One of the common reasons people give up on their weight loss goal is because they feel like they are failing. Restrictive diets or hard-core exercise regimes feel like a punishment. If you skip a day or eat something that is not on the diet you feel like you are failing, it is too hard, or you are not capable of losing weight. This is ‘all or nothing’ thinking and is not helpful when losing weight. You are capable of releasing weight on your body, and losing weight can be enjoyable, you just have to know how to not give up on weight loss.
What is all or nothing thinking?
All or nothing thinking is when you think you need to do everything without making any mistakes. You decide if you are not ‘all in’ or can follow the plan perfectly, then you will not start or do nothing instead. It doesn’t make sense! If you don’t think you can follow a diet perfectly or go to the gym 5 times a week, then you choose to do nothing and fail ahead of time. But here is the thing, releasing weight on your body requires consistency, not perfectionism.
Consistency in weight loss
Consistency means that you keep taking action. It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes. You will make mistakes and that doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you. It means you have a human brain. We all make mistakes. It is all part of life and the weight loss journey. It is how you choose to think about those mistakes that count.
When you don’t berate yourself for not being perfect, you can be curious and ask yourself why you didn’t follow the plan. When you ask your brain good questions it will find you the answer. When you come from a place of curiosity and kindness you can get to the cause of the mistake. Getting to the cause helps you create strategies or have some compassion for yourself. Remember small changes are more manageable than a complete overhaul. Check out last week’s article on this HERE.
How To Be Consistent in Weight Loss
I have a friend who always says it doesn’t matter about mistakes or bumps along the road, as long as the trajectory is going in the right direction. I love this phrase, it is truthful in any new challenge you are working on. What it looks like in real life is deciding to improve your results and then continue taking action until it becomes a habit or a pattern that you do every day…or most days. There will be mistakes, and that is OK. The trajectory does not need to be a perfect line upwards.
When I decided to cut out my afternoon sugary snack, I started with changing up the snack a couple of times a week to a piece of fruit. My brain complained a little bit, but not as much as if I decided I needed to be perfect and give up the snack altogether. Next came increasing the number of days I had fruit. This reduced my sugar craving. Next came changing to some chewing gum, before deciding to replace chewing gum with water. The water had the by-product of stopping my afternoon slump. Hey Presto! I had weaned myself off the sugary snack in a way that did not leave me feeling restricted or deprived. I had also upped my water intake and felt so much better in the late afternoon. I had more energy, felt lighter, and felt proud of myself.
How Not To Give Up On Weight Loss
- Make small changes each week that you are prepared to do for the rest of your life
- You don’t need to be perfect – making mistakes is part of the journey
- Know that you will have some thoughts about previous attempts at weight loss – they are not helpful. Just notice these and decide to think differently. Entertaining these thoughts will lead to the same results you have already achieved
- Think positive thoughts on purpose – I can do this, or I am open to believing I can do this. Don’t judge yourself – be kind and curious
- Decide what you can do today that is better than yesterday
So, stop trying to do things perfectly. This is a formula for all or nothing thinking and can lead to giving up on looking and feeling amazing. Have some compassion that you have a human brain and will make mistakes, and that is OK. Just keep going.
If you are finding weight loss hard, and want the step-by-step formula to help you enjoy releasing fat on your body, then schedule a free no-obligation call HERE. We can talk about your challenges and see if coaching is a good fit to get you feeling confident around food and your weight.
Have a beautiful day
