How fast you lose weight doesn’t matter if you don’t learn this one lesson first
One of the biggest lies perpetrated in the health and weight loss industry is that fast weight loss is good. Yes, you can lose weight quickly, but it’s bad for you! I talk to women all the time who restrict, restrict, restrict to lose weight quickly. But then they make one mistake or have one off-meal and the weight comes back with a vengeance! There are so many problems with losing weight too quickly, and we’ll go into them, but the biggest problem with quick weight loss is that it doesn’t address the mental aspect of health.
Mama, I have been in your shoes. I’ve forked out tons of money for quick weight-loss solutions! I’ve tried all the diets. I’ve done the cool-blasting. I’ve used the wraps. I know how it feels to be so desperate that you’ll do anything to get the results you want.
But I also know how frustrating it is when those things don’t work. Or how it feels after putting in all the work for all the weight to come right back when you can’t live in restriction anymore.
I’ve even had this experience with macro tracking! A few years ago I trained for a bodybuilding competition and I dwindled myself down to a single-digit body fat percentage. On the outside, I looked amazing.
But my mind was so unhealthy. I knew that I looked good and I based my worth on that. My worth as a mother, a wife, a business owner, everything was based on my appearance and my ability to stick to a diet or a workout plan.
But behind the scenes, I wasn’t ok. I was binging. I was hiding food wrappers so no one would know what I ate. I would punish myself with harder, longer workouts. I knew this wasn’t good for me. But I couldn’t give up looking like I did. Even after my competition was over I didn’t want to go back to eating more or working out less.
My mind wasn’t able to keep up the low-calorie diet that a body-building competition required. And it was right not to! That’s not how I was meant to live. Being in that place for too long wasn’t healthy. But because I had tied my worth up in the scale, the body-fat percentage, the way I looked in the mirror, I couldn’t see the scale go up.
It took this experience to be on the other side of weight loss to realize that it didn’t matter what the scale said if I didn’t work on my mental health.
I’m going to share the two most important things you can do for your mindset if you want to lose weight at a sustainable pace and live your healthiest life.
Step 1: Recognize how your thoughts are impacting your weight
Whether you’re currently on a weight loss journey or you are looking to get started you need to realize just how powerful your thoughts are.
Every action we take starts with a thought. You don’t eat a donut without thinking about it. And you don’t prepare turkey bacon and eggs without thinking about it. So if you want to make healthy decisions you have to start recognizing the role your thoughts are playing in your life and your ability to reach your goals.
Today I want to focus on one thought that will help you no matter where you’re at in your journey.
The thought, “I can’t” is going to stop you dead in your tracks. If you want to start a weight loss journey and think, “I can’t do it. It’s too intimidating.” Then you’re right! You won’t do it. If you’re on your weight loss journey and think, “I can’t make it to my goal!” Then you’re right too. You won’t.
Thinking “I can’t” is the easiest way to shut down any growth or progress. But just because you’ve had that thought doesn’t mean you can’t change it. I have a simple tool that will help you overcome what’s stopping you and make taking the next step easier.
When the “I can’t.” thought pops into your head, first, recognize that you’re having that thought. Then, create a bridging thought with the phrase, “I’m capable of…” A bridging thought will help you make a realistic or believable step between where you are now and where you want to go.
For example, if you normally stop at Starbucks every day and then decide that’s not a healthy habit and you’d like to change it. The first thought that will pop up in your head will probably be “I can’t give up my coffee! It’s what I use to survive!” And mama, I get it. I love my Starbucks too. If you asked me to give it up I’d have the same thought.
So instead of thinking “I can’t give it up!” let’s create a bridge. What’s one thing that you are capable of doing with your Starbucks? Could you cut it out on just one day a week? The bridging thought would be, “I’m capable of going to Starbucks five or six days a week.”
I’m not asking you to jump, just to take a little leap. A bridging thought should be something that is within your realm of possibility, something that you could believe. If it feels too big then take a step back and make your bridging thought smaller. When you start to live up to that thought, you’ll realize what you’re capable and then you’ll be able to use that thought to bridge you to another thought that takes you toward your goals, and then another, and another.
And that’s how we get to our goals. Not by making huge jumps but by making small bridges and changes that allow us to get one step closer each day.
Step 2: Reprioritize what your dream health looks like
Second, I want you to think about your health goals and see if that’s what you really want your goal to be.
Most of us have an ideal weight that we want to hit. And I don’t know why we were taught that the number on the scale was the most important metric to base our health on, but honestly, it’s not serving us.
My ideal weight today is not what it was 3, 5 or 10 years ago. It’s even different than when I started my weight loss journey.
I used to think that I needed to see a certain number on the scale to be happy - and I reached that goal! But, as I explained earlier that weight wasn’t what made me happy. In fact, that number made me extremely unhealthy!
When I changed my goal from some made-up number and focused on living a healthy life overall everything changed. I ate food to nourish my body and because it tasted good! I worked out because I liked feeling strong. Even though my weight went up, I was so much happier!
There is a cost to reaching our “ideal weight.” And sometimes, it’s worth the cost to reach that goal. But sometimes it’s not.
If you graduated high school 10+ years ago and you’ve had a few babies, but your high school weight is still your ideal weight, it might be time to really look at what it would take to get to that point and determine if it’s worth the cost.
You may realize that it’s not worth skipping out on Friday night pizza with the family, or drinks out with your girlfriends just to see that number on the scale. On the other hand, you may realize that it is worth changing some of your eating habits so that you feel good in your skin.
Either way, it’s up to you! It’s your choice how far you want to go to change your weight.
But, I don’t want you to base your whole decision on the scale. I want you to look at other aspects of your life.
Do you want to be the mom who eats what her family eats?
Do you want to be the wife who is ok with going out for date night even if it might bump the scale up?
Do you want to be the friend who always has a healthy brunch suggestion?
Do you want to be the girl at the gym who is working out to get stronger or skinnier?
It’s important to look at your life as a whole before you commit to a goal weight.
I like having the occasional Starbucks run with my kids during the week. I like going out to eat for date night with my husband, but I know that I don’t like doing that every week.
As I’ve learned about my health and what it takes for me to feel my best, I’ve re-evaluated my habits and my life to make sure that my health goals align with what I want my life to look like. And because I’ve spent time working on my nutrition and my thoughts around the scale, I have been able to find a healthy balance where I can enjoy my food and my life.
Mama, you can have this too! You don’t have to go out to eat every time your kids ask. You can choose to prioritize your health (and their health!) without sacrificing all the fun memories. You can be healthy and live a full, vibrant life.
I help busy mamas, like you, lose weight and put themselves first without feeling guilt or shame. Schedule a free discovery call today to get started on your own health and weight loss journey.
