Strategies to Boost Weight Loss
Successful weight loss encompasses both the body and the mind. Having a positive mindset can mean the difference between progress and complacency. Below we will explore some strategies that will empower you to alter your mindset, embrace positive change (big and small) and make progress on your journey towards a healthier lifestyle.
- Befriend Your Body. It’s very hard to change a body you don’t like. It may seem counterintuitive, but weight loss is easiest to achieve when you have befriended your body, rather than criticizing it. Practice self-care and cut down on negative self-talk.
- Ask Yourself the Right Questions. Our thoughts, behaviors and feelings are all related. What we think influences how we feel. When you learn to identify and challenge unhelpful, negative thoughts about your weight and shape, you can interrupt the cycle that keeps you stuck in your old patterns. Ask these 3 questions:
- Does this thought work for me or against me?
- Does this sound like something accurate, compassionate, or helpful?
- Would I say the same thing to a friend, loved one or anyone else I love and respect?
- Find Value in the Process. Defining success in weight, health and fitness has so often been determined by outcomes or results, like the number on the scale. When people shift their mindset to recognize that success is in the doing, not the achieving, then they are able to value success differently.
- Develop Habits You Can Stick With. The best way to achieve weight loss is to focus on behavior change rather than what the scale says. Successful, sustained weight loss involves changing habits and changing them permanently. That way you don’t risk regaining the weight you lost.
- Watch the Language you Choose. The words you use to describe your weight loss journey matter, even within your own head. When you change the story you tell yourself about something, you change how you feel and what you do about it. Example, if the word “exercise” gives you negative feelings, try calling it “movement”.
- Get Comfortable with Setbacks. They are a normal and expected part of the change process. For instance, some people brush their teeth several times a day. But if they miss a brushing they don’t give up on dental health all together. Similarly, if you can learn to see weight-loss behaviors as a series of small actions, performed over time, it becomes easier to keep going.
- Use the Power of “Yet”. It’s helpful to have a growth mindset instead of a fixed one. A growth mindset frames abilities and situations as changeable with hard work. A fixed mindset frames abilities as inborn and not changeable. A growth mindset allows you to see challenges as opportunities. Use the word “YET” to any challenge you are currently dealing with. For example:
- I haven’t reached my ideal weight……YET.
- I’m not making it to the gym 3 times a week…..YET.
- I haven’t prepped my meals ahead of time….YET.
- Aim for Progress, Not Perfection. Another reason people struggle with weight loss is we commonly expect perfection of ourselves: following the diet to the letter, never missing a workout and so on. By consistently making better choices than perfect ones, staying on track becomes easier and more sustainable.
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