5 Mental Barriers that May Be Blocking You From Losing Weight
5 Mental Barriers that May Be Blocking You From Losing Weight
Eat fewer calories than you burn. Sounds simple enough, right? Then why is it so hard to lose weight?
If you have tried and tried but still find yourself tugging on your belt loops to pull up your jeans and searching desperately through your closet for something that fits, it might be time to figure out just what is standing between you and your happy healthy weight.
As a Coach, I can tell you that my clients who struggle do so for a multitude of different reasons, all of which are real and valid, and all of which we can push through with hard work. You don’t need to stay stuck in the same sad body that’s been dragging you down for years.
Whether your weight loss barriers are physical or mental, you can overcome them and find your way to a healthier you.
Where to start?
Honestly, it’s all in your head. You cannot and will not lose the weight until you are in the right frame of mind to do it. When we talk about “willpower” and “focus,” we’re talking about your mental game. The hard truth is that before you get your body healthy, you have to get your head healthy.
What kinds of MENTAL barriers are keeping you from losing the weight?
1. Poor Body Image: A poor body image has been proven to keep people from fully committing to weight loss. If you don’t feel good about yourself, you are much more likely to give up before you get to your goal. To improve your body image, try focusing on your best quality. Practice impeccable grooming and quality self-care. You do not have to be at goal weight to have a great haircut! Be as kind to yourself as you are to others.
2. Emotional Eating: This one’s a doozy. If you look for food to sustain you in times of trouble, you are going to gain weight. And that weight will be troublesome. And you can bet your booty that will propel you to eat more. To stop emotional eating, you’ve got to find new and better supports. Look to friends, family, or a professional.
3. Comparing Yourself to Others: Simply, when you compare yourself to others, you lose. Occasionally, comparisons can boost your ego or motivate you to work harder, but most often, comparisons result in a disastrous assault on your ego, an attack that you instigated. Focus on you. Be selfish. Don’t worry about the other guy. Weight loss is all about you.
4. Making Yourself Low Priority: Even the airline will tell you: before you can save someone else, you have to put on your own oxygen mask. You will be better able to do your job, love your family, and be a friend if you take care of you first. Move yourself to the top of your priority list.
5. Lack of Trust: If you don’t believe you can lose the weight, you won’t. You’ll make excuses to skip exercising and eating better. Basically, your follow through will suck.
It all comes back to self-love.
To blast through your mental barriers, you’ve got to learn to love yourself and that means knowing yourself, seeing yourself as you really are, and being willing to nurture yourself the way you would anyone else you love.