Is Your Mind Actually Keeping You From Losing Weight?

Is Your Mind Actually Keeping You From Losing Weight?

Ask Dr. Steve-

Dr. Steve,

What does mental attitude have to do with weight loss? I mean, it’s a physical thing right?

Michele B.

Calgary, BC

Michele,

If you think you can, you are right…If you think you can’t, you are right”.  How you view yourself and your ability to succeed in the weight loss process is critical to your success.

In fact, it is absolutely the “most” important part of any weight loss, fitness and good health program. Your body will always tend to follow your mind and if you find yourself unworthy or undeserving of achieving your goals mentally or emotionally, your body will immediately find ways to “prove you right”.

As you go through your weight loss programs, forget about any past weight loss experiences that did not work for you or any words that others (including health care providers) may have told you alluding to the fact that you will never be able to lose weight or to maintain a healthy weight for the rest of your life.

You are the captain of your destiny. You have to believe that you have the plan, the power and the ability, to not only lose the weight that you desire, but to keep that weight off as well.  As you do this, you will begin to notice incremental changes taking place in your body.

Celebrate these “Victories”.  This will give you momentum that will help you to make better choices, see faster results, and steadily move you toward the ideal weight goal you have set for yourself.

Every goal that you have ever achieved in your life, whether you realize it or not, was first achieved in your mind.  You saw yourself completing a task, earning a degree or title, or even finding a person with whom to share your life.

The process of reaching goals becomes faster and easier when the person setting the goal writes down in their own handwriting what they want, and why they want it.

Why I want to Lose Weight!

Before writing your reasons down, give them some thought. It is important that these reasons truly reflect your personal goals and desires, not those that you have heard about from others, even if those people are well respected and full of knowledge.

Don’t cheat yourself. Write down a minimum of 8-10 solid reasons. What “exactly” will losing weight provide to you or add to your life?  What will be the difference in your level of health, in your ability to perform on the job, in your relationships with those you love?

The more detailed that you can be in your description, the more mental power you can create in your pursuit to lose the weight and then keep it off.  Your reasons should not be generalizations or what you think would please others.  Your reasons will be used as your “personal motivator” to guide you throughout the journey that you are about to undertake.

Take a few moments each and every day to read through your reasons. This is called mental self-programming and will serve as a reminder of what you are doing in your life and why it is important to stay the course with respect to your thinking, eating, and exercise.

Put this list of reasons on your bathroom mirror and read it every morning. Carry a copy of it on you at all times by writing it conveniently on an index card. Make a promise to yourself right now: “I will read this entire card every day, and especially whenever I am confronted with a difficult food situation.”

Reading the list will clearly reinforce your personal commitment to take control of your health and self-esteem.

There are three critical building blocks that must be stacked together to achieve weight loss: eating healthier and smaller portions (consuming fewer calories), increasing expenditure of energy through simple exercise (using up more calories) and having the mind set (mental discipline) to change your habits into a positive life program of health and vitality.