Weight Loss and Mindset

The weight loss mindset

Weight loss programs work for some people, and for others they don’t. Some manage to lose weight with a diet or a controlled regime over their eating habits, and others don’t. So, the problem is not really the diet, the problem is in your mind.

What do you expect from your weight loss plan? Do you start a diet while you remember all the articles you read about why weight loss diets don’t work? Do you start the diet thinking: “Oh well, it won’t work, because diets don’t work anyway”? Do you start exercising thinking “it won’t work because I won’t lose weight anyway, no matter how hard I exercise”?

If you start out or continue with this kind of mindset, you are sure not to lose your weight. You are telling yourself that you are not going to make it. This works like aself-fulfilling prophecy, because you will not take your diet plan or your exercise program serious. If you don’t believe in what you are doing you will not give it your full attention, not put all your effort into it, not focus on your goal …, and eventually fail. Eating less and exercising more will work you, if you want it to work for you and if you consequently make it work for you.

Struggle and Reward

The Time magazine recently published an article explaining that exercising often does not lead to weight loss but weight gain, because it makes us eat more afterwards. We eat more afterwards because we have been thinking about food all the time we struggled through our weight loss training and feel that after all this struggle we need a little junk food reward afterwards.

Now, wait a minute: Junk as reward? This is a mindset problem. Something that makes us fat, something we want less off because it moves us away from our goal cannot be a reward! It is counterproductive garbage! Junk means garbage. I am sure we all know exactly what kind of food is good for us: fruit, veggies, whole grain bread and cereals, plant-based oils, fish, lean meat, water - read more about it in other hubs or google for more information. And we know how much is enough, if not, look into your diet. No, those are not the problems, it is how we view food: food as a reward. What we need to learn is that some food is necessary to give us the energy, vitamins and minerals to keep us going, and while we eat we can enjoy our food. We need to learn that all the food that does not do the job to give our body what it needs is GARBAGE!

Are you a garbage bin? Do you want to reward yourself with garbage? Do you want to reward yourself with something that destroys your health and your attractive appearance?

Step 1:

Don’t allow garbage in your house any longer. Go though your house, look for garbage food and drinks (everything with too much sugar, fat or artificial additives like colorants, flavor enhancers and artificial sweeteners) and throw it where it belongs: into the garbage bin. When shopping, learn to read the ingredients lists and leave garbage food in the shelves.

 

Brain and  mindet

But I feel hungry!

Fair point. That is the paradox of dieting. You keep telling yourself: “Stop feeling hungry” and “Stop thinking about food”. This is a paradox communication you are having with yourself, because you are giving yourself orders you cannot follow. The more you focus on not feeling hungry and not thinking about food, the more you will do so!

Of course you feel hungry, so don’t deny that feeling. The question is if you feel so because you are hungry for food or for something else. We often tend to confuse hunger with thirst and eat while our body is really crying for water. We also tend to confuse hunger with other unfulfilled needs, desires or underlying problems. Think about the times when you were gaining weight. What was happening? Often the answer goes about divorce, baby, work and stress, loss, change, pressure, boredom, frustration or the like. This is also called emotional eating. In combination with obsessive dieting it becomes fatal for your weight balance.

What do you really feel hungry for? How can you satisfy this underlying need? Concentrate your thoughts on changing the piece of your life that troubles you. What do you miss in your current life?

Tip 2:

Do something which you can purposefully do, and your eating habits will no longer be on top of your mind. If you don’t find a bigger and more enjoyable purpose in your life than losing weight, your primary focus should be creating such a purpose rather than dieting.

And if you come as far as to follow a purpose, your diet will work, and the exercise will free your mind and help you feel good in your body.

Do we need diet plans in order to lose weight?

There is an argument about not following a “proper diet”, because we know what we need to eat and what kind of food is more garbage than food. Some of us feel like slaves of our diet regime. Alternatively we can learn to listen to our body and our mind and know when we are hungry, thirsty or longing for something else. We can learn to enjoy our food and to eat it slowly. Within the range of healthy products we can find many we enjoy eating once we understand that junk food nothing else than garbage. We can learn to notice when we have eaten enough and stop feeling compelled to finish our or our children’s plates.

