Are you sabotaging your weight loss journey?
The journey to weight loss is riddled with potholes and unforeseen turns. The reason being, mindset traps! They can completely derail your entire journey! Lucky for you, were here to talk about how to avoid these traps! (Or at least decrease their impact.)
Here we are going to go into 5 common mindset traps, and how you are going to sidestep them!
Contents
5 Easy Ways to Sabotage Your Weight loss
1. "Just One Won’t Do Any Harm"
Changing the way you eat is possibly the most difficult part about weight loss. We have such an emotional (and physical) tie to our foods. Going from eating fried chicken or sweet and sour ribs regularly to eating steamed broccli and grilled chicken breast on a consistent basis is a big change and one that can be difficult to adjust to. This results in many people using the excuse ‘just one won’t do any harm’.
Yes, While it’s true that the occasional treat won’t have a huge impact on your overall weight loss, if it becomes a daily habit, it will sabotage your weight loss goals and lead to overeating. Just one chocolate chip cookie, turns into 8. And then since you just ate 8 cookies, you might as well finish off those few scoops of rocky road in the freezer too...
You can avoid this trap. Allow yourself to eat the foods you crave in moderation. A good balance is to stick to a healthy eating plan 80% of the time and allow yourself to indulge in your favorite unhealthy foods 20% of the time. Schedule these 20% windows into your weekly routine and if the thought ‘just one won’t do any harm’ comes to you at any other time during the week, tell yourself that it will and stick to your healthy eating plans.
2. "This Program Isn’t Working"
When undertaking a weight loss program, many people tend to have near-sighted vision. This results in them ignoring the end goal instead of looking at what they have achieved so far.
While it can be good to assess your weight loss progress, it’s very easy to fall into a negative weight loss mindset trap when doing this and then start to feel depressed and dejected about your lack of measurable achievement. This then leads to you questioning the effectiveness of your diet and exercise routine and thinking ‘this isn’t working’.
To combat this negative mindset trap, acknowledge that losing weight takes time and requires dedication. Also, remind yourself that every positive step you have taken so far is moving you toward your weight loss goals, even if you can’t yet see any tangible results from it.
By doing this, you’ll find it easier to switch your focus from your current situation to the bigger picture. This will make you feel much more positive about your overall weight loss journey and help you remember that everything you are doing is working toward your end goal.
3. "Losing weight isn't fun"
One of the most popular misconceptions is that losing weight is boring. Not true! Believing this will only cast a negative shadow on your weight loss journey. In fact there are many things you can do to make weight loss more fun. (We have a whole article: Read: How to make your workout more fun!)
The good news is that this mistaken belief can easily be altered by accepting that you are responsible for making your weight loss journey fun. There are plenty of enjoyable exercises you can try out as well as lots of tasty and nutritious recipes that you can experiment with.
The best part they are all at your finger tips! A quick google search and you should be able to find what you are looking for! Or, just poke around here more! Then experiment with the results, stick with what you enjoy the most and repeat the process to maximize your fun on your weight loss journey.
4 . "I Have No Willpower!"
Willpower is simply the belief that you can achieve something. Think about it, what determines your inner strength?
This may sound harsh, but when someone says that they lack "the willpower" to complete their weight loss challenge, they are actually saying are unwilling to find a way out of this mindset trap (or too lazy to try.)
Luckily, this belief is one that can be easily changed. All you have to do is look for one time where you have exercised your willpower in another area of your life. This could be in relation, your career, or a personal goal outside of losing weight. Once you find an example of a time or times where you have used willpower, simply use them to counter the thought ‘I don’t have any willpower’ every time it comes.
5. "I Don’t Have Time To Focus On Healthy Choices Today"
Time is so very precious to us. But time can be made for health. If I asked you to make time today to meet up with an important executive or a future spouse, wouldn’t you clear out your entire schedule? How much more important is your health and well being?
Most exercise routines and nutritious food preparations take very little time, especially when planned well! If you want to achieve a healthier lifestyle, you can carve time out of your schedule to make it happen. This might mean waking up earlier or taking a shorter lunch break but if losing weight is really important to you, you will make the time. Even 20 minuets can make all the difference.
As you can see from the 5 tips above, determination is key when avoiding the pitfalls and weight loss mindset traps that usually lure individuals seeking out a healthier lifestyle. If you follow the tips and tricks outlined in this article, I promise that you will achieve all your weight loss goals.
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