Recently, I asked my Instagram followers what they would like me to post about and the most popular answers were either weight loss or how to start exercising (in order to lose weight/get healthy).
Here is my number one weight loss tip: the truth about weight loss. You do not hear the weight loss industry talking about this for the simple reason that if you really get this, you will be able to stop dieting — the USD190bn industry (which is forecast to be worth nearly USD300bn by 2027) depends on the fact that 90-95% of diets fail so why would they tell you how to stop dieting?
Here is the truth: You’re focused on the wrong thing!
If you’re focused on what you do/should do and what you eat/should eat, you’re focused on the wrong thing and this is why you’re not getting any results (or any results you get are temporary).
Food/weight/body issues are rarely to do with what you eat, it’s about how you feel about yourself. It starts in your head; what you think and how you feel (about yourself, body, food, exercise) — your mindset. It’s 90% mindset, 10% action/the choices you make. With the right mindset, taking the right actions becomes easy.
Making good choices that support health and weight loss is a natural consequence of feeling good about yourself, having a healthy relationship with your body, loving and respecting yourself. Making bad choices and self-sabotaging is indicative of the opposite — feeling not good enough, lack of self-love and acceptance.
No diet or exercise plan works until you really truly get this; until you realise that you do not have to change, that you are good enough, that you can love yourself now. As long as you feel bad about yourself you will always find a way to self-sabotage — we should all know this from experience by now! And, by the way, this goes for everything, including business, career, finances and relationships.
Women have also been led to believe that they’re lazy or not working hard enough if they can’t stick to diets. You’re greedy, have no self-control, no willpower, you should be ashamed of yourself… these are the messages we get all the time and what we say to ourselves. None of this is true! But keeping you feeling bad about yourself, as if you’re not good enough and need to change, makes it easier to sell you diets and exercise plans. The industry pretty much depends on women with low self-esteem. Stop buying into this; it’s time to take your power back!
So the question is not what should eat or what should I do.
The question is why can’t I stop eating the things I said I wouldn’t eat? Why can’t I get off this couch just for a walk? Why do I keep self-sabotaging? Why do I view looking after my body and health as a punishment when it’s actually a loving thing to do? Why do I think that it’s a treat to lie on the couch and eat takeaways and junk food while watching trashy TV, when it’s actually harming my body, mental health and my self-esteem? How can something that makes me feel so bad about myself be a treat and something that could make me feel good about myself be a punishment? These are some great questions to begin with, other questions and thoughts will come up as you explore your thoughts and feelings. Listen to yourself and then believe yourself; do not dismiss your inner thoughts and feelings.
This is all there is to it. You’ll obviously have to do the work and I’m not going to lie and say the work is easy, but at least you’re doing the right kind of work that leads to long-term permanent results and every step along the way will be hugely rewarding.
Want to learn more? contact me about weight loss coaching