How To Begin Your Weightloss Journey
Are you struggling to lose weight? Have you tried quick tricks and gimmicks- the fad diets, severe calorie restriction, and workout programs to no avail? Have you tried everything yet nothing has worked? Maybe there is a solution that you haven’t considered yet. The missing puzzle piece that will make everything fall into place for you and it is probably not what you think it is… consider self care.
The Best Way To Lose Weight Is Not What You May Think…
Self-care is a hot topic especially in the crazy times we are living through. The stress of covid has added more hurdles to daily life. You may think of self-care as a massage, splurging on a meal at your favorite restaurant, or a night out with friends. While these activities are wonderful and relaxing they do not replace true self-care. True self-care goes much deeper and includes how we choose to nourish our body, mind, and soul.
Self-care begins with compassion and self-acceptance. Most of us find it easy to offer compassion and understanding to our friends, children, and loved ones yet we are so very hard on ourselves. We engage in negative self-talk, blame ourselves, and disparage our bodies. We think that we will love ourselves when we lose that 15 or 20 pounds, when we fit in a smaller size of clothing, or some other external measure… but why not love yourself now, unconditionally? In fact, positive self acceptance has been shown to increase the likelihood of reaching your goals including weight loss goals. And lack of self-compassion does not help. In fact, if anything, not offering yourself compassion and understanding talk will make you less likely to engage in healthy behaviors and less likely to lose weight. Loving yourself where you and how you are now is a crucial step towards healthy habit change and weight loss. Start by having self acceptance, love and compassion for yourself and progress including weight loss will be sure to follow.
Self-Awareness & Weight Loss
Self-awareness is another important component of your weight loss journey. Discover what drives your desires and intentions. Why do you truly want to lose weight? Sometimes people start with exterior goals like looking better- and that’s OK! But upon further digging and questioning, we can get to the true heart of what we desire for ourselves and this knowing is what will drive durable change. Some examples are:
“I want to be well and live well.”
“I want to feel vibrant and full of energy.”
“I want to care for myself so that I can care for others and contribute to my family, my profession, my community.”
Take a deep investigative look at your reasons for wanting to lose weight and more broadly for wanting…needing to live well. If we can align our habits with these deep core values, then we are more likely to stay motivated and persist in the effort to achieve our goals including maintaining healthy habits that result in successful weight loss. Dial into your why. Sadness, guilt and shame are often the driving emotions behind wanting to lose weight. These negative emotions will only result in sabotage. Often the goal is also to lose weight quickly- but what engenders quick weight loss often leads to behaviors that cannot be sustained leading the diet to eventually fail. That’s why it’s important to create a lifestyle through mindset change. When we are aware of our deepest desires and values we can use them as a guide to align our motivation with our actions. Without taking time to analyze our feelings, it is easy to react emotionally instead of from a place of intention where what we choose to do is what is right for our bodies and right for ourselves.
Mindset Changes To Help You Lose Weight Fast
Strive for progress and not for perfection. Don’t fixate on the numbers on a scale to validate how you feel or your health choices. Be intuitive about your body, your hunger and your health. Celebrate all progress, (not just the numbers) but your mood, energy level, the quality of your sleep, maybe you were able to get off that medication for diabetes or your high blood pressure or your skin is clearer. Maybe you just managed to stall the steady weight gain you have been experiencing. This is real progress! This is what living and embodying a healthy life feels like. Embrace your wins, savor them and retrieve them from you memory as affirmation and support on days when you may feel less motivated or confident. Because let’s face it- those days will come!
“Choose your hard”
This is a mantra that we have been hearing a lot of lately. Starting an exercise routine is hard and difficult at first. It can even be intimidating. It can feel hard to meal prep and plan meals compared to grabbing a quick bite or ordering in. While these things aren’t easy at first they can be made easier when you stay aligned with the long term goal. Remember your why, remember that difficult decisions in the short term will pay off in the long term. Also remember what seems difficult at first will become second nature once it becomes routine.
Remember that you don’t need to be perfect to be successful. Being consistent does not mean you can never indulge or make a choice to consume something decadent. There will be days that you may mindfully choose to eat something you truly enjoy. Make it matter! Enjoy it and move on. Being consistent means that you can make that choice then resume your routine. You can also find enjoyment in fueling your body with wholesome food. Find enjoyment in feeling light and not overly full or bogged down by heavy or non-nutritious food. Find enjoyment in moving your body and noticing your stamina, strength and energy improve. Find enjoyment in getting adequate and restorative sleep. And notice how these changes in lifestyle affect your overall mood, productivity and wellbeing. Life is about balance and that is the beauty of it.
Be Successful With Your Weight Loss
Any journey in life requires patience, practice, perseverance, and resilience. All worthy endeavors require time and patience as do all relationships. Our relationship with food, our bodies and ourselves is not any different. It is important to have patience with the inevitable ups and downs – they too are a part of life, just as are the successes. Implement practical strategies, strategies like having a routine and having a plan are critical. Our brains are capable of processing only so much each day and starting with a new lifestyle or dietary pattern can feel overwhelming at first. Making a realistic plan will help. Pick one goal per week. Plan it out. Write it down. And work on it. Next, create a ritual. Instead of considering multiple options multiple times per day, and giving yourself the opportunity to negotiate with yourself, make it a ritual. Decision fatigue is real! You will find that just doing it is much easier than thinking about it over, and over and over again. So, plan out your meals at the start of every week. Make a habit of shopping once or twice a week to keep your fridge stocked with healthy choices and options. Consider meal prepping your lunch the night before so that it is ready for you the next day. So too with exercise. Pick a time of day when you can engage in movement and choose an amount of time that is realistic and doable. Schedule it and don’t negotiate! Once you’re moving you’ll be happy for it!!
Avoid having to turn to unhealthy options when you are out running errands or when the 3pm midday hunger strikes by throwing one of my delish (and functional) bars in your bag or purse and stocking your pantry with this healthy option. dehlbars are all 190 calories and 16 grams of protein to help keep you full without breaking the calorie bank! Each dehlbar is made with functional ingredients to promote health and wellbeing. Our Cacao-Ashwagandha bar is a great option for those days where you are feeling anxious and need focus. Ashwagandha naturally helps to manage stress and anxiety and promote cognitive health. If you need an energy boost, our Coffee Bean Mocha Bar would be the choice for you. You could also supplement your diet with one of our organic protein drinks. For chocolate lovers we have a grass-fed chocolate protein, vanilla, or a plain pure organic whey protein which is versatile and can be mixed into a green drink. A little preparation can save you from making poor food choices when you are stressed, overwhelmed, cranky, and hungry.
