The Mental Side to a Healthy Weight

The Mental Side to a Healthy Weight
How you can take matters into your OWN hands!
Written by Susan Creal, MS.Ed., PPC

With all of the weight loss programs, diet pills and shakes out there today, it is increasingly difficult to really find what works to lose and maintain weight. Who do you believe? How do you know what is best for YOU? !

It can be extremely confusing and frustrating when one diet plan tells you to eliminate all carbohydrates, another tells you to eat most of your calories in the morning while yet another says to eat 6 mini meals per day. What about liquid shakes for breakfast and lunch and supplements and bland food for dinner? How about eating all of the protein you want and all of the saturated fat and become healthy in just weeks??

What happened to slowing down and truly LISTENING to your body? How long has it been since you truly examined when you are hungry, why and for what? Has this always been the case? At what point in your life did you begin to be “out of touch” with your own self?

Understanding how your body balances itself is incredibly important to lose or maintain a healthy body weight. Have you taken the time to really analyze how your body reacts to adding a little bit more healthy fat in your diet? Decreasing the bad carbohydrates? Incorporating more exercise? Working with weights? How have you measured how your body has reacted? Have you tried to create dramatic changes or small, subtle changes taking great care to truly see how your clothes fit, how your body fat has reacted, how your weight has changed or stayed the same. Keeping a journal of what balances your body is a super first step!

Body fat is another important factor to consider in listening to your body. Do you know what it is? How low should it be for your body type? Do you know your body’s lean or muscle mass? Your metabolism is directly related to these factors. For example, if you learn that your body fat is high and that your lean mass is low, then, weight training would be great for you ! In order to increase that lean mass , muscle strength has to be built up

What about hunger? Have you truly felt the real sensation of a hunger pang? Do you know what it means? Stopping to listen to your internal body cues is very important to maintaining healthy weight. What food do you eat that makes you feel full the longest? What do you tend to crave during the day? How long after you have eaten a meal do you begin to feel the rumble of your pangs? Listening to your body and feeding it when it is TRULY hungry is a great way to prevent weight gain. Of course, eating the right foods is necessary too!

When eating, take it slow and savor every bite. Avoid eating in front of the TV or computer. Look at what you are putting into your mouth; think about how it is nourishing your body, not simply satisfying your mouth! The food you are eating gives your body what it needs to function properly, to build muscle that has been torn down and to heal itself. At the first signs of feeling full or satisfied, put your fork down and put any leftovers away. Close the kitchen up for the night so you aren’t tempted to nibble on things that are around.

Self-acceptance is also a crucial element to helping you maintain a healthy weight. Loving who you are, what you have become, what you have truly accomplished is imperative! Looking at yourself in the mirror and telling yourself that you are a beautiful, loving human being who is healthy, fit, and positive can help you keep your self -image. We tend to neglect ourselves, and who we are. When you begin to love yourself, food and weight issues are easier to conquer and results will show quicker. You are worth it!

Susan Creal is a life and wellness coach who offers complimentary coaching sessions. Go to www.peak-performance-coaching.com to sign up for yours!

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