The “think this, not that” strategy that gets results
When people lament that their weight loss efforts aren’t working, I truly feel for them. I struggled with it myself for nearly a decade, failing every single diet and exercise regime I tried. Then one day, I had a lightbulb moment: my weight loss strategy wasn’t the problem — my mindset was.
Your mindset is the foundation for everything you do. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the most scientifically effective diet and workout plan in the world; if you aren’t in the right headspace, it’s not going to work.
Unfortunately, many people succumb to negative thought patterns, which hinder them from making positive changes stick.
Honestly, it’s not your fault if you think negatively because your mind instinctively gravitates towards pessimism. This “negativity bias” is your brain’s way of trying to protect you from life and death situations by giving more weight to negative emotions and thoughts than positive ones.
The good news is, you can overcome negative thoughts relating to weight loss (or anything else).
It takes work, but it’s well worth the effort.
For example, I used a thought-swapping technique to change my weight loss mindset — and it worked!
The 3 Rules to Hypnotic Weight Loss
What is “Thought-Swapping”?
Thought-swapping is essentially changing the way you think to support your healthy habits.
When you tell yourself “I can’t” or “It’s too hard,” it sets you up for failure. It makes you believe that it is not possible to be healthy, fit, and happy.
These self-limiting thoughts are so ingrained in us that sometimes we don’t even realize we have them. So the most important thing to do is to be mindful of your thoughts and recognize that just because you thought it doesn’t make it so.
From there, start challenging negative self-talk by replacing it with more healthy thoughts.
Whenever you have a negative thought regarding your health and fitness (or really, anything), ask yourself the following questions:
- Is this undeniably true, or just my current perspective?
- Is this constructive and helping me reach my goals?
- Is this inspiring me to take action towards achieving my goals?
If the answer is no to any of those questions, reframe the thought so the answers become “yes.”
Think This, Not That
Below are some of the negative thoughts I had that were particularly encumbering to my fitness goals, and how I reframed them to be more conducive to success.
If you’ve been struggling with making your workouts happen, chances are some of these negative thoughts will be familiar.
So the next time you catch yourself thinking one of the below things, swap out the thought with the line I’ve provided.
1. Swap, “I don’t feel like working out today, I’ll just do it tomorrow,” with, “I’ll do five minutes today.”
When I started, I kept pushing my workouts to “tomorrow,” waiting for motivation to strike before hitting the dumbbells. A whole month would go by before I realized I hadn’t done a single workout I’d planned on doing.
That’s because if you only work out when you feel like it, you will never work out, because you haven’t established the habit yet.
Therefore the most important task at this stage is learning how to exercise even when you don’t feel like it. So when you tell yourself you’ll do five minutes, making it easier to form the habit of exercising on a schedule, even when you don’t feel like it.
Five minutes is such a small number that the commitment won’t put you off. (That’s why I started the 30-day “Five Fiver Challenge” this month!)
If you only do five minutes, then you’ve fulfilled your promise to yourself. But here’s the sneaky benefit to this approach — once you start, it’s much easier to keep going. So chances are you will end up working out longer than five minutes!
The 3 Rules to Hypnotic Weight Loss
2. Swap “This is way too hard — I can’t do this!” with “Challenge means change — I can get through this.”
When you first start working out, it can be quite a shock to the system.
I remember turning on my first workout video and thinking the instructor made the exercises look so easy. I was so dismayed when I couldn’t keep up or, in some cases, even perform the moves properly.
I’d end up turning off the workout 10 minutes in because I was overwhelmed.
But that’s before I understood that the whole point of exercise is that it has to challenge you. If it’s not hard, you’re not strengthening your body, which means nothing will change.
So struggling with a workout is actually a really good thing!
Now when I’m in the middle of a crazy workout, cursing Jillian Michaels’ through my TV for putting me through single-leg burpees when my legs are already shot and shaking, I dig in and think, “this is where the change happens.”
3. Swap, “This isn’t working, so what’s the point?” with, “Every healthy decision I make matters.”
About 1–2 weeks after starting a new workout routine, I would step on the scale or look in the mirror and lament, “This isn’t working!”
But further to being an unhelpful thought, it wasn’t even true.
First of all, seeing the physical changes of a lifestyle change can take a lot longer than a couple of weeks, and weight isn’t always a great indicator of your progress.
For example, as you replace fat with muscle, your weight may stay the same or even go up a bit initially.
But more importantly, every workout you do “works.”
For example, research shows that even one workout session can lower oxidative stress, protecting against aging and disease. Another study suggests that a single workout can stabilize blood sugar and improve metabolism.
So even if you can’t see the changes, every workout does count towards a healthier, longer life.
4. Swap, “I shouldn’t have eaten that. I just undid my whole workout!” with “One indulgence won’t ruin my health. I’ll get back on track with my next meal.”
Another major pitfall is feeling guilt over dietary indiscretions. For example, anytime I ate a donut or a slice of cake, I’d get sucked into a spiral of shame and feel like I’d negated all the positive effects of working out.
The truth is that a single meal, even a “cheat meal,” won’t undo all your hard work. In fact, a bump in caloric intake now in then can help prevent adaptive thermogenesis by keeping your metabolism fired up.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you should give yourself free rein over your diet!
But the most important thing is not to feel guilty for the occasional indulgence. Everyone has off days, so just get back on track by planning what you’ll eat for your next meal.
Final (Positive) Thoughts
Your ability to reach your weight loss goals (or really, any goal) depends 100% on your mindset. What you think each day affects your actions and how you handle adversity.
And just because your brain is hardwired to zero in on the negative doesn’t mean you’re a slave to your thoughts. On the contrary, you have the control to change your inner dialogue to facilitate positive change.
What you think is up to you — make it work in your favor!
The 3 Rules to Hypnotic Weight Loss
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