Secrets to removing mental blocks to losing weight
Are you feeling stuck and frustrated?
Have you decided to eat better then… do NOTHING?
Are you beating yourself up?
Are you feeling even more frustration, sadness, shame, guilt or lost?
Do you find yourself wondering “why can’t I just do it?”
If any of this sounds like you, the first thing to remember, is that you are not alone.
Secondly, your feelings of being stuck may actually be your mind playing tricks on you. In other words, creating mental blocks.
Not to worry, I’m going to share some secrets to removing these mental blocks that may be hindering your ability to lose weight.
First, let’s take a look at what a mental block might look like.
As you work to remove any mental blocks to weight loss, Grab Your Key to Unlocking Weight Loss Secrets for additional support.
If you’re new to my blog, Welcome! I’m so glad you are here. My goal is to provide you with tips that help you stay strong and active as you age.
Here are some of my other blogs to check out after you read this one.
Not all mental blocks look the same
Mental Block - - Denial
This is incredibly common. Remember, this is your mind playing tricks with you.
Do you may find yourself cycling between thoughts of I’m ready to get healthy! to it’s not that bad?
One minute you’re all in and in the next — nothing. This can be very frustrating and leave you wondering “what’s wrong with me and why can’t I move forward?”
Is your mind telling you things like:
- It’s just part of getting older.
- My health/weight aren’t that bad.
- My body isn’t built to be thin.
- I just need to accept this is the way it is.
First, let’s be sure. Are these statements true? If you are healthy, energetic and strong, you may be at an ideal weight and weight-loss should NOT be your goal.
Take a moment to evaluate your feelings. If you still know you need to be healthier or lose weight, then this may be your mind convincing you that you don’t need to change. Your mind likes the comfort of what it knows.
Mental Block -- Comfort Zone
For the most part, change is uncomfortable.
Even when we don’t like where we are, we are comfortable. We know what to expect. This comfort can make it incredibly hard to move away from.
Is the comfort of the known keeping you stuck? Sometimes the pain we know is still more comfortable than the pleasure we’ve not experienced.
So, how do you get out of your comfort zone? This is part of the process of removing mental blocks. I’ll dive into the how in just a moment.
For now, start thinking about which of these mental blocks may be holding you back.
Mental Block -- Fear of failing
Have you tried to lose weight before and you were unsuccessful?
Have you lost weight in the past, then fell back into old habits and gained it all back?
Are you afraid you will only “fail” again?
Do you worry about what others will say? Another diet, really?
Is your mind telling you it’s better to do nothing and NOT fail than to give it another try.
Again, this is just your mind playing tricks on you.
You only fail when you stop trying. Now that you understand these mental blocks are tricks your mind is playing on you, let’s dive in to how you can remove these mental blocks.
Another way to think of these mental blocks is that they are the lies we tell ourselves.
It is important to realize, when we are saying them we fully believe them to be true.
However, they are lies we’ve told ourselves for so long that we believe them. Some of these lies may be so deeply rooted than you will NOT see them as a lie.
Do you have any lies you are telling yourself?
Secret 1 - Removing Mental Blocks to Losing Weight
Focus on the ultimate benefit of weight loss.
Ok, so, you want to lose weight. Do you immediately think of diet and exercise, restrictions, punishment, and being deprived of all the foods you love?
Those thoughts alone could have you running the other direction in no time. Perhaps they have in the past.
What if you were to say “I want to be healthy”? or “I want to have the endurance to go hiking with my friends.”
Don’t these goals sound more positive than “I want to lose weight”?
How we phrase our goals has a huge impact on our ability to be successful. Try rephrasing with a positive view.
Secret 2 - Removing Mental Blocks to Losing Weight
Believe in yourself
How are you talking to yourself? Are you saying I’ve got this, or I’m getting healthier everyday?
Try rephrasing your goal with a positive benefit in mind, as I mentioned above. By doing this, you should be feeling more confident in your ability to reach your goals.
Even if you’re not 100% convinced that you can reach your goal YET, make it a point everyday to tell yourself you’re getting better. Because you are!
Give yourself the same encouragement you would a friend.
Secret 3 - Removing Mental Blocks to Losing Weight
Take it one day at a time
Are you focused on a really big goal that will take a year to reach? If so, break these bigger goals down into manageable bite-size pieces.
These mini-goals also create the opportunity to celebrate throughout your journey without the overwhelm of what may seem like an impossible goal in the beginning.
What can you do TODAY to get you closer to your goal? Just focus on today.
Instead of a focus on losing 50 pounds, what if today you focus on eating 4 servings of vegetables, drinking more water or getting 7 – 8 hours of sleep, going for a walk? These are all steps towards being healthier and reaching your goal of losing weight.
Secret 4 - Removing Mental Blocks to Losing Weight
Ditch the All or Nothing Mindset
With diets, there is an end. You reach your goal weight, celebrate and then what happens more often than not is that you go back to old habits and the weight is all gained back. Then, we’re back to the next diet. Sound familiar?
Well, if so, how about NEVER going on another diet?
A goal to be healthy is a journey and a lifestyle. It is NOT a diet. There is no end. We don’t say I’m healthy, I’m done. We want to STAY healthy, right?
It also is NOT all or nothing. Everything can be enjoyed in moderation.
If you think of it as 80% of what you eat falling in the healthier foods category and 20% less nutritious, there’s always room for a treat. Doesn’t that sound better than a diet?
Secret 5 - Removing Mental Blocks to Losing Weight
How do you think about food and/or exercise?
Do you think of food and exercise as a reward or punishment? Do you use food to find joy and happiness in life?
What if you thought of food as the fuel your body needs to function properly? With the proper foods, your body takes you where you want to go, when you want, as fast as you want, for as long as you want.
The same goes for exercise. Do you make yourself exercise as punishment for eating that piece of cake? What if you thought of exercise as the reward you deserve? You deserve to have a strong and healthy body.
Eating healthy, nutritious foods and exercising are things you do for YOU. You deserve to have a strong and healthy body.
Secret 6 - Removing Mental Blocks to Losing Weight
Do you have an accountability partner or coach?
It has been proven time and time again that we are more successful at reaching our goals when we have an accountability partner or coach,
We all need a coach in some part of our lives.
Someone that:
– keeps us accountable
– pushes us to be better than we believe we can be
– reminds us that we CAN DO IT!
– will call us on our excuses
– helps us see those pesky mental blocks before they get the better of us.
– is always looking out for your best interest
– provides encouragement
Secret 7 - Removing Mental Blocks to Losing Weight
What does your future look like?
I know I told you to take it one day at a time and I stick by that; however, it always helps to have a vision of what your future will look like.
How will you feel – happy, strong, energetic, more confident, etc?
What will you be doing – more physical activities like hiking, traveling,?
What does success look like – the ability to do something you can’t physically do today, or do it with less pain, smiling when you look in a mirror, feeling sexy and more intimate with your partner?
One last thing, which of these “future” things can you start doing today? Can you start enjoying them while you’re on the journey?
Ready to take action?
So, now you know how to recognize some of your mental blocks and how they are tricking your mind and keeping you stuck.
You have some ideas on how to shift your mindset and how you can look at your weight loss goals differently.
Taking that first step and getting started is always the hardest. Grab Your Key to Unlocking Weight Loss Secrets and start your journey to a healthier YOU today.