The Right Mindset for Weight Loss

Weight loss is just as much about mindset and attitude as it is about healthy eating and exercise. To be successful we have to do both physical and mental work. There are now very effective medications to help with weight loss. The GLP medications (Semaglutide and Tirzepatide) even help us change the way we think and feel about food. Having the right mindset will help us to stay committed to our goals, overcome obstacles, and achieve weight loss we can sustain. So what can you do to get into and keep a positive mindset to start or continue your weight loss journey.

1. Focus on your goals: Having clear and specific goals in mind will help you stay motivated and committed to your weight loss journey. Your goals need to be yours – think about what you want, not what you think you are supposed to want. This journey isn’t about what the BMI chart says or what social media and the internet say. Goals don’t have to be numbers or a specific weight. Maybe for you it’s about physically feeling better or being able to be more active with your kids.
2. Adopt a positive attitude: Believe in yourself and your ability to achieve your weight loss goals. Avoid negative self-talk. For those of us that have struggled for years it requires a conscious decision to focus on what the next one step is that will move us toward our goal. When you feel overwhelmed it is usually because you are looking too far ahead. Focus on what is the one next thing you need to do to continue moving in the right direction. Keeping a positive also requires us to make a continuous effort not to focus on what hasn’t worked before, how many times we have tried and failed, or the reasons we think we can’t do it.  
3. Be patient: Weight loss is a gradual process that requires time and effort. You can’t expect overnight results and should instead work toward healthy weight loss. Focus on making sustainable lifestyle changes.
4. Stay consistent: Consistency is key to achieving lasting weight loss. Make healthy eating and exercise habits a part of your daily routine. While weight loss medication is a tool that can help you change habits and behaviors, you need to be willing to make changes to see results.
5. Don’t deprive yourself: Depriving yourself of your favorite foods can lead to binge eating and derailing your weight loss progress. It is also not likely to be sustainable over the long term. Instead, focus on having those things in moderation and in smaller portions.
6. Practice mindfulness: Pay attention to your body’s hunger and fullness cues. Avoid mindless snacking and emotional eating.  Also remember that you need to eat, you need nutrition. Make healthy choices and when you are full – stop.
7. Surround yourself with support: Surround yourself with people who support and encourage your weight loss journey. Our private Facebook group, Freedom Weight Loss Journey, is a great place to find support, encouragement and some pretty amazing people!
8. Track your progress: Keep track of your weight loss progress to see how far you’ve come. Celebrate your successes along the way to stay motivated. The me360 app is a great way to see your progress. It is free and will give you a body scan with measurements and even put progress scans side by side. Take measurements – sometimes even when the scale isn’t moving as fast as you would like your body is changing. Celebrate non-scale victories like putting on that pair of jeans you hadn’t been able to wear.
9. Focus on health, not just weight loss: Remember that weight loss is just one aspect of overall health. Focus on making sustainable lifestyle changes that benefit your physical and mental well-being. Blood pressure, A1C, blood sugar, cholesterol, and risk of cardiovascular disease all decrease significantly with weight loss.
10. Learn from setbacks: Weight loss is not a linear process. Setbacks are inevitable. Instead of giving up, use setbacks as an opportunity to learn and grow. Identify what caused the setback and use that insight to make improvements going forward. Remember that every week will not be perfect. You will have weeks where you “cheated” on your eating plan. There will be weeks you didn’t exercise like you had planned. You will have times that you feel like it’s too slow or you will never reach your goal. All these things all will happen at some point. It’s ok. Refocus and keep on!