Mindset

8 Ways to Shift Your Weight Loss Mindset

What does it mean to change your mindset in order to set, achieve and sustain weight loss and goals for healthy living? Below, discover some new ways of thinking designed to help you transform your thoughts. Mindset is about living with intention.

The mental shift that’s required to take this drastic step may seem to elude you at first. But once you get it, everything clicks into place - and before you know it, you’re on the path to “future you” - the healthier, happier version. By setting a goal for yourself, learning the right way to reach that goal and maintaining it or evolving beyond it, you gain the ability to live out your intention each day. Mindset provides the tools you need to succeed. The truth is that anyone can achieve quick weight loss results. But unless you learn to change your mind, you’re likely to gain back most of the weight you lost. A total mind shift equips you with the tools needed to make permanent lifestyle changes. Your “practice” goes from a concerted effort to a habit. It all starts in the mind, believe it! Mindset means facing your fears.

What stops us from putting in the effort? Fear based avoidance. Rather than jump into diet and exercise plans, identify what is bothering you internally. What do you want to work on about yourself? What are you using food or unhealthy habits as an escape from? Mindset is about choosing to heal.

Once you identify that internal issue or issues, you can start on the path to healing. This begins with proper nutrition and exercise. From there, self care becomes a healthy outlet for you to build on positive thoughts, confidence, feeling better about yourself, enjoying increased energy, expressing yourself, and creating happiness. To make your weight loss approach more effective and healthier, here are 8 ways to change your mindset:

Change your view around reward and punishment: of self-care. Treat your body with respect and fuel it with nutrients. When you want to reward yourself, choose something that isn’t food based. Your treat to yourself could be a massage, calling a friend to say hello, buying something you have been wanting, etc.

When you work out, this is your happy place! Exercise is not a form of punishment. Rather, it’s an honor to be able to move your body and build up your strength, speed and stamina.

There is no quick fix:

Having a goal is great -- but don’t let your goal define you. You may not reach your intended goal for losing weight in the amount of time that you were hoping to. Everything is still okay, and it doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel.

Halfway to the goal still counts as progress. After all, you’re fitter and healthier today than you were when you first started out. You’ll get there, just keep on pushing. Focus on how far you have come and how far you will go.

Be kind to yourself: We tend to be hard on ourselves when it comes to body image. Be kind to YOU and give yourself grace when you need it. If you’re standing in front of the mirror feeling critical, remember that it isn’t about having a washboard stomach or wishing away stretch marks. Your body is beautiful just as it is. Having a healthy body only increases that. It’s about control and moderation:

Remember that you have control over your food choices. Rather than deny yourself whatever you consider a guilty pleasure, think of it as making the healthy choice for the majority of the time. When you do this, and you also keep your body and mind strong, it’s okay to occasionally have that extra glass of wine or indulge in a cookie or two. Remember your goals: Your goals should be sustainable which means it won’t be a struggle to maintain them and follow through. The more mini goals you can check off your list in a day, the better you’ll feel. Did you drink your water today? Did you go for a 15 minute walk? Over time, smaller goals become bigger goals and that’s how we make forward progress in our weight loss initiative.

Set your intention:

Before your day begins, take a few minutes to sit and breathe and set your intentions. Focus on proper breathing techniques to help connect your body and lower your stress response.

Identify “troubled thoughts”:

When you feel those troubled thoughts coming into your mind, make a conscious decision to stop them. To do this, you can try techniques like talking out loud to yourself in the mirror, or taking up a dialogue with yourself, or even your food, while eating. When you reach for those chips… talk to those chips and say “How will you help me reach my goal?”

Surround yourself with positive people:

Positive people will provide you with an emotionally healthy environment and lots of encouragement in which to invest in yourself. They will build you up and support your goals with you. If someone is not in support of your weight loss goals and long term plan to be healthier, you can limit the time spent with them. You can also actively avoid certain people at the times when you know that emotional eating may get the best of you.

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