What is the mindset for a successful weight loss?

When you want to lose weight, you have to make sure this happens for all the right reasons and the most important of them all is that the end results will improve your life and they will make you feel better.
But how do you create a positive mindset before you start your weight loss journey?

If you are a woman, the subject of weight loss will inevitably appear in your life at one point. Be it in your family, among chats with your friends, reading about it in a magazine or being familiar with it while following your favourite Instagram account, losing weight is a topic no woman can escape.

While the Internet is full of tips and tricks, there are some particular ones that I like and I feel they work very well and they can actually help you shape a successful thinking strategy that will be a good friend in the time spent with finding out how to adjust your life to new habits that will improve your life, your body and your mind.

Coping with the social pressure

No matter how we look like, weight loss becomes a constant narrative in our lives, a pressure we feel we might never escape from. Just like a shadow, it sticks in the background of our minds, making us feel inadequate, as if there is something we always need to fix with our bodies. It starts as early as 7 years old now-a-days and it is a baggage young girls, teenagers and women sometimes carry along for their entire existence. This is truly scary!

This is a social construct and changing the narrative is a long and difficult path more and more women will have to be part of in order to shift this kind of thinking. It is only recently women have started to consciously realize that there are in fact no beauty standards to follow and that every woman, just like every human being, is unique in shape, size, genetic background, looks, habits and so on.

Having said that, it is important to keep in mind all of the above when you want to lose weight and treat this topic as a personal, inimitable journey that it is yours and yours alone and that can not resemble with anyone else’s.

Here are my proposals for a mindset that can lead to successful weight loss. Don’t forget – a positive mind goes a long way.

Slow and steady wins the race

Even if there is no race when it comes to losing weight, the point of the saying is that patience is key in this journey. Is there an actual amount of time one needs to spend in the weight loss process? NO! It takes as long as it takes depending on the steps you take in the process and on how your body reacts to the positive changes that you make.

Take this journey step by step, learn the lessons on the way, observe the reactions in your body and mind as time passes by, understand the process and your own feelings. The point is to really integrate this experience in your life with positivity, willingness and eagerness for the better self you become with every new healthy decision that you make and implement!

Don’t set weight goals, focus on behavioural ones

Losing weight is not about the number on the scale, but on how much better your life can get once you start having better habits in your life such as eating more vegetables and walking more. When we add habits that transform our lives for the better, we tend to keep doing that and this way of acting will only increase the good results we have and, thus, our vibe. And when we feel good, we take good decisions for ourselves as well.

So, do not obsess over jumping on the scale every morning. In fact, just leave the scale aside and, in the process of losing weight, start noticing how the new habits that you add transform your life for the better. Your best weight is the one you reach when you live the healthiest life you can actually enjoy!

Use positive psychology

Most conversations on losing weight focus on DON’Ts: don’t eat so many sweets, don’t drink that alcohol, don’t snack all day long. But what if we changed this don’ts into affirmative actions and start talking more about the benefits of positive behaviour in a weight loss process?

It is easier to incorporate one new, positive habit than to eliminate a less-than-positive behaviour. For example, add more vegetables to your meals every day, take the stairs instead of the elevator, eat an orange instead of drinking a glass of orange juice. This kind of habits will pile up in time and enrich your life while transforming it for the better.

Plan, prepare and take action

A weight loss journey does not depend on motivation! I know most conversations you have heard on the topic put motivation at the top of the hierarchy, but it is rather discipline that wins the game: doing what you have to do in order to get where you want to get. Putting up a plan with concrete actions is often better and more productive than just waiting for motivation to kick in.

While motivation might depend on emotional fluctuations, a plan is more rigorous and has a series of steps one needs to take in order to achieve the desired results. For example, if you want to start to eat better, then make sure you get rid of the unhealthy food in your home and fridge and replace it with vegetables, fruits, water and tea, lean meat and eggs.

Envision a better life for yourself, turn it into action, have patience, be constant and everything will fall into place!