Use your head for successful weight loss


Weight gain and loss begin in your head albeit in different areas of the same head! While your mouth is the portal for food, the brain is the CEO of your body. If you haven’t been expecting your brain to perform well at its job, it won’t.

It’s time to shake things up with your brain. Turn your brain into the weight loss success tool it’s meant to be. Your brain gives you the power to lose weight because it controls your actions, but you need to change its work habits, in other words, how it thinks.

Your brain might be a positive and clear-thinker most of the time but when it comes to your eating habits and beliefs about your weight its thoughts go awry. Negative thoughts (also called self-talk) can be the biggest reason your weight isn’t where you want it. Here are ten of the more common negative messages we give ourselves.

1. I was born this way. My whole family is overweight.
2. I can’t stop eating (insert the food or foods here) once I start.
3. I don’t have any metabolism.
4. I’m addicted to food.
5. I have no willpower.
6. People are always pushing food on me.
7. I cook for my family. They don’t like diet recipes and/or food.
8. It doesn’t matter what I do. I can’t lose weight.
9. It’s too hard.
10. I hate to exercise and anyway, I don’t have the time.

Just one of these negative messages is enough to stop you from reaching your goal. You might believe all ten and possibly a lot more. The more you repeat these thoughts, the truer they become and your false “truths” dominate your actions.

There is a saying that goes: Whatever you focus on the longest becomes the strongest. The more negativity you give yourself about your ability to achieve your desirable body weight, the more you’ll act in ways that make it your reality. It doesn’t matter that you want to a different outcome and you’re trying to achieve it, the negative thinking keeps you acting in ways that’s counterproductive. The results help to affirm your negative self-talk.

You can create a new reality by changing how you talk to yourself. Change the negative thoughts to positive thoughts.

1. My weight is a combination of genetics, environment, and behaviors. I have control over my environment and behaviors and that will bring out the best in my genes.
2. I can serve myself a reasonable portion and be satisfied when it’s gone.
3. Metabolism is the calories my body burns to circulate blood, breathe and regulate my body temperature. I have a pulse; I have a metabolism.
4. Food is a necessity of life (not an addictive substance) I am capable of managing my food.
5. I am strong and I can have what I want when I want it badly enough and I believe in my ability to succeed.
6. I can smile and say, “No, thank you,” and mean it.
7. Everybody can enjoy the meals I cook and if I watch serving sizes I can lose weight eating the same meals as the rest of my family.
8. I can lose weight even if the progress is slow I can still make progress.
9. I feel good when I succeed at what challenges me.
10. I can find activities that get me moving that are fun. I can make time for the things that make me happy.

Jackie Conn

About Jackie Conn
