The 3 biggest ways you’re sabotaging your health and weight loss progress and how to cut it out!

Self-sabotage is the biggest hurdle when it comes to healthy living or sustainable weight loss. If you’ve ever lost weight, or stuck to a healthy living plan for a few weeks only to find yourself going to town on some chips and salsa at a restaurant, then you know the feeling self-sabotage brings. Guilt. Shame. Frustration. Anger. Mama, you may not realize it but the reason you’re sabotaging your health and weight loss is that you’re scared of what it might bring.

In The Big Leap, by Gay Hendricks, self-sabotaging is called upper limiting. Hendricks explains that our minds are only capable of feeling so much happiness and when we feel that happiness tank overflowing, we look for ways to bring us back down.

This is true in your weight loss journey too. If you’ve seen the weight come off and you’re starting to feel really good about yourself, you unconsciously look for ways to bring your happiness levels back down. I was on a call with a client a few weeks ago and she saw this cycle happening in her journey.

She was sticking to her plan, feeling good about herself, her health, her journey, then she went out to eat and instead of sticking within the boundaries she set for herself, she decided to say, “oh screw it!” She knew in the moment that she wasn’t making the choices she wanted to. She knew that these choices were going to sabotage her, but she couldn’t stop herself from making them in the moment.

After the restaurant, she continued to sabotage herself. She kept beating herself up for the choices she made. When we talked about the experience as a whole, we found three key things that caused the self-sabotage.

First, she was looking at other people’s journeys and comparing them to hers. She thought she should be further along than she was.

Second, she felt guilty about spending money on her health, only to waste it by eating outside of her plans.

Third, she’d spent almost two months focusing on her health and she thought she should be further along than she was.

Mama, comparison, money and time are the biggest ways we sabotage our health. But, luckily it’s also 100% possible to get through these roadblocks and I’m going to show you how.

Sabotage 1: Comparison - Give it up

The first thing that will stop not only your journey, but your joy, is comparison. We’ve all heard the phrase, “comparison is the thief of joy” and Mama, this is so, so, so true. You gain absolutely nothing by comparing yourself to others. NOTHING.

One of the reasons comparisons messes us up so badly is that we compare our chapter one to someone else’s chapter 27! Unless you started at the exact same place (same weight, same body, same triggers, same metabolic rate, etc.) as the person you’re comparing yourself to, then you’re basically comparing apples to oranges. 

You are never going to be the same as someone else! So you cannot compare your journey to theirs. Every single person is different, which means they’re going to have a different health journey. You won’t have the same journey as your best friend, your sister, your mom, or anyone.

Mama, if you want to compare yourself to anyone, compare where you’re at today to where you were yesterday, a week ago, a month ago. Are you the same person? Are you making the same choices? Are you better off today than yesterday? 

If you don’t like the direction you’re going, then you have the power to change it. If you’re making the same poor decisions today that you made a month ago, then recognize that and choose to be different today.

Comparison should benefit you, empower you, motivate you. If it’s not doing that, then it’s time to give it up. Which, I know is easier said than done. But recognizing that you’re stuck in the comparison game is the best way to get out of it. When you recognize that you’re comparing yourself to others, stop, take notice and tell yourself a new story.

Instead of thinking, “Man, that girl is doing so much better than me. Look at how much weight she’s lost.” reframe that thought, “Man, look at how strong she is and look at how strong I am. We are both doing our best.” There’s no reason to tear yourself or others down. Acknowledge that you’re both doing the work and encourage yourself to keep it up!

Sabotage 2: Money - Your health is worth the cost

Money is one of the biggest roadblocks mamas run into. Whether it’s not wanting to spend money on their nutrition and health or feeling guilty that they did spend the money, mamas tend to use money as a guilt trip tool all the time.

Mama, can I tell you a secret about money? Money is energy. Both money and energy can be generated. It’s not something we do or don’t have. It’s something that we generate or create.

If you lost everything today, your home, your clothes, your bank account, etc. would you have to live like that for the rest of your life, or could you go out and get those things back? You can always bring in more money. I know if you lost it all, you would put your boss mama pants on and you would work so hard to provide for your family. 

So, stop telling yourself that money has limits. It doesn’t! It can be used and it can be replaced.

If you choose to spend money on your health and wellness, and you take what you learn and implement it into your life, then I guarantee in ten years, you won’t feel an ounce of guilt for spending that money. In fact, you may not even remember how much it cost.

All you’ll remember is the lessons you learned and what a difference it made in your life and your family’s lives.

If you’re sabotaging your health because being healthy is too expensive, then I want you to replace the word money with energy. Instead of “I’m going to invest money in myself” I want you to say, “I”m going to invest energy in myself.” How does that feel? Does it take away the guilt and anxiety? You are just as deserving of energy as anyone else in your family. When you recognize that, you can stop sabotaging yourself and allow yourself space to learn and grow, even if a lesson costs you.

Sabotage 3: Time - Set realistic expectations

Mama, you are lied to constantly about how much time it should take to lose weight. We see before and after all the time but we are never told how long it took to see such amazing results. Plus, we see ads for instant weight loss, quick results or easy fixes so often that we think we should be able to hit our goal weights in a matter of weeks. But in reality, sustainable weight loss takes time.

If you start a 12-week program with the goal to lose 50 lbs, you’re going to be disappointed. Because you cannot lose 50 lbs in 12 weeks, especially if you don’t want it to come back with a vengeance!

One thing I tell my clients is that it didn’t take 12 weeks to put this weight on. It’s going to take time to get it off. Healthy, sustainable weight loss means losing 1-2 lbs a week. 

Keep in mind that the more weight you have to lose, the fast you’re going to lose it. If you’re looking to lose 50 lbs, the first 30 might come off quickly, but the last 20 might be more of a struggle.

I have a client that I’ve been working with for a year who just hit 65 lbs down. In the 12 weeks she spent in Macros Made Easy she lost 55 lbs, and she’s spent the last nine months getting the rest off. 

If you commit to your health not just for 12 weeks, but for the rest of your life, you’ll lose weight, keep it off and see your body improve year after year. I’ve spent seven years working on my nutrition and I am amazed that with each year I see more and more of the body and mindset I want.

Mama, if you constantly fall prey to one or all of these self-sabotages, then I want to invite you to work with a coach. I know from experience and from working with hundreds of mamas that it’s nearly impossible to see the positive when you’re stuck in a self-sabotage rut. But I know that with the help of a coach you can see these self-sabotages for what they are - upper limits - and you can get the help you need to move past them.

It’s time to stop sabotaging your health and weight loss goals. Schedule a free discovery call to start making your weight loss dreams a reality!

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