The one weight loss mindset shift you need to achieve your goals and find true happiness now
Did you know that most people quit their New Year’s resolutions by Jan 19? There are a lot of reasons that people give up after 19 days, but the two most common are that they still don’t know what they’re doing or they aren’t seeing the results they wanted. This is especially true of weight loss and health goals.
If you’re starting to get frustrated with your health and weight loss goals, then I want you to make this one mindset shift. Your health is not a destination; it’s a journey. Realizing that your health goals are not a destination takes so much pressure off of you, so that you can continue to make healthy decisions!
Health is not linear
One of the biggest misconceptions we have is that our health and weight loss is linear. We think that we should be able to drop weight consistently and then once we hit our goals we should be able to stay at that weight forever.
In reality, our weight is always going to fluctuate. When we’re on a weight loss journey, we’ll see a few weeks of weight loss, then we might go up a pound or two. We aren’t meant to stay at the same bodyweight forever.
In my Macros Made Easy Program, I teach my clients that there are four phases that we typically go through on a health journey:
Reverse
Maintenance
Surplus
Cut
These phases work in tandem with our body’s natural cycles. Sometimes we need more food and weight, like in the winter when it’s colder out. Sometimes we’ll need less food and less weight, like in the summer. It all moves in a cycle.
A healthy life has no endpoint. We live a healthy life by making decisions that are good for us each and every day.
Find joy in the journey
When you set that New Year’s resolution to “be healthy” you probably thought it would just be a for a little while until you hit your goal weight, right? Realizing there is no endpoint to your health can be a bit of a shock, but I can tell you that it isn’t a death sentence either!
You can live a healthy life and a fun life! The secret is to finding joy in the journey.
“In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.” - Gordon B. Hinckley
Just like that quote says, you need to enjoy your health journey, not just endure it! Start by learning what brings you joy in your nutritional journey. Is it ending your evening with an ice cream sandwich? (That was my daily treat when I first started macro tracking!) Maybe it’s meal prepping on Sunday so that you don’t have to worry about cooking during the week.
The small things like having a meal plan and avoiding the dreaded, “What for dinner?” question can bring so much joy!
Flexible dieting has brought joy to my journey for multiple reasons! First, I know what healthy looks like for me. I know what my body needs and I don’t have to guess anymore. Second, I get to enjoy my favorite foods and still reach my goals! No food is off-limits. I also have complete control over my diet!
Freedom is the biggest source of joy and if you’re following a diet that doesn’t give you freedom, you’re going to have a hard time finding the joy in your journey!
What you celebrate you replicate
Now that we understand that weightloss and health is a journey, we need to learn how to keep seeing the results we want. I always say, what you celebrate you replicate.
What does that mean exactly? When you recognize and celebrate the progress you’ve made, you’ll keep doing the things that got you there.
When we take the time to recognize the progress we’ve made we don’t feel lost or stuck - the two biggest reasons we quit. We can see that those small decisions that we’re making day after day are actually doing something!
If you struggle to see results, then start writing down your wins! On my client calls each week, I have my clients share their win of the week. This is a strategy that I use because I want my clients to see more than just what the scale says. We talk about all kinds of wins so that they recognize that the needle is indeed moving!
Your wins don’t always have to be weightloss related, but they can be in any area of your life and still relate to your health journey. Maybe your win for the week is not yelling at your kids when they made a huge mess. You learned patience and forgiveness from that and you can apply that lesson to your weightloss journey!
A healthy life doesn’t mean hitting a number on the scale. It means living with love. Treating yourself with kindness. Teaching your family how to live in a way that is good for their bodies and minds. Health is a journey, not a destination and as you make small choices towards health, you’ll find that you’ve turned into the healthy person you’ve always dreamed of being.
If you need help navigating your health journey, then let’s chat!
