s hard to go to the gym, but I’m doing it!
6. I’m feeling stronger.
7. I don’t get out of breath as quickly now.
8. The choices I’m making are healthy!
9. I’m proud that I’m stickin’ to it.
10. I’m starting to look and feel my very best thanks to my hard work.

The whole idea is to start thinking positively, and be gentle with yourself. If your friend came to you and said she had lost 5 pounds but gained 2 back, you wouldn’t say “you loser, I’m so disappointed in you,” would you? No, you’d say something more positive like “that’s okay, just pull yourself up, keep your chin high, realize what you’ve already accomplished, and keep trying – I’m proud of you!” Praising yourself is one of the best weight-loss tips I think anybody can ever tell you, so make a conscious effort to do it…starting today!