If weight loss is on your mind and you’re on the hunt for motivational tips and tools that will keep you accountable to your goals, a weight loss vision board may be just the thing you need. While we all know that healthy eating, regular exercise, quality sleep, and ample water intake can all help us shed unwanted pounds, not everyone has the internal motivation and discipline needed to adopt new habits and maintain them over time. If this sounds like you, keep reading for tips and ideas to help you create a weight loss vision board that will inspire you to embrace change and keep you moving forward when you feel like giving up.
What is a Vision Board?
Also known as a ‘dream board’, a vision board is a visual representation of your goals. It’s a collage of pictures, magazine clippings, words, affirmations, and quotes that help bring your dreams to life, serving as a daily reminder and motivator to pursue the things that move your life forward instead of remaining stagnant. Rather than focusing on your faults and failures, etc., a vision board is thought to encourage you to shift your energy towards becoming a higher version of yourself. When practiced correctly, a vision board can help you overcome self-limiting beliefs and shift your mindset, allowing you to achieve great things in life!
What Should You Include On Your Weight Loss Vision Board?
While creating a vision board may sound therapeutic to someone who enjoys crafting, it may feel silly and overwhelming to those who aren’t creatively inclined. If this sounds like you, don’t allow your lack of creativity to hold you back! A vision board doesn’t have to be a work of art – you can make it as simple or complex as you want to.
We dig more into the science of creating a vision board for weight loss below, but if you’re looking for a high-level overview of the kinds of things you should include on your vision board, here are some ideas:
- Your big, fat, hairy, audacious goal
- Smaller, short-term goals that will help keep you accountable
- Photos and/or images that bring your goal to life
- Words and affirmations to keep you motivated when roadblocks present themselves
- Inspirational quotes to help you on days you feel like quitting
- Lists of specific action items to help you reach your goals
- Checklists to help you track your progress over time
Vision Board Supplies To Invest In
Before you start to create a vision board, you will need a few supplies. Remember that you can make this project as simple or creative as you would like to, so the amount of supplies you’ll require really depends on how crafty you’re feeling. I’ve included Amazon links to my favorite vision board supplies below:
- Poster board, bulletin board, or cork board to display your items
- Tape, glue, and/or push pins to stick items to your board
- Construction paper to write words, affirmations, quotes, etc.
- Markers
- Scissors
- A selection of magazines, preferably about the topic of your vision board
If you’re creatively inclined like me, here are some other cool supplies you can buy from Amazon to add a little flare!
- Motivational quote cards
- Poster board cut out shapes
- Quote chips
- Gel pens
How to Create a Weight Loss Vision Board
Now that you know what a vision board is and have the supplies you need to create your own, it’s time to get to work, which can feel a tad overwhelming. How do you get started? Should you have one goal or many? What kinds of pictures and graphics should you include? Where can you find words, affirmations, and quotes to inspire you? Should you include checklists? There are so many things to consider, but rest assured there is no right way to create a vision board. You can make this as simple or detailed as you want – as long as it motivates you, that’s all that matters! If you’re trying to create a weight loss vision board, here are some tips and ideas to get you started and help you get the most out of the process.
1. DEFINE YOUR GOAL(S)
If you’re looking for weight loss vision board ideas, you most likely have a target weight in mind, but I urge you to go above and beyond the numbers on your bathroom scale. Ask yourself questions like:
- Why do I want to lose weight?
- How will I feel when I reach my goal?
- How will I look when I reach my goal?
- How will others describe me when I reach my goal?
- How will my life change when I reach my goal?
Try to envision the person you aspire to be. Is she strong? Does she have more energy? Is she an inspiration to her friends and family? Does she run marathons or compete in CrossFit competitions? You get the idea…
2. LOOK FOR PICTURES/IMAGES THAT REPRESENT YOUR GOAL
Once you’ve visualized this new version of yourself, look for pictures and images that help bring that vision to life. This could be a photo of a celebrity you admire, a photo of yourself when you were in better shape, or (brilliant idea alert!) you can super-impose your head on the body of a fitness professional you aspire to become. Whichever way you choose to approach this, the idea is to create an image of the future YOU to include on your weight loss vision board, giving you something to look to for motivation when you feel like giving up.
