In the previous post, I referred to the “Biggest Loser” mentality.
This is when all you care about is how quickly you can lose the weight. You don’t care what you have to do…
You just want results...Fast.
If fast is all that matters then you’re likely to choose extreme plans over sensible ones. And if all that matters is fast results, you unconsciously set yourself up to have to be perfect.
If you’re shooting to lose 2 pounds a week, than eating a pint of ice cream one night feels like you blew it.
You see when you shrink the time frame you magnify your mistakes and increase the need to be perfect.
If you were racing in a sprint, a little trip causes you to lose.
If you’re racing in a marathon a little trip doesn’t mean much.
When you start thinking of weight loss in time frames of months and years (rather than days and weeks) the missteps and mistakes don’t seem as bad, which makes it easier to continue.
This is why changing your mindset is so important.
Never mind gastric bypass surgery, you’re better off getting a brain transplant.
I know this from my personal experience of losing over 50 pounds and KEEPING it off for 21 years and from working with hundreds of clients over the years who have transformed their bodies by transforming their thinking.
A mindset shift is the one constant in every single weight loss success story.
Regardless of your genetics, metabolism, thyroid or any other physical disadvantage you may have, it is important to remember that people in your exact situation have succeeded.
And the secret is always that they changed how they think.
You need to remember this because it’s easy to get tricked into thinking the problem is physical. It’s not.
You may have disadvantages. It may be easier for others to lose weight, you may have gotten yourself addicted to certain foods, but you do have the power to change your weight.
It wasn’t always this way for me. Like many good things in life it was pure good fortune.
When I was really struggling with my weight, alcohol and depression I came across the concept of role modeling. Which is basically finding people getting the results you want, discovering what they’re doing and doing it.
I began by looking for people who had lost weight AND had kept it off for at least 2 years.
Luckily, it didn’t take long to find these people (hint: many of them I me tat the YMCA and yoga classes).
Very quickly I started noticing patterns of thought with these people.
I was surprised to find that almost none of them were dieting. I heard over and over about how it was a change in how they thought of food, their health and ultimately how they thought of themselves.
Almost all of them spoke about creating a different lifestyle that supported and nurtured their weight loss and increased health. And they viewed it as a journey not a destination.
The main thing I hope you get from all this is that you need to set yourself up for success.
And that always starts with your thinking.
Make it easy to win and remember that taking control of your body and health is one of the most enjoyablethings you can do in your life.
*In case you missed it, check out part one.