Danny Davis
Losing weight takes dedication, resilience, and hard work. You have to wake up each morning and find new ways to inspire yourself and keep you motivated.
Otherwise, it can get real easy to veer off course and abandon your goals.
Because we know how challenging weight loss can be, we put together 10 top mental strategies to help keep you on track. Experts say that by shifting your mindset about weight loss is the biggest factor in helping you actually lose weight.
You can start by focusing more on the good that comes from weight loss. For example, being fit and healthy. There’s also the fact that it reduces the risk of severe illnesses and chronic diseases.
Add to that these other tips we’ve rounded up. They’ll help change your outlook for the better so you can lose weight and keep it off for good!
Scroll down to learn more.
Stop Dieting
Dieting has become synonymous with something you do for several months, then you’re back to your old eating habits. So, before you can effectively lose weight, you have to stop calling it ‘dieting.’
You should, instead, think of it as a complete lifestyle change. This means that from now on, you’ll be eating better, sleeping better, and exercising more.
This way, you don’t have to feel proud or guilty every time you make a food choice. You can even allow yourself that cookie or slice of pie you’ve been eyeing for the past couple of days.
Understand the Weight Loss Process
When you know more, you can do better. This certainly applies to losing weight.
Read more on how certain foods can impact your body, and what effect they have on your overall health. You can also become more in tune with the chemical process of how food gets converted to energy.
Accordingly, you’ll start to see food as something you need to stay healthy and fit. Once your mindset starts to shift in this way, you can start building healthy eating habits, which, in turn, will help you maintain a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle.
Become Familiar with Your Stressors
We all have those negative thought patterns that make us stressed out and anxious. Or maybe it’s a colleague at work that just oozes negativity and makes it hard for you to do your job.
Whatever your stressors are, the first step is to identify what they are. Next, you’ll need to change them so they make your life easier or at least more manageable.
Once you’re aware of what stresses you out, try to pinpoint where food comes into all of this. Some people get food cravings when they’re anxious. Others binge eat to avoid having to deal with difficult situations.
Whatever it is, the more you’re aware of it, the better you’ll be able to get a handle on it.
Finally, the last step is to make these stressors stop in their tracks because they become out of control. Another thing you can do is turn the negative into a positive.
Buy Foods You Can See
You know all those opaque food containers and bags at the supermarket? Those are the ones we’re talking about.
Avoid those as much as possible because they’re designed to get us to eat way more than we should. How?
Well, our brains are visual. We can assess how much we’ve eaten through visual cues. Then, our internal sensors let us know when to stop, even before we feel full.
The problem with opaque containers, however, is that our brains can’t get those visual cues. So, we end up overeating, gaining weight, and being sucked into a vicious cycle.
To avoid all that temptation, try to buy see-through containers. If you can’t, then portion out your food into small bowls or even a napkin.
This is a great way to keep control over how much you’re eating.
Eat Slowly
When we’re full, our intestines release the chemical cholecystokinin (CCK). This hormone is usually released about 20 minutes after we start eating, and it signals to our brain that we’re full. So, essentially, it takes the brain about 25 to 30 minutes to register that you are full.
When you eat too fast your mind has not had a chance to catch up to that mental cue from the body, and so you can easily wind up eating a lot more food than you really need.
Give it a try sometime. Eat half of a typically large meal, and do not go for seconds, even if you think you are still hungry, wait a full 30 minutes and allow your mind to register saitaion, pay attention to your body and you will see that you are full with half the food.
Change the Way You Think of Exercise
Making healthy choices doesn’t have to come in the form of a punishment. Nor should it be considered a reward, for that matter.
So, you need to stop thinking of food as some sort of reward for a long day at work or because you landed that big promotion. Likewise, you should stop thinking of exercise as punishment.
Working out should be a natural part of your daily life. Think of it as caring for yourself, both physically and mentally.
Exercise is one of the best ways to shed those extra pounds and build lean muscle. It’s also a great way to reduce stress, increase your focus, and release some ‘feel-good’ happy hormones into your bloodstream.
What do you think of exercise now?
Use Positive Affirmations
Using positive affirmations, or statements, can help you overcome self-doubt and fear. They also help you stop negative thought patterns and shift them towards the more positive and hopeful.
Start by thinking about something you’d like to change about yourself or a certain goal you want to achieve. Then, write it down on a piece of paper and hang it up where you see it daily.
For example:
- My body is healthy, I deserve it.
- I love to exercise, it makes me strong.
- I am losing weight everyday.
The first step to reaching any goal is to believe in your heart that you’re capable of seeing it through. It doesn’t matter if you’re not 100% sure you can do it at first. Keep saying it out loud each day will raise your confidence, and you’ll be able to control your negative thoughts and emotions.
Be Kind to Yourself
We rarely show ourselves the same kindness we show others, even strangers. We adopt such high standards that we rarely meet them. So, we berate ourselves for being overweight or not brawny enough or not curvy enough.
You have to learn how to forgive yourself when you slip. Stop punishing yourself and give yourself the care and empathy you deserve.
Get the Right Amount of Sleep for You
According to the Sleep Foundation, we need anywhere between 7–9 hours of quality sleep each night. Yet, stress, worry, and other factors can affect the quality of our sleep, thus making us tired, cranky, and unable to focus.
Moreover, studies show that when we’re deprived of good sleep, we tend to have more cravings. This is when we’re most vulnerable to sugary snacks and foods with a high-fat content.
Scientists believe this is because these types of food provide the body with quick, short bursts of energy to help keep us alert. Yet, they also have a short high before they send us crashing down again. So, we need to keep eating more and more.
It’s also believed that not getting enough sleep encourages the release of the hormone, ghrelin. Often called the ‘hunger hormone,’ this chemical has only one function: to signal to your brain that you’re hungry and that it’s time to eat.
Take Up Mindful Meditation
People are practicing mindful meditation more and more because it’s such a powerful tool for easing stress and anxiety.
Another reason for its popularity is because it’s so easy to squeeze in a few minutes each day into our busy schedules.
You can even bring mindfulness into your mealtime. Start by focusing on the food on your plate. Look at the colors and textures. Then, take a bite and think about what the food tastes like. Really savor the moment and take in everything going on around you. This method supports eating less and enjoying food more.
