Losing Weight Using Psychology!

We are almost at the 6-month mark of the year, and some of us have already given up on our New Year's Resolutions, especially with regard to losing weight or just being healthy in general. Here are some tactics to help you reach your goal using Psychology!

1. Drink Water

Drinking water is essential. Did you know that most adults don't drink enough water daily? The same signals in your brain that tell you that you are hungry are also on the same pathway where your brain is telling you that you are thirsty and need to drink water. So, what you often feel as hunger may actually sometimes be thirst! Instead of grabbing a snack, drink some water first and see if your hunger signals go away!

2. Body envy is your enemy!

You walk into the gym, and you see a Greek god/goddess running on the treadmill or lifting an entire tire that could fit a monster truck (I've seen this myself, no joke!). You get super self-conscious, so you work out for 15 minutes and leave the gym. Stop doing this to yourself! Those beautiful creatures molded by Zeus himself also suffer from the same insecurities as you! What you may not see is everyone's inner struggles. Just focus on you! Also, you will be surprised at how nice some of the people at the gym are. Will you find narcissists there? Absolutely. But you will also find some of the best people you will ever meet who can even help you reach your goals! Just remember, having a 6 pack is NEVER the goal. While that can be aesthetically pleasing (debatable), the gym is there to help us get healthy and that can appear in many shapes and sizes. Love you the way YOU should be loved!

3. Be kind to yourself.

Okay, fair warning: I am not telling you to go eat an entire cake and tell yourself, "Giusseppe told me that I can, so I just forgive myself." That's not how being kind to yourself works. Being kind to yourself works like this:

Say you are on the keto diet, but you really want that candy bar. Try to go without it for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, you decide that you can go for 10 minutes; then go for 10 minutes! After 10 minutes, you are starting to really salivate, and you are dying to eat that candy bar—then GO FOR IT! It's completely okay. You did it; pat yourself on the back. The next time this same craving hits you, you know you can last 10 minutes without it. So, try for 15, then 20, and so on until you no longer crave it. The important lesson here is that you do not put so much pressure on yourself that you end up feeling guilty. Guilt leads to more overindulgence in food, which then leads to more guilt. You are literally trapping yourself in a cycle! Be kind to yourself and stop treating your diet as a form of punishment! It's a change of lifestyle, which is only going to benefit you in the long run, but it doesn't mean you can't indulge once in a while. Just don't overdo it and use some common sense.

Hope this helps! Remember, if you need help, you can always book a free 30-minute session with me! Sources: https://hub.jhu.edu/at-work/2020/01/15/focus-on-wellness-drinking-more-water/