Many people in the world want to lose weight but only a certain percentage manage to do it and even less manage to keep the weight off, once it’s been lost. The question is why do some people manage to lose weight successfully whereas others do not?
The answer is………….their mindsets.
People who lose weight successfully have a different mindset (and set of beliefs) than those who don’t lose the weight that they want.
If you want to lose weight then it is essential that you change your mindset as your current mindset is creating your current results.
The good news is that there are a few psychological tricks you can use to change your mindset to help you drop those pounds. Here are a few……
1) Start by making a clear decision that you want to become slimmer. Then make a solid commitment to achieving this. Tell yourself daily that you are able to do this.
2) Imagine it is a year from today, write out a description of how you will feel if you are either the same weight as you are today or you weigh even more. Then write out a description of how you will feel if you are the weight that you want to be. Read these two descriptions daily.
3) Write out all of the reasons why you want to be a lighter weight. Pin the note where you can see the list of reasons. You may wish to create a few copies of the list and place them in various key places in your life. Remind yourself at least 3 times a day why you want to be slimmer.
4) Be careful of the language that you use when talking about following a healthier lifestyle. Don’t tell yourself that you want to lose weight as the mind will start to think that it is being deprived as the word “lose” has been used. It is likely to start to think of ways to sabotage your progress. Tell yourself that you want to become slimmer.
5) Your imagination can be a powerful tool when you want to achieve a goal. You also get what you focus on. Every morning take the time to imagine yourself being the weight that you want to be. Then imagine yourself happily following a healthy eating plan and exercise programme, which will enable you to achieve your goal.
6) Write out any potential obstacles to sticking to the healthy eating & exercise plan. Then write out a way of overcoming any of the obstacles, if and when you encounter them.
7) Identify your thought processes at the time when you eat something that is not on your healthy eating plan. Are you saying things like “one sweet won’t make any difference”, “I don’t want to waste this food”, “I had no choice but to eat it”. Identify what I call sabotaging thoughts (you will probably call them excuses) and find a way to counteract these thoughts i.e. “One sweet won’t make a difference” could change to “everything I eat counts towards calories that I don’t need, so I need to avoid eating unnecessary foods”
8) Give yourself credit every time you resist unhealthy foods. This could be as simple as a tick chart, where you give yourself a tick every time you resist. If you have children then you can turn it into a game and they can tick it for you.
9) Make your new eating plan a high priority in your life. Make it a must rather than a preference. Tell yourself that you must become slimmer rather than tell yourself that it would be nice to be slimmer.
10) With regard to exercise, make sure that you have a small but consistent, daily goal. Promise yourself you will move for at least 5 mins a day & more if you can. Your daily goal will be to just start. If you have had enough after 5 minutes then that’s ok but in most instances you will start to like it and continue for longer. It’s often the starting that is the biggest challenge, so promise yourself that you will always start. Then for every minute you do after 5 minutes, give yourself a pat on the back as you are now achieving more than you intended. When people don’t achieve goals they start to beat themselves up, which is demotivating. This is why small goals, which you extend, are the best, as you can achieve them and start to feel good about yourself.
11) Find things to do when you start thinking of snacking, to distract yourself from eating and adding more calories to your day. List as many distraction tasks as possible so that you are ready with ideas when you feel like snacking. Try to identify things that you enjoy doing.
12) Remind yourself that to become slimmer you have to choose between high calorie foods and being slimmer. Unfortunately you can’t eat what you want and be lighter. So each time you go to eat something that is “off diet”, tell yourself you have a choice, food or being slimmer.
13) Don’t look too far into the future, as this may be daunting. Don’t say “I have to eat this way for the rest of my life”. It may be the case that you have to do this to maintain a certain weight but if you say this to yourself in the beginning you may be so put off by that statement that you won’t start the new eating plan or you may give up in the first few weeks, as you think that you have signed up for a life of misery i.e. dieting for life
14) Avoid using food for comfort. Each time you reach for food for comfort ask yourself what negative feeling you are trying to change with food and then find another way to reduce that feeling with another activity or another thought.
15) Focus on the benefits rather than the costs of eating healthy & exercising. Write down all of the benefits and all of the things that you avoid i.e. avoid feeling sluggish, avoid staying in every night as you are out walking, can meet new people, will become more attractive, avoid feeling disappointed with yourself, as result of making these choices.
Here’s a little extra one……..
If you fall off the wagon and have a day that you don’t stick to the new eating plan then don’t give up or beat yourself up. Remind yourself that it’s just one day out of potentially many days. You are a human being and things might not go smoothly every day. Remember it’s just one day. If you eat something that is “off diet” just say to yourself “I’m only human and today I ate something that wasn’t good for me. I’m going to use this small & temporary setback to gather information about myself as a dieter. I’m going to use this experience to help me to become aware of what triggers affect my eating choices and find a solution for the future. Tomorrow is a new day and a fresh start for me as I need to accept that my dieting journey is probably not going to be perfect but I will get to where I want in the end as long as I stick to the path”
I hope this blog has helped
If you would like support during your journey to becoming the slimmer version of you, I can help you to change your psychology, so that you can stay on track. Contact me at emma@themindmermaid.com for more information
Until next time….
Emma
* Please be aware that this blog is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be perceived as professional advice. I cannot guarantee results or be held accountable for outcomes based on the content of these blog posts. You use this information at your own risk. If you need assistance with your individual situation, please consult a professional.