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10 Ways to Shift Your Mindset for Better Weight Loss
Change Your Goals
Losing weight might be a result, but it shouldn't be the goal.
Your goals should small, sustainable things over which you have full control.
Did you eat five servings of fruits and veggies today? There's one goal met. What about eight hours of sleep? If so, you can check another goal off of your list.
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Gravitate to Positivity
Surround yourself with positive people. Doing so provides you an encouraging, emotionally healthy environment in which to invest in yourself.
Rethink Rewards and Punishments
Food is not a reward, and exercise is not a punishment. They are both ways of caring for your body and helping you feel your best.
Take a Breath
Take a few minutes at the beginning of your workout, or even at the beginning of your day, to slow down and simply focus on the act of breathing.
It can help you set your intentions, connect with your body and even lower your body's stress response.
Throw Out the Calendar
Patience is important when you are losing weight in a healthy and sustainable matter.
If you focus on meeting truly actionable goals, like taking 10,000 steps each and every day, there's no need to get wrapped up in a timeline of goals ahead.
Identify Your 'Trouble Thoughts'
Identify the thoughts that get you into trouble and work to stop and change them. Maybe it's your internal dialogue when you look into the mirror. Or cravings when you get stressed.
Consciously make them stop by saying 'stop' out loud. It might sound silly, but that simple action will break your chain of thought and allow yourself the opportunity to introduce a new, healthier one.
Don't Step on the Scale
A lot of us have learned to associate the scale with self-destructive thoughts and actions.
If that's you, don't even bother stepping on the scale until you get to a place in which the number on the scale doesn't define your worth.
Treat yourself kindly
When it comes to ideals of beauty and body image, we are incredibly hard on ourselves.
We'd never hold our friends or loved ones to many of the standards we hold ourselves to.
Foods Are Not 'Good' or 'Bad'
Somewhere along the line, we've learned to feel either proud or guilty about every food choice we make.
It's just food, and you shouldn't have to feel guilty about wanting the occasional cookie.
Focus on the Attainable
- If you have never stepped into a gym before, your goal shouldn't be doing 30 minutes on the elliptical on day one. A better goal may be to go for a 20-minute walk.
- If you want to cook more, but have little experience with healthy recipes or are strapped for time, don't expect yourself to craft new healthy recipes every night after work.
SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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People struggle to keep weight off
Researchers have observed weight regain following weight loss across a range of populations and types of weight-loss diets.
Why long-term weight loss is so hard
The brain’s response to caloric restriction tends to be to increase cravings for foods that are highly rewarding and reducing our perception of being full.
Diets frequently fail because they have an endpoint and are not a real lifestyle change. Maintaining a lifestyle that promotes a healthy weight and metabolism is often a lifelong journey.
Maintaining weight loss
The actual food you eat isn’t the main thing that enables you to keep weight off.
Maintaining a weight-reduced state is a lifelong journey and many dietary approaches can work to facilitate weight loss and keep it off.
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Revisit what you know
Energy balance is the first key to achieving one's ideal body. It's a way of saying calories in versus calories out. Your body needs a certain amount of calories to maintain its c...
Steer clear of opaque food containers
Don't eat out of food containers, boxes, and bags that aren't clear.
Our brains are highly visual. We take visual cues as to how much food we’ve eaten to help us know when we should stop. When you can't see how much food you’ve had, you never get that visual feedback and you end up eating way too much.
Ditch dieting
Dieting limits one's mind-set.
Once you're off your diet and have lost weight, you might revert back to eating poorly, not exercising and ultimately regain pounds. Instead, focus on your long-term eating habits.
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Self-sabotage
Understand self-sabotage
Self-destructive behaviors can become habits and can continually undermine your success and happiness.
Self-sabotage is when we want something, but somehow we never accomplish it, because somewhere deep in our subconscious we’re fighting against that goal:
- Our disorganization distracts us.
- We’re constantly overthinking all of our decisions.
Recognize self-sabotaging habits
- Procrastination. Start setting deadlines and mini-deadlines to work toward your objective.
- Negative self-talk/negative thinking. Be patient with yourself; be kind to yourself. Work to build yourself up.
- Perfectionism. It is an impossible standard that keeps you from moving forward.
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