When we think about weight loss, slugging it out at the gym and denying yourself desserts are usually the only things we believe are important. However, the most crucial part about sticking to your weight loss goals is actually your mindset. A defeatist attitude can sabotage your entire weight loss journey in a minute. There are dozens of little thoughts entering our minds everyday that subconsciously make it very difficult to lose weight. Recognizing them and pushing them out of your mind is the first step you need to take towards becoming healthier. Here are five negative thoughts that could be hampering your weight loss dreams.
1. Wanting A Quick-Fix Solution
You didn’t put on all of that weight in a day, so it’s unreasonable for you to expect to lose it that quickly. All of us are looking for easy ways to lose weight that will take minimal effort on our part. We want a magic pill that will ‘melt fat’ without us having to reduce our meal sizes. But that’s not how healthy weight loss works. The difficult truth is that weight loss is a continuous, often grueling, process that takes months to show results. Once you recognize this fact, you will stop expecting to see results in a week. The process might be long and tedious but the end result makes it all worth it.
2. Rewarding Yourself With Junk
Weight loss requires you to completely change the way your brain thinks. Most of us turn to unhealthy food for instant gratification. We say things like ‘I’ve worked so hard today, I deserve this tub of ice cream’. When you think this way, you’re doing something far more harmful than merely piling on the calories. You’re conditioning your brain to believe that unhealthy food is a reward and healthy food is a punishment. This means that you’re always going to have negative associations with healthy food, which will make it difficult for you to stick to a nutritious diet in the long run. However, it’s time to shake yourself out of that mindset. Ask yourself if something that is doing so much harm to your body is actually a reward.
3. You Aren’t Losing Weight For Yourself
People have many different reasons for wanting to lose weight, but not all of them are created equal. Some people want to lose weight because they want to live a long, healthy life. Some people want to start taking better care of their bodies. These are constructive reasons for trying to lose weight because they are centered around a positive goal. However, when you want to lose weight for negative reasons, it can create a toxic environment. Are you losing weight to impress someone you like? Are you working on your ‘revenge bod’ just to get back at your ex? Are you trying to get skinny because everybody says that’s the way you should look? Trying to lose weight for these reasons is not healthy because your motivations are external, not internal. Remember that you’re losing weight for yourself. Your life will improve after you adopt a healthy lifestyle. You don’t owe it to anyone else to lose weight.
4. Comparing Yourself With Others
Everybody’s body is different and that’s okay. This might sound like an obvious fact, but it’s one we often forget when we’re trying to lose weight. If you start out your weight loss journey because you want a body like Gigi Hadid, you’re going to be in for a world of disappointment. Your goal should be to help your body reach the best version of itself. If you have impossible expectations, you’re never going to be happy during your weight loss journey. Many people also lose heart mid-way because they aren’t losing weight as fast as their friends are. Again, you need to remember that everyone’s body works differently. It might take a little longer for you, but with a sustained effort, you will reach to where you want to be.
5. Feeling Like You’re Too Busy To Be Healthy
A common complaint most people have is that they’re too busy to lead a healthy lifestyle. In between their long work hours, they don’t have time to make salads everyday, go to a gym or take care of their bodies. If you feel this way, then you have the wrong idea of what it is to lead a healthy lifestyle. Becoming healthy and losing weight is often in the small changes we make to our everyday lives. You don’t need to completely revamp your lifestyle in order to be healthy. Simply taking the stairs more or cutting back on junk might be all you need to do.
