Positive Thinking-to help lose weight!!!

[dietgirl24]

I think 90% of losing weight is mental. I don't see any recent positive thinking threads so I thought I would get the ball rolling!!

What does everyone do to stay positive and focus on their weight loss journey? Would love to trade tips xx



My favourite quote is "whether you think you can do it or not, you're probably right"-Henry Ford.

Self-belief is so important. If you think you can do something, you more than likely will do it.

I heard this guy talking on the radio saying "if you talk yourself up, you'll go up. If you talk yourself down you'll go down" and that struck a chord with me.

Other people have already mentioned affirmations; this is something I do too on a daily basis. Definitely gives me a boost at the start of my day:

*I believe I can do anything I set my mind to
*I am great
*I believe in myself

I say these 100 times a day! It does work

I also read success stories a lot as it's important to "stick with the winners"! I figure "if it works for them, then it'll work for me too".

I like some slogans too:
-Your stomach is not a rubbish bin
-Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels
-Keep on keeping on
-Dust yourself off and start again
-Life is what you make it
-Glass half-full or half empty?
-If it's to be, it's up to me

*I also like "it's a numbers game", meaning that I have to keep persisting. I might not get there straight away but if I keep trying and trying, I will eventually get there through sheer determination.


Practice *does* make perfect- the more times you try something, the easier it gets, the more engrained as a habit it becomes and eventually it becomes almost like second nature.

 

[Harriet101]

you are right about the mind - the problem with positive thinking is most people try it then are drowned in negative thoughts. Look at our media - conflict driven to sell more papers.

I spend all my time retraining my brain to see where I want to be.

Affirmations are not so useful for me. I use visualisations, play movies in my mind of how I want to be - these produce the feelings that I am my ideal size. This will tell your subconscious to start acting in accordance. Magic!

A Media fast is good. No news, no papers just for a day or 2.

I am careful who I share my ambitions with - some people are professional put downers.

Great thread!

 

[dietgirl24]

Aw thanks hun!

Yeah I was in Weight Watchers and they were telling us that some people will deliberately try to sabotage your weight loss success. They call them "saboteurs".

Examples would include someone telling you "you've lost enough already", "you're overdoing it" (when you're just being sensible about the thing) or a backhanded compliment "you look so much better now than you did before" etc.

All motivated by jealousy pretty much! Also, some people will find it hard to accept the change in you. As people lose weight, their confidence, self-esteem etc. grows and this can be unsettling for some people who may not be that confident in themselves anyway. People can put you in a certain box and when you go out of that box, some people don't know what to think. But that is their problem! lol!

I do find this website very motivating though as everyone on here is trying to lose weight and supportive of one another.

Might just try your tip about playing a movie in my mind about how I want to be

 

[dietgirl24]

Oh, I was in a bit a of a bad mood today but then I thought "Priortise". Which is more important: my weight loss programme or my bad mood? Sure, I wasn't feeling the best today but I thought "I need to exercise now, I can be miserable all I like later". I had important things to do and I didn't have time to sulk! By posponing my bad mood, I cheered myself up and feel fine now

It also occurred to me that self-doubt is so silly. Everyone has fears, everyone has off days. It's how we handle our problems that matters. Sink or swim. I choose to swim.

I think self-doubt is silly because often times, we know we have the capability to do something yet still fear it. Life is challenging but there is never one dull moment! It keeps us on our toes and I find myself looking forward to challenges now instead of dreading them as before. I think to myself "I'm getting bored, I need to step it up a bit" whereas before I would shy away from risk. I like the mental challenge, of proving to *myself* I can do it. Not to anyone else but me.

 

[dietgirl24]

I was teaching someone computing recently and I realised the importance of patience-both with other people and ourselves.

I need to be patient with myself when I'm taking on new challenges and goals. Give myself praise, be positive and give myself a pep talk every now and then should I feel disheartened

 

[Harriet101]

everything you say is spot on. In fact you can take prioritising your moods further and actually choose your emotions. Theres a great article and i will post the link about this when I get to 50 posts...anyway I did this yesterday with doing hubbys accounts (grrr...I mean grr no more actually!")...and by the evening not only had we got the lions share done but he was actually saying things like 'im sorry its a bind i know'

nearly fell off my chair!

anyway you can choose your emotions over your weight loss. So Sat was a dire day with many crap decisions on the part of moi, but I can now wake up Sun and leave that behind.

Big reward Monday weigh in of 4 lbs lost over last 2 weeks

Good to talk to you, as what we are discussing is THE key to weight loss and happiness in general.

 

[small steps]

I'm glad this topic was started. Positive thinking is the key to a successful and happy weight loss journey.

After the first couple of weeks of motivated dieting, when the large weekly weight losses turn into a steady 1-2lb weight loss, I find the negativity sets in. I really seem to want an instant fix or the promise of something unachievable.

I am trying to remind myself that I didn't gain the weight in 10 weeks, so I shouldn't expect to lose it all in 10 weeks. This forum is really helpful for gaining some inspiration and support.

On a Diet Chef thread I posted the 5 most positive points about my current diet. It really helped me remember what I have achieved.

 

[small steps]

I read a book recently which made me think about myself and dieting differently. Here are some of the messages which struck a chord: (they are paraphrased)

You wouldn't shout at your child and say 'your ugly, worthless, fat' - yet we say these messages to ourselves....
Stuffing yourself with food (and becoming uncomfortably full) is not love, its punishment.
With real hunger, an apple will satisfy your hunger. If you crave cheesecake and eat piece after piece and still feel hungry, your hunger is emotional. No food will satisfy it - you need to identify why you are eating ie. boredom, anger, anxiety.

The book is called Women, Food and God, by Roth Green. The entire book was not too my taste, but there were some interesting ideas. Apparently Oprah has said the book has changed her life....

 

[dietgirl24]

I found this book called the "Beck Diet Solution: How to Think Like a Thin Person" because I read the thread about it here. It's by a psychologist Judith Beck who's the daughter of Aaron Beck, the founder of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) which is a popular treatment for depression, OCD, weight control, anxiety, eating disorders etc.

It basically says that you can pick whatever diet you want as long as you master certain habits like eat slowly, eat sitting down, leave some food on your plate. It also has some tips to manage your thoughts like identify your sabotaging thoughts and write counteracting thoughts on index cards (she calls them "response cards") and read them at least twice a day, especially when you're tempted to overeat e.g. "I look terrible" would be the sabotaging thought and "I look great" would be the counteracting thought. She says that most dieters sabotage their diets with negative/saobtaging thinking so this is something I'm watching out for now!

Like you SmallSteps, I get frustrated with the process. You're doing really well with your weight loss and understanding the mental triggers for overeating can only help us along I like instant gratification (don't we all!) I used food as instant gratification- anytime I felt bad, I reached for the food whereas now I have to problem solve, use positive thinking etc..

It can take some good getting used to but I am adamant that I want a total lifestyle change and that's what I'm getting. I've cut down on the amount of TV I watch too after I read that people who watch hours of TV every day are more likely to be obsese! It makes sense really, but I never heard it put in such blunt terms. I also have cut down on internet time, time spent in my house-I'm always out and about now and I feel life is more interesting. Food didn't make me happy.

Oh well done Harriet101 on the weight loss, you're doing really well! You'll be at goal soon