How to Keep a Positive Attitude About Weight Loss

Most people think that if they can just get their eating and exercise habits in line, they’ll lose weight effortlessly and keep it off for good. What they often fail to realize is that their mental attitude plays a HUGE role in determining their physical actions day to day.

See: How Your Mood Can Influence Your Weight

Consider for a moment what your mental attitude is usually like, especially as it pertains to the state of your body. Do you avoid taking the actions that you know would be good for you?Do you “beat yourself up” for eating poorly? Do you try to force yourself to eat right and exercise?

Developing a positive attitude about weight loss can make the process much easier! Rather than fighting an inner battle with yourself (“Have to do this; don’t want to do this; this sucks; I hate exercise . . .”), you can develop the willingness – or even the enthusiasm – to stick to your weight loss plan and make the process virtually effortless.

Here are 6 good ways to start:

1) Get clear about WHY you want it. Why do you want to lose weight? What will you gain by being slim and healthy? When you think about yourself finally being healthy and thin, which parts of that vision are most thrilling to you? Write these reasons down and keep them close so you can keep reading them daily.

See: Make a List of Reasons to Stick to Your Goals

2) Make lifestyle changes. Don’t say you’re “on a diet” – say that you’re making “healthy lifestyle changes,” or “getting healthy”. These phrases are more positive and affirming rather than the “D” word, which brings to mind restriction and deprivation.

See: Why Diets Don’t Help With Permanent Weight Loss

3) Build yourself up. Never, ever, EVER talk down to yourself or about yourself. Don’t berate yourself if you eat something you shouldn’t, and don’t engage in defeatist thinking like, “I don’t know why I bother, I’ll never lose this weight.” Be your own cheerleader and build yourself up at every possible opportunity. “I can do this. This is easy. I feel good about the changes I’m making. Good for me for caring about my health. I deserve to be healthy.” Self-talk like this is much more motivating than trying to whip yourself into shape by sheer force of will.

See: Focus on the Positive and Ditch the Negative

4) See yourself fitter and energized. Spend a few minutes each day tuning into a mental vision of yourself being slender, healthy, and happy. Don’t just “see” this mentally, but try to bring the feeling of it into your body right now. What would your body FEEL like if you were slim, fit, and healthy? Keep focusing on that feeling as often as you can; at least once per day. This will make the achievement of your goal seem much more realistic and possible.

See: How to Save for Your New Smaller Wardrobe

5) Love your body. Spend time each day focusing on the things you already like about your body. Do you love your hands, hair, eyes, feet, legs? Pick one thing that you honestly love about your body, and focus on it. List the reasons why you love it, and simply feel appreciation for it. Doing this daily sets you up to keep noticing more and more things you appreciate about your body, rather than constantly nitpicking and complaining about the parts of your body you aren’t happy with.

See: Self-Love and Weight Loss: Loving the Pounds Away

6) Realize you have plenty of time. Trying to “hurry up and lose weight” is one of the worst things you can do, because you’re constantly calling attention to the fact that things are moving slower than you’d like them to. All this does is make you feel frustrated, and you’ll be much more likely to give up because you aren’t getting the results you want. Instead, make time your friend. Keep affirming that you have plenty of time. Remind yourself that time is going to pass no matter what you do, so you may as well spend it taking good care of yourself and working toward your goal. This patient attitude relieves pressure and allows you to focus more on the results you ARE achieving - rather than obsessing about the results you haven’t yet achieved.

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