Shifting Your Perspective: How Mindset Can Transform Weight Loss
If you're eager to start shedding pounds, but feel unsure where to begin, remember that a healthy body starts with a healthy mind. Extreme, restrictive, all-or-nothing weight loss plans can strain both your body, mind, and aren’t sustainable long-term. Adopting a positive mindset toward weight loss can increase your confidence and pave the way for achieving your wellness goals.
When incorporating and adopting new changes into your life, shifting your mindset can be transformative. Losing weight is no different. Let's explore how cultivating a success-oriented, positive mindset can empower you to rebalance your body and achieve your weight loss goals!
Banish Limiting Beliefs & Negativity
Shifting your perspective on weight loss might seem easier said than done - as are most things! But the first step is to try to discover and overcome any self-limiting beliefs that may be holding you back from your goals. These beliefs often stem from assumptions on how things "should" be versus what you can actually achieve. These limiting beliefs might be ingrained through your habits, learned from others, or your past experiences. Some examples of limited beliefs related to weight loss are “It’s all genetic”, “I’m big boned”, or “I have no willpower.” Overcoming these limiting beliefs can be transformative and will provide you with a feeling of freedom and that you can conquer anything!
Another mindset shift would be to begin abolishing those negative thoughts and feelings about yourself. The mind is a powerful thing and how you view yourself can impact your results. A study in the International Journal of Obesity suggests that people who perceive themselves as overweight may end up actually struggling with weight loss. This is often due to those negative thought patterns spiraling a person into those poor habits. All in all, negative self-perception does much more harm than good. Begin to try to accept yourself with love, openness, grace, and patience.
Adjust Your Focus
Often times people are hyper-focused on the end result, but the more imperative piece to focus on is your why. Why do you want to lose weight? Is it to increase your longevity? To have ore energy? To accomplish a hike you’ve always wanted to do? To feel strong so you can carry all the groceries in one go? Looking great is awesome and all, but often times there needs to be more of a “why”, this way you will maintain results throughout your life. Make your “why” big enough and their won’t be room for failure!
You also need to focus on the process that leads you to your ultimate result. The process is where you learn how to create those healthy lifestyle habits that will last your lifetime. The process is where you create small, consistent changes that add up and results in an amazing transformation and a lifestyle that is sustainable!
Focus on the Foundations
Along with a positive mindset and embracing the weight loss process - you’ll need to shift your thoughts and habits to focus on yourself holistically and on the foundations of health. Below are a few of those foundations that can be a game-changer for your journey:
Your emotional wellbeing: Set boundaries, say “no”, prioritize self-care, meditate, journal, go to therapy - do what you have to do be in a better mental space. Losing weight can be hard and takes time, so being in a good state of wellbeing will be important for your journey!
Focus on a healthy whole-food diet: Embracing a anti-inflammatory whole-food diet is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Most people begin to feel better and see results just by changing what they’re eating!
Decrease your toxic load: We live in a world where we are exposed to a large amount of toxins everyday. These toxins can deplete nutrients and impact weight loss. An amazing way to help reset the body and jump start your weight loss goals is through doing a 7, 14, or 21 Day Functional Medicine Detox. It will help restore nutritional deficiencies while gently removing those unwanted toxins. I recommend this to my clients and complete this detox quarterly myself! Sauna and dry brushing are a few other tools that can help detox the body and decrease your toxic load.
Move your body: Movement will not only help you get into the shape you want, but it also offers so many other benefits such as relieving stress, heart health, flexibility, and more!
Reduce stress: Stress is one of the leading causes of dis-ease in the body. It can impact your digestion, hormones, mental health, deplete you of nutrients, and more! Creating stress management strategies that work with your lifestyle will be imperative for weight loss and overall health. One of my favorite tools that I use consistently is my acupressure mat - it can decrease stress, alleviate headaches, increase blood flow, and more!
Sleep: This is a piece that is often overlooked or forgotten, but I’ll scream it from the rooftops, you need sleep!! Sleep aids in weight loss, allows your body to recover, and restful sleep helps you function optimal each and every day.
Changing your mindset and habits won’t happen overnight, - this takes time and practice each day and every day. Another great addition to your weight loss journey is finding a support system. Have your partner make changes with you, surround yourself with friends who have your back, or hire a health coach (like me!). Having a health coach is a support system, cheerleader, and accountability partner all in one! Plus, as a health coach, I meet my clients where they are at and create changes that feel manageable. We also address root causes of stubborn weight such as gut dysbiosis, blood sugar dysregulation, toxin overload, hormone imbalances, and more! Click here to apply to work with me!
**This information is for educational purposes only. None of this information is meant to diagnose, treat, or prevent disease. Please always do your own research and/or speak with your healthcare provider. There are also affiliate links within this blog that provide me with a commission if you purchase a product. I always recommend products and companies I trust and use myself. Thank you for helping to support my small business!
