6 Mental Tips to Achieve Weight Loss Triumph

So much of weight loss is mental. In fact, I would venture to say that losing weight is more of a mental challenge than a physical one. With that in mind, it makes sense to focus on some of the mental aspects of weight loss so that you can achieve weight loss triumph.

Being Healthy Isn’t About Restriction

Here’s a list of things you can NEVER EVER have if you want to lose weight. Stop. Do you see how that automatically elicited a negative emotion? Tell someone they can’t have something and they almost certainly will want it more. Now, that doesn’t mean you can just expect to eat whatever you want and still lose weight. Instead of thinking about all the things you can’t have, try thinking about all the things you can.

Eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to eat bland chicken breast with rice every day. You have to enjoy your food. Nature provides so many different delicious foods for you to eat, and there are countless ways you can combine them to change their flavor, or prepare them to change their texture. Herbs and sauces can be made to add flavor too. Before you know it, you won’t even miss the processed stuff. Just think of all the new foods you will get to try!

Here are 100 different healthy foods you can mix and match to your choosing.

You Need to Enjoy Your Exercise

It’s time to get it out of your mind that exercise is some kind of laborious duty that just has to be done if you want to be fit. Exercise should be enjoyable. Do you remember when you used to play as a kid? You were getting in all kinds of physical activity and you didn’t even realize it. You’re never going to succeed long term if you dread your workouts. There has to be some kind of physical activity you enjoy. Find it. Then stop thinking about it. Do it. Enjoy it. Have fun with it and you’ll never work out a day in your life.

Here’s what you can do if you don’t like exercise.

Here’s how to make exercise your playtime.

Don’t Worry About Failing – It’s Going to Happen

Let’s get this out of the way now. You are going to fail. No one is perfect. Your weight loss journey will be paved with failures and triumphs. You will learn something new about yourself each and every time you fail. Vary rarely does someone make it from point A to point B without hitting a few bumps along the way. If you understand beforehand that failure is common, you won’t get so discouraged when it does happen. Instead, you can reflect on the failure, learn from it, and find a way to keep it from happening in the future. You’ll be mentally stronger as a result.

Read more about how failure in fitness is not only an option, it’s essential.

Set Achievable Goals

What? You want to lose 50 pounds in 4 months before your wedding? You need to drop 30 pounds before summer in 2 months? What’s going to happen is you’re going to get 1/4 to 1/2 of the way into your program and realize that you’re going to come nowhere close to reaching that goal. Then, you’re going to give up altogether, add the weight back, and maybe then some.

If you would just set achievable goals from the start, you have the potential to lose anywhere from 9-15% body fat over the course of 4 months, and believe me, that is a big transformation. It may not be 50 pounds, but you are going to look a lot different – certainly a lot different than if you went into it with big expectations, failed, and lost nothing at all. Remember to set realistic goals from the start.

Read more about setting achievable goals.

Forget About “Weight”

We all start off wanting to lose weight. There’s nothing wrong with that want in particular. However, if you go into this journey with the goal of getting healthy, you will soon see that weight loss will be a pleasant side effect. You didn’t try to gain weight, so don’t try to lose it. Make weight loss an afterthought. Change your body from the inside out by treating it well, feeding it good food, and keeping it active. Trust me, your body will start changing right before your eyes. Stop obsessing about losing weight. Put it out of your mind and just be healthy.

Read more about why you shouldn’t use the scale to gauge healthy.

Find Your Motivation

We’ve all had that spark that initiated our desire to want to lose weight, and the reasons range from wanting to see grandkids grow up to just wanting to look good in a swimsuit for summer. There is no wrong reason for wanting to get fit. Plus, your motivation is going to change over time. At first, I just wanted to look good. Then I wanted big muscles. Then I wanted to be the strongest I could be. But now, I just want to be fit, healthy, and injury free.

Not sure what your motivation is? Here are 101 ways to get motivated to lose weight.

What’s your motivation? Write it down. Put it somewhere you will see it every single day. Remind yourself why you are doing this. The beginning is the hardest, but once you start seeing results, the motivation takes care of itself and starts building on itself. Making progress is a great motivator, and once you’re seeing it, nothing can hold you back. Dig down and find your drive and remind yourself of it constantly. Then, let your foot off the pedal and cruise to the finish line.