The decision to lose weight is often a knee-jerk reaction. You realize you have a class reunion in a few months and you want to look good for it, or your clothes are too tight and you decide in an instant that things must change. This attitude will get you out of the starting gate but if you are ...The decision to lose weight is often a knee-jerk reaction. You realize you have a class reunion in a few months and you want to look good for it, or your clothes are too tight and you decide in an instant that things must change. This attitude will get you out of the starting gate but if you are trying to get to the bottom of how to lose weight effectively you must take the time to prepare your mind and build the proper mindset or you will run the risk of falling to temptation before your goal is reached.
A key to true weight loss is to understand that your thoughts and beliefs directly influence your habits and behaviors and so if you want to change your habits you must first monitor and control the way you are thinking. This is a concept that most people get backward, you decide to lose weight and logic tells you the first step is to change your eating habits. The problem is this rarely produces permanent results because while you might have found the best diet to lose weight, you are still entertaining thoughts that will eventually sabotage you. For instance, you might really, really want to lose weight and start a diet, but if your mind is filled with thoughts like...
"Diets never work for me; I always gain the weight back."
Then you will have an extremely difficult time reaching your goal.
When you jump into a diet you need to rely heavily on willpower and you will find weight loss to be a lot of work. But, if you first take the time to identify and change the thoughts and beliefs you currently have that are making it hard for you to lose weight then you lose weight on autopilot, without the need for willpower.
Another key to mastering how to lose weight effectively is to identify your patterns of temptation.
You are an individual and therefore what tempts you will be different than what tempts others. Ask yourself these questions:
What time of day am I most tempted?
What events or circumstances cause me to be tempted? (i.e. going out to eat, watching TV, stress at home/work, treats in the house, the smell of food, etc.)
Who is with me when I am most tempted?
How am I usually feeling when temptation strikes? (i.e. depressed, nervous, anxious, lonely, bored, etc.)
Becoming aware of the thoughts and feeling that lead to temptation will allow you to let go of them and replace them with empowering thoughts and feelings that drive you toward you goal. Take a few minutes right now and write down an answer for each of these questions and pay close attention to the thoughts that lead you to lose your focus and you will see better results on the scale.
Dr. Becky Gillaspy, DC is the founder of Dr. Becky Fitness, LLC.