Mind over matter: You’ve heard this phrase before. But when it comes to your diet, you may not think that your mindset is a powerful influence over whether you lose weight or not.
But it is.
Too often, dieters focus on exercise, food choices, and other external factors that account for weight loss at the expense of internal factors. Studies reveal that psychological factors, specifically one’s attitude and mindset, are at the core of weight loss success.
In this article, we’ll discuss why mindset matters and 3 important tips you can use to change your mindset for the better to support your healthy weight loss.
Your Mindset Matters, Even if You Don’t Think it Does
When you think of the word “diet,” what comes to mind? Chances are, words like restriction, discipline, and a general lack of enjoyment come to mind. This lifestyle, and the diet that many men and women choose for themselves, isn’t sustainable. It only leaves dieters more frustrated than before as they go through a cycle of weight loss and weight gain and struggle with long-term weight loss maintenance.
A mindset or attitude shift is necessary to take the first step in a positive direction. Common psychological techniques such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, which was once only thought effective for treating eating disorders, is now used for this very purpose.
You don’t need to visit a professional to take positive steps in the right direction. Rather, you can determine what changes you need to make and then implement behavioral changes to support your weight loss efforts and feel as if you’re making the right choices for your goals.
Below, we’ll offer 3 common changes you can rely on to do just that.
1. Stop Going on a “Diet” – This is a Lifestyle Change
As we mentioned above, diets have countless negative connotations. However, diets are also considered temporary, making it difficult for those who want to make a change to remain positive and motivated from a long-term perspective.
Dieters also focus on their weight to determine how much progress has been made. This only fuels unhappiness and is also inaccurate to determine progress since you won’t know if you’re losing water, fat, or muscle.
Make the Shift: Instead of rewarding yourself for pounds lost or how quickly you lose weight, focus on how you feel. Do you feel more energized? More confident? Focus on these types of positive changes as you lose weight rather than letting the number on the scale dictate your happiness.
2. Don’t Allow Fear to Dictate Decisions
When people feel less than their best and decide to begin a diet, there is a lot of fear in play. Most people fear calories, the scale, getting their photo taken, and being judged at the gym, among other things. Does this sound familiar to you?
Unfortunately, fear can hold people back in taking the steps forward they need to take to be healthier. For example, if you fear going to the gym because you think others will judge you, you may not go. Or, if you fear getting your photo taken, you may miss out on social events that make you happy.
Make the Shift: You must push yourself to turn what you fear into positive aspects of your weight loss journey. For example, group exercise classes, such as yoga or strength training, can build camaraderie and support as you lose weight. Going out to social events and doing your research beforehand on what to order will give you empowerment to make healthy choices and enjoy your friends and family. By focusing on the positives in each situation, you can push yourself in new directions.
3. Educate Yourself to Avoid the Dreaded “Plateau”
Most dieters hit a plateau some time in their journey. This plateau is demoralizing for most and detrimental to some, allowing self-defeating thoughts and negative judgments to creep up once again.
Few people actually take the time to research diet- and exercise-related topics, like those you find on PhenQ, to learn how to overcome the plateau or even new healthy recipes or workouts to try. Instead, they allow self-defeating talk to overshadow motivation and in turn, undo most of the progress that has likely been made.
Make the Shift: If you hit a weight loss plateau, there’s no reason to feel as if there is no hope for future weight loss! Instead, find credible books, videos, and online resources that will help you understand where you can improve to overcome your plateau. Remind yourself how far you’ve come and that you will continue to make progress!
When You Want to Lose Weight, A Positive Mindset Makes all the Difference
Self-deprecating thoughts, self-sabotage, and excuses can make any dieter feel bad and regress in the progress they’ve made during their weight loss journey, yours included. The issue is that many dieters don’t realize they’re sabotaging their own weight loss with thoughts like:
- “I’m a failure if I don’t lose two pounds this week.”
- “I’ll never be healthier because I can’t control what I eat.”
- “I can’t eat healthy/workout today, I’m just too busy.”
If you tell yourself enough falsehoods, you’ll begin to believe them. Worse yet, they will sabotage your weight loss efforts and cause you to feel poorly about yourself when you need to lift yourself up through a positive mindset and recognition of how far you’ve come in your journey.
Read: Lose Weight Like A Man
If There is 1 Key Takeaway, It’s This…
You won’t have your dream body tomorrow. It’s going to take months and years of dedication and self-love to appreciate where you are today and look forward to the accomplishments you’re sure to realize in the future.
If you need help right now to control your appetite, burn fat, and get off to the right start, comprehensive supplements like PhenQ can help. A positive mindset begins with you.
So, what’s holding you back from making the shift?
