Everyone knows that eating better and moving your body can benefit you when it comes to losing weight. And while both may be major players, the mind plays a very significant role in whether or not you succeed.
Here we explore 5 mental strategies that will help you lose weight.
1. Write Down Your Goals
You can have a plan for losing weight. You can talk about it. You can even work with a nutrition coach, developing clarity and formality for your goals. These are all fantastic steps to take. However, writing your goals down can seal the deal.
Much like taking notes in school or writing down your grocery list. You can think about things, read about them, or hear them, but as soon as you write them down, you have committed them to memory.
Doing this will always remind you of what you are working so hard to achieve.
2. View Yourself as Healthy
When you are trying to change your eating habits and become a healthier version of yourself, try imagining yourself as that person. Identify yourself with that role.
For instance, when you want a snack, what would the ‘healthy’ you choose? What would ‘healthy’ you do if you were too tired to exercise after work? The more you do this, the more natural it will become.
Believe it or not, this psychological strategy can help to shift the way you see yourself. As you begin to feel like a healthier you, your behaviors and the choices you make are more likely to follow.
3. Use Positive Affirmations
Positive affirmations are statements that are empowering. They are made in the present tense, giving you the boost of motivation that you need in the moment to keep moving forward on your weight loss journey.
Even on the hard days that you will undoubtedly have, you can transform your mind and your entire outlook on the day by reciting positive affirmations as you go through it.
Below are a few examples of these powerful statements.
“I am allowed to say no to foods I don’t want.”
“I am nourishing my body with healthy food.”
“I have the strength to make it through the first 5 minutes of this workout.”
“I am letting go of everything negative that I am holding onto.”
“I am an evolving masterpiece.”
Place affirmations where you will see them and speak them out loud as you go through your day.
4. Hire a Nutrition Coach
How about a mental strategy that allows you to pass the work on to someone else?
Sometimes you just need a break. While you will always be required to put in the work on your own weight loss, you can hire someone to help you get through it — someone who will guide you along the way.
It is much less tolling on the mind when someone walks alongside you on your health journey than trying to read, learn, and figure it out alone. Hire a nutrition coach.
5. Adjust Your Attitude
When you keep doing the same thing over and over again, you are going to get the same results. If you have not had much success with your weight loss efforts, then perhaps it is time to try something different.
Approach your health journey with an optimistic, can-do attitude, Be ready to give it everything you have and you will succeed. You do not have control over anything in life but yourself and your attitude. Focus on those things and the rest will fall into place.
With the right attitude, you can do anything.
The nutrition coaches of Beyond the Box Nutrition take you beyond dieting, helping you to create a balanced lifestyle and a healthy relationship with food with a plan designed to fit your life.