Most people can agree that they have “been there, done that” when it comes to jumping on and off bandwagons of the latest diet trend. Yo-yo dieting is it’s own type of diet and we’re really, really good at it!
It starts off all unicorns and rainbows when we get excited for the new diet.
We tell ourselves that this is the one – we’ll lose the weight for good. We start with a bang, eating well and being “good”.
But then, well shit, life happens!
Because it always does….and always will.
And that new fancy diet did not account for the game of life and it’s just not do-able anymore.
Maybe it was too complicated, too restrictive or too strict.
Either way, we start feeling discouraged and overwhelmed. We give up and fall back to our old habits. And so the cycle starts again.
So, how do you actually end this cycle?
Well, you don’t want to hear this – but it doesn’t come in a box, book, new trend, pill, smoothie, tea or piece of magic gum.
It comes with your mindset.
(Go on, roll your eyes…I’ll sip my coffee….)
Mindset. It makes us or breaks us in pretty much everything.
If you have a mindset that thinks you’re results have to fast and furious – you’ll give up before anything has a chance to work.
If you have a mindset that thinks that health only equals what the scale says – you’ll be crying on that scale before a week is up!
If you have a mindset that thinks nothing is ever good enough – you’ll talk yourself out of everything before you even start.
Change your mindset – change your life.
Here are some mindset changes you can work on that might help:
Mindset: I want to lose weight as quick as I can
Thanks to diet culture and marketing, a lot of us have unrealistic expectations when it comes to weight loss. We want the weight gone and we want it gone yesterday! And TV shows and commercialized products trick us into thinking that this is possible and healthy.
The real truth is that true weight loss takes time – slow and steady works better. Not only is it healthier for your body and mind – it’s maintainable.
Rapid weight loss efforts might work at first for some people but then they go back to their regular life and the weight comes back – why?
Because they didn’t work on changing their habits!
Change your mindset from “I want to lose weight as quick as I can” to “I want to feel better and make progress every month”.
This mind shift will place you on a path to build healthy habits that become a part of your life which leads to long term weight loss.
Mindset: I can’t have any bad foods or enjoy treats
A popular mindset is to go all or nothing when it comes to eating well. We believe that if we are going to have any results we have to eat perfectly 100% of the time – that we can never have bread or dessert again!
(Umm, no thank you – I like dessert!)
This mindset is so extreme and sets us up for nothing but failure.
Who can eat like that all the time? What about birthdays? Or holidays?
With this mindset you’ll be in a state of deprivation and when you feel deprived…well it’s only a matter of time before you give in!
Change your mindset from “I can’t enjoy any foods I love” to “I will choose nutritional foods most of the time and treat myself some of the time”.
This mind shift will help you focus on what you can have, not what you can’t!
Mindset: Nothing will ever work for me
How easy is it to never start anything when you assume that nothing will work anyway? Pretty easy.
This mindset is for comfort – it’s a form of protection. If you don’t try, you can’t fail.
This is the most unhelpful mindset of all!
Change your mindset from “Nothing will work for me” to “I will try my best and watch my progress”.
This mind shift will help you keep an open mind and focus on the small wins along the way.
Struggling to change your mindset? Reach out today and let's break through some barriers! lisa@refirefitness.ca