A Brief Introduction of Weight Loss Contract
In today’s time, when unhealthy food has become part of everyone’s lifestyles, weight loss has become a go-to option for many people. We can’t fully filter what we eat, but we can indeed control how much we eat. Obesity is a growing issue in the United States. Further, there are multiple serious diseases that get triggered by obesity.
Some people resort to gymming, some resort to yoga, some start running, and some keep personal trainers. There are also some people who make a strict weight-loss pledge to themselves only. Such people sign an agreement with themselves to ensure that they remain committed to their goals. Such an agreement signed by the person is known as the Weight Loss Contract.
Also, Diet contracts are being used by more and more people. These contracts contain all the details of your diet, exercise plan, running plan, etc. It is a day to day basis commitment that you make to yourself. Other names for the Weight Loss Agreement is the Weight Loss Commitment Contract and Weight Loss Agreement.
Who Takes the Weight Loss Contract?
The agreement is signed by one individual, but it can also be signed between your trainer and you. The idea is to list out all the commitments you make related to your body to reduce weight. Weight reduce exercise can be daunting and exhausting for many people. It requires a lot of discipline and dedication. In the absence of such a contract, it gets really difficult to follow a path.
Purpose of the Weight Loss Contract
As mentioned above, this agreement is signed to ensure that you religiously follow a regime to reduce your weight. It can also be seen as a timetable for yourself. You must also list down the problems you face because of your weight. Further, you must include the excuses you tend to give yourself for not waking up early or for not exercising.
Here are some reasons why you should sign this agreement –
- It ensures you don’t forget your goals
- It manages your time
- It lists down all the goals of the person
- It lists down the fruits, nutrition, etc. you should ideally be eating, a diet plan!
- It contains problems and solution
- It contains the promises you make to yourself
- It can also contains the details of exercises you want to do
- It ensures that you follow a workout and diet regime
Contents of the Weight Loss Contract
This Contract must contain the basic details of the person who wants to reduce weight.
- It should have a Name, Address, etc.
- Details of Current Weight.
- Weight Loss Goal for this Agreement
- Target Weight: and estimated dates to achieve it
- Further, the agreement must list the reasons why you want to reduce weight.
- The agreement should have the details of the excuses you give to not exercise or diet.
- It should also have a diet and exercise plan, timeline-wise.
- It should have a few lines of commitment that you are making to yourself.
You can also add details of punishments if you want to punish yourself if you breach the agreement. You can add the name of a mediator. A mediator can be a friend, or it can also be your trainer. Since this agreement is not legally binding, there is no legal application of it. But if you are getting into an agreement with a gym, then the argument would be legally binding.
How to Draft the Weight Loss Contract?
This Contract helps if you ever give yourself any excuses for not following a diet regime. The agreement will tell you what you should do instead of giving an excuse.
- Before signing the agreement, you must plan out your exercise and diet. You should know your goal very clearly.
- Then you can take the help of a trainer to give you a plan and timetable.
- You should also talk to your mediator. If your mediator is your family member or your friend, you should tell them about the plan.
Any kind of leniency towards your agreement, won’t be helpful for your commitment.
An agreement that you make for yourself, can’t have negotiations. If you negotiate with yourself then you may also start to give excuses to yourself. It is really important that you set your limits as per your capabilities and then list them down. This way, you wouldn’t have to make any compromises.
Benefits & Drawbacks of the Weight Loss Contract
There are many advantages of making a commitment to yourself and then following it religiously. It boosts your confidence and makes you healthy. For some, weight loss doesn’t have anything to do with body shaping. It is a choice to remain healthy and fit.
Here are some more benefits of signing –
- It works as a guide for you
- It inspires you to work hard
- It gives you solutions for your excuses
- It contains all the details related to your diet and exercise and in one place
- It also contains the punishment you could give to yourself if you don’t follow the regime as per the timeline
There are no drawbacks to signing this agreement. However, one must always take weight loss as an exercise to remain fit. It shouldn’t become a body standard. Moreover, consult your personal guide or any physician, who can decide if you need to lose weight or not.
What Happens in Case of Violation?
In case of any violation, you can ask the mediator to intervene and apply penalty or punishment. In most cases, you yourself decide the penalty, and in some cases, the personal trainer decides it for you. If you are motivated enough for your cause, you won’t make a mistake of violating the contract on most days.
If you focus on the benefits of a healthy body with less weight(1) and compare them with the drawbacks of an unhealthy and obese body, you will realize why it is important to self commit.
There are many Weight Loss Contract templates available online. Make sure you look at them but download the one drafted by experts.