Think Yourself Thin: 10 Thoughts to Help You Lose Weight

Weight loss is as much of, if not more of a mental challenge than a physical one. While you might not be able to think yourself think in the literal sense, your thoughts do have a strong influence on your success. Here are 10 thoughts to keep your mind right and help you lose weight.

Today is the Day

You can’t reach your goals if you never start. Tomorrow and Monday are popular days to start diets, but today is just as good as any other. Why not start now? One of the toughest aspects of a fitness program is simply starting one. Everyone wants to, but not everyone does. Stop thinking about starting one and actually start one. Be a doer. Flip the switch and make your next meal a healthy one. You can do it.

My Friends Will Be a Positive Influence

Surround yourself with people who will pick you up instead of put you down for your lifestyle choices. We are strongly influenced by the people closest to us. Don’t feel the need to explain your choices to those who don’t support you. Be your own person. You have to live with the consequences of your lifestyle choices. Do what makes you happy. If you’re not happy, the people around you aren’t happy either.

That ______ is OK to Eat in Moderation

Most people hear the word “diet” and they immediately feel deprived. There’s no need to feel this way. You can still eat all the things you love as part of your healthy lifestyle. As long as 90% of your life is healthy eating mixed in with 10% of pleasure foods, you’re going to be very successful. The problem lies in the lifestyles that are 90% pleasure eating mixed in with 10% healthy eating. Get the ratios right, and you can enjoy just about anything within your caloric limits.

My Weight Will Fluctuate

Weight loss isn’t linear. It does not go from point A to B in a straight line. Successful weight loss is one gigantic zig-zag. This is partly due to body function variations or one-off lifestyle events, but it’s also because weight is such a meaningless measurement. Try focusing more on fat loss and body composition. Measuring your progress this way will keep you motivated instead of getting you discouraged over a meaningless number on a scale.

My Health is the Priority

I want to look great, but I understand the ultimate goal is to be healthy. With good health comes a better body. You might have started your weight loss journey for any number of reasons. Maybe it was to have a certain body. Maybe it was to fit into particular clothes. These goals are fine to have, but eventually you come to realize that you just want to be healthy. With that mindset, you will achieve all the secondary satisfactions and benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

I Need to Have Some Patience

It took a while to put the weight on, it will take a while to take it off. Have a little patience. Your current physique is the culmination of years of lifestyle choices. The good news is that lifestyle choices got you to where you are, and lifestyle choices will get you to where you want to go. Be patient. Be consistent.

I Can Do Anything

If you don’t try, you’ll never succeed. If you want to accomplish your goals, you’re going to have to put aside any preconceived notions for why you can’t accomplish them. Can’t is going to have to be erased from your vocabulary. You’ve already succeeded at many things in your life that others thought were impossible. People lose weight every day. There’s no reason why you can’t – you will.

This Will Only Get Easier

Don’t give up. The hardest part of starting a fitness program is getting a new lifestyle routine established as part of your day to day life. Whether it’s getting past those difficult first couple weeks of dieting, or it’s getting up a little earlier every day to work out, once you start making fitness a part of your everyday life, what you do – just is.

I Control My Body. My Body Does Not Control Me

This is a little bit of mind over matter. Point being, successful weight loss comes from being in control of your body. During your journey, your body is going to throw everything it has at you in an effort to maintain the status quo. Physical and mental challenges are going to be forthcoming. The key to remember is that you own your thoughts. You are what you think. Practice self-control and success will follow.

I’ve Already Made it So Far

Looking forward always seems so far away. It can be very discouraging to think that you have to keep doing what you’ve been doing for months or even years. Instead, take a look back at how far you’ve come. You’re already a different person from all the short-term goals you’ve accomplished. Simply undertaking and making it through a couple weeks of a new fitness program means you’ve made it farther than the majority of the population. Be proud of yourself, and keep that positivity moving forward.