Tip 3: Eat properly and healthy. There are just a few weight loss tips you should follow: Don’t starve yourself, because that is an invitation for your body to store fat. Eat “healthy food” when you are really hungry, enjoy your food while you are eating and stop eating when you are no longer hungry. Drink enough water throughout the day and before your start eating. The rest of the time concentrate on your other, more important and enjoyable purposes and tasks in your life.

On the other hand I met people who feel comfortable with their diet plans as they feel comfortable with cook books or the convenience of pre-portioned quantities. That is fine, as long as you see the diet as convenience or a structure to make your life easier rather than a regime that restrains your personal freedom. And it is fine as long as it allows you to follow the rules in Step 3.

Do we need scales to control our weight?

Now, come on! Look at your clothes, look at yourself in the mirror. What do you see? How do you feel about yourself? What kind of feedback do you hear from others? Do you really need that one confirmed by a number on the scale to increase your frustration? If I am honest, I can feel the next day when my pants are fitting more closely than they used to. Do we really need to measure what we already know?

Learn to feel your body and to listen to your feelings. Stepping onto the scale each day will inevitably bring back all the bad feelings, the obstructive mindset and faulty programming we are trying to get rid of. It will trigger the belief that it is all a problem of the number on the scale. It is not and you will not lose your pounds continuously and daily. There are downs and plateaus, and there is nothing wrong with them. Even small ups in between are not the end of the world. It is the long-term right direction that counts and how you feel in your own body. Don’t allow yourself be terrorized by weight control measures!

If you still want to control your weight, don't do it every day but once per month or at maximum once per week (every day, same time).

Does exercising really help to lose weight?

Exercising is an essential part of most weight loss programs. Doing it just with the motivation to lose weight won’t bring much benefit, because this kind of struggle will focus your mind on food. Yet fitness training has a lot of other health benefits, which is why you should do something like this anyhow. Try not to make it a daily struggle, though. Do it for fun. Not every training is working for everybody. some people love yoga and pilates, others hate it. For example I hate exercise machines. I find them lonely, boring, and fitness studios stink. Luckily there are other ways to get our bodies moving or stretching at home or outside your home. Do you see opportunities for cycling, swimming, running, ball games, gymnastics, yoga, pilates, boxing, golfing, surfing, dancing, or other any sports?

Check it out, loook for something that you find fun to do and do it on a regular basis, ideally together with others to make it more fun for you as a group. Reward yourself with a bottle of delicious water, a refreshing shower and the good feeling both training and water give to your body.

Tipp 4: Find realistic and enjoyable ways to move your body on a regular basis without struggling. Anything you enjoy and you can integrate into your life is good, even if it is “just” walking” or climbing stairs instead of using the elevator or using the bike instead of the car.

Mindset and Creativity

A good weight loss program is whatever works for you, and it is most certainly not the one that hurts you most. Losing weight is not a punishment program to make up for former sins. Gaining weight is not a sin but a cry of an underlying need that would like to be recognized and met. Listen carefully to this inner voice.

For you the successful weight loss program might be something completely different than for me. There is no such thing like a best diet. It does not matter whether you follow the SouthBeach diet, or any other weight loss plan. It is our mindset rather than the name of the diet program that make us lose or gain weight. Believe in yourself and that you can regain control of your body by doing things you enjoy doing. Open your eyes, allow yourself to be creative and go searching for fun and purpose.

A diet program is just a technical way of making sure your body is getting the food it needs, no more and no less. And similar to other technical challenges, there are several solutions to it.

Tipp 5: Believe in your success. Find your own creative diet solutions, your own metaphors of food and your own life purposes to guide your thoughts and actions.

(Article Source: http://kya.hubpages.com/hub/Weight-Loss-and-Mindset-5-Mental-Weight-Loss-Tips)

Mindset weight loss