Millions of people try to lose weight every year, but only a few succeed in sustaining their plans. People often search for the optimal diet strategy to help them lose weight, but these methods are usually not suited to their lifestyles or require them to resort to restrictions.
Low-calorie diets, fewer carbs and fat, meal timing, and fasting are ways people try to shed pounds and maintain weight, but they don’t consider individual differences.
Physical activity is also another difficult thing to keep up with, as some may find it too laborious after a while and give up on exercising.
You don’t need to go on a juice cleanse or work out seven days a week to achieve your weight loss goals. One of the best ways to help you lose weight is to shift your mindset. Instead of being driven by wrong motives or poor thinking, use hurdles as stepping stones to help you stick to your journey.
You’ll find that a shift in your mindset can make all the difference, and your inner resolve will eventually show on the outside.
Here’s why you should ditch the negativity and hone your willpower and self-discipline to shed those pounds:
The Impact of Negativity
The road to weight loss is already not an easy path to take, and it doesn’t help that it’s often paved with negativity. Weight stigma is prevalent, especially online, and the content or comments you see on social media can affect how you view your body.
The videos or posts you see could be pushing problematic norms about weight. You might often see content about why fatness is unhealthy, what nutrition hacks you can try, which parts of your body look unattractive, and so on.
This kind of negative thinking can be especially damaging when you have health conditions that make weight loss difficult. Medical weight loss professionals note how diseases like obesity have many root causes beyond diet and exercise.
Although weight loss medications are effective and can help you lose up to 15% of your original weight, results usually only become apparent over an extended period of time alongside lifestyle modifications.
Negativity can make you impatient, often leading to you using drastic measures or fad diets to get results quickly to “fix” yourself.
Pursuing being skinny or fit also trumps the quest for health and wellness. You could also end up talking yourself down, focusing on how poorly you’re doing instead of your progress.
When you’re constantly fixating on the results, your thinking can become destructive, damaging your willpower and setting you up for failure.
Looking for the good in weight loss can encourage you to look for healthier methods to make it easier to stick to your weight loss plans. Here’s what you can do to stay disciplined on your journey:
Set Specific Goals
Goals are vital for weight loss, but being unable to achieve them in the time frame you want can be discouraging. Instead of giving up, be more specific with them to spur motivation and foster positivity.
Many experts highlight the importance of having detailed goals to achieve weight loss. For instance, having a specific target like “walk at least 15 minutes after work daily” is better than telling yourself to “exercise more.”
The language you use is also crucial for setting attainable goals. Instead of using negative words like “no” or “don’t,” word it in a way that encourages you to work towards the goals actively.
So rather than aiming not to eat fried foods anymore, commit to eating one serving of vegetables per day. It sounds much more feasible, and you’ll have an easier time accomplishing it, boosting your willpower and motivation to keep going.
Be Compassionate to Yourself
Constantly being hard on yourself for the smallest things won’t help you achieve your goals.
Discipline and strictness are vital for weight loss, but a lack of kindness and compassion for yourself will affect your mental state and make losing weight an even bigger challenge.
Extend some grace to yourself, and remember that you aren’t a machine that never misses a workout or always eats healthily; you need that kindness to keep up your willpower for your journey.
This way of thinking also helps with improving your habits. Self-compassion is linked to mindful eating, and it may underpin both healthier eating and a healthier attitude toward food.
When you are kind to yourself, you will seek out the best methods that work for you and your body.
Don’t Focus on Failures
You won’t enjoy your journey if you’re always thinking about how working out is a drag or how eating healthy isn’t fun.
One tip for making the most out of every moment is to look on the bright side. Trials are inevitable, but use them as driving forces to get you where you want to be.
Don’t focus too much on the number on the scale or the fit of your clothes, but remember that you’re on the road to better health and a better life. Keeping this in mind can encourage you to push through the challenges.
Willpower and self-discipline aren’t easy to keep up, especially when you’re struggling with weight loss.
It’s not easy to break out of a negative mindset, but taking small steps to be kind to yourself and improve your habits can keep you going and lead to success.