3. CREATE A ROADMAP
Creating a vision board for weight loss goes above and beyond super-imposing your face onto a photo of a fitness model. While it’s great to have a visual of what you want your future self to look like, you need to create a roadmap to help you get there. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said, ‘a goal without a plan is just a wish’!
If you’re creating a weight loss vision board, your road map should include short-term goals that will help you reach your overarching goal. Healthy eating, regular physical activity, drinking more water, and sleep are all examples of smaller goals you can add to your weight loss road map. Keep in mind that it can be very overwhelming (and unrealistic) to adopt multiple new habits at once, so consider creating a plan that focuses on one new goal every 1-3 months.
4. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS
Another key element to a successful weight loss vision board is progress tracking. Whether you choose to add a tracking sheet directly onto your vision board, or opt to create a separate tracking spreadsheet, it’s important to do regular check-ins to evaluate your progress. This can be especially helpful for weight loss as the scale only tells part of your story – measurements, pictures, the way your clothes fit, and your mood are all important factors in your journey.
5. IDENTIFY OBSTACLES THAT MAY SET YOU BACK
While creating your weight loss vision board, it can be extremely helpful to identify obstacles that might set you back along the way. Self-doubt, stress, social events, travel, and unsupportive family and friends are all examples of things that can derail your progress, but if you take the time to plan ahead and put together a plan of action, you’ll be better equipped to deal with these challenges head-on. Which leads me to my next tip…
6. CURATE WORDS, AFFIRMATIONS & QUOTES
Once you’ve identified all of the obstacles that can and will crop up in your weight loss journey, spend some time searching for words, affirmations, and/or quotes that can help you overcome negative, self-sabotaging thoughts and replace them with positive, self-affirming beliefs. Words like STRONG, POWERFUL, WORTHY, CAPABLE, RESILIENT, ENOUGH, and BEAUTIFUL come to mind, and if you follow me on Instagram, you know I have tons of motivating quotes you can use on your weight loss vision board. I’m linking to my favorite motivational weight loss quotes HERE, and I’ve highlighted my faves below!
‘Excuses don’t burn calories.’
—Unknown
‘Don’t wish for it. Work for it.’
—Unknown
‘If you’re tired of starting over, stop giving up.’
—Unknown
‘Be stronger than your excuse.’
—Nike Slogan
‘If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.’
—Unknown
‘Do it because they said you couldn’t.’
—Unknown
7. BRING IT ALL TOGETHER
Once you’ve identified your short-term and long-term goals, found photos and images that represent your vision, created a roadmap and figured out how you’ll track your progress, identified potential road blocks, and written out your favorite words, affirmations, and quotes, it’s time to pull it all together and personalize your weight loss vision board. Keep it simple and minimalistic, or get loud and creative – whatever works best for you and your personality!
8. PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Once your weight loss vision board is complete, display is somewhere prominent, like your desk, nightstand, kitchen counter, or closet to ensure you see it every single day. Refer to it when obstacles pop up and you feel your motivation slipping, and set a daily/weekly reminder on your phone to check-in with your goals, track your progress, etc.
9. UPDATE YOUR VISION BOARD REGULARLY
My final tip for creating a successful weight loss vision board is to make sure you’re updating it periodically. If you feel overwhelmed and discouraged by the magnitude of your original goals, go back and make adjustments. If you’ve identified new habits you feel would be helpful, add them. If you heard a new affirmation or quote that lights a fire under your booty, stick it on!
If you’re trying to create a weight loss vision board to get you closer to your goals, I hope the tips and ideas in this post prove useful to you. Don’t be afraid to set big goals, but be careful to create a realistic roadmap that will get you from where you are now to the version of yourself you hope to become. Track your progress, anticipate roadblocks, and adjust your sails when you need to!