5 Ways to Shift Your Mindset for Better Weight Loss
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Are you looking for ways to shift your mindset for better weight loss?
Do you feel kind of like you’re stuck spinning your wheels and not seeing the results you’d like? Shifting your mindset about how to lose weight is the biggest factor when it comes to losing weight.
Most people try to lose weight with the worst state of mind possible: They look at their “diet” and exercise as a way to “fix themselves, as if something is wrong, all the while focusing on their “trouble” spots, calling themselves “fat” and feeling altogether not good enough. They get obsessed with results, focus on quick fixes and lose sight of sustainability and even health.
This is pretty much our mind playing tricks on us which turns into stories we believe about ourselves, in turn, slowing our progress and/ or even giving up altogether because we “just can’t do it” Well for once, I’m going to tell you it’s all in your mind and you need a mindset shift.
Good thing for all of us is that we CAN shift our mindset.
5 Ways to Shift Your Mindset for Better Weight Loss
1. Ditch the Diet
Yep, I said ditch the”diet”. In reality, what is a diet? It’s something we “go on” only to “go off of”. We have this diet mentality that we MUST stick to this new quick fix or latest fad diet and if we don’t, we fail! Not so!
Sustainable weight loss is not a 90-day program where you deprive yourself of things only to get pissed off and fall off the wagon and go on a binge. You have to switch the “diet” mentality up and work with something that is more sustainable. Eat HEALTHY and watch your portion sizes. That way you really can’t “fall off” and if you should go overboard one day, oh well, tomorrow is another day. You did not fail, you overindulged and you are human.
2. Change Your Goals
I know that sounds crazy BUT if all you focus on is weight loss as a goal, you may drive yourself crazy. No need to stress about the weight loss all the time, it will happen when you have your goals set up in such a way that weight loss is a side effect of it all.
Your goals should small, sustainable things over which you have full control. Each little goal should lead you on the path of the overall big goal, which may be the weight loss. Instead of obsessing over the weight loss, switch up your goals to something like getting enough sleep, drinking your water each day, getting in 20-30 minutes of exercise and maybe meal planning. These small goals will lead you on the right path each day to that long-term goal.
3. Stay off the Scale
I’m not saying the scale is all bad, but a lot of us have learned to associate it 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. Let me repeat that, THE NUMBER ON THE SCALE DOES NOT DEFINE YOU!
Don’t obsess over your weight, it won’t get you very far. Step on the scale to start and then put that bad boy away for a while and let it be. There’s no sense in hopping on it every morning to see if the number has changed any. It will drive you crazy and may even upset you in the fact that you will just give up because your mindset is focused on a number.
4. Rethink Rewards and Punishments
I hear people say this all the time “I ate too much yesterday so I better get my butt in gear and workout extra tomorrow” OR “I’m going out tonight to have a few glasses of wine so I better workout extra hard today”.
Quit using exercise as a pawn to eat crappy. Don’t let how much you eat or don’t eat determine how long you will have to work out. 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. You deserve both.
5. Take a Breath
Seriously, take a breath and relax for a bit. Look at the big picture and ask yourself, is it really about weight loss? You should not just focus on weight loss. Look at the big picture and take a step back and think about all the good you re doing for yourself by wanting to lose weight. You are making better food choices, adding years to your life, toning up and getting stronger.
Look at your weight loss, not as a number on the scale or size in your clothes but more of a way that you are taking care of yourself and becoming a better version of you. You are improving your overall health and wellness. It’s YOU taking care of YOU!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
When it comes down to the mindset, we really need to switch it up from focusing too much on the weight loss and looking more at the fact that we are choosing a healthier lifestyle. Health is not a look, it’s a feel and it starts from the inside out. If all you are focusing on is weight and the look of it all, you are missing the boat on your overall health and wellness.
Be patient with yourself and stay positive, you’ll get there. Love yourself right now, where you’re at while you are working on a healthier and stronger version of yourself. Focus on healthier habits, you’ll be surprised at what a big change that will make in your life.
Leave room for mistakes and learn from them, don’t beat yourself up over a little slip-up, it happens to the best of us. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep going.
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