Mindset
Mindset is one of the most unaddressed and unappreciated topics when it comes to weight loss. When learning how to lose weight we focus on how to diet right and how to exercise right, but we never focus on developing the right mindset. You see, when you’re trying to lose weight, your mind can often be your own worst enemy, because when you’re on your weight loss journey, you’ll find yourself having thoughts that are counterproductive to you achieving your weight loss goals. These self-defeating thoughts can be doubts about being able to lose weight, feelings of not wanting working out, or cravings for foods that go against your diet.
Counterproductive thoughts like these can lead you to do things that are detrimental to achieving weight loss. For example, if you’re constantly experiencing counterproductive thoughts about foods you crave, you’re very likely to abandon your diet so that you can indulge in your food cravings.
It’s important to understand that you will undoubtedly encounter counterproductive thoughts on your weight loss journey, so it is vital that you know how to deal with them.
How To Deal With Counterproductive Thoughts
To deal with counterproductive thoughts, you must first learn how to control your thoughts in general. You see, most people have little to no control of their thoughts. Which means they don’t have the ability to pick and choose what thoughts they think about and what thoughts they don’t. If a thought pops into their head, the person is unable to stop themselves from thinking about it.
This lack of control of your thoughts can be detrimental when you’re trying to lose weight because as we have already discussed when trying to lose weight, you will encounter many thoughts that are counterproductive to you achieving your weight loss goals.
If you are not able to control and get rid of these counterproductive thoughts quickly, they will stay on your mind and are likely to influence you to do actions that are counterproductive to you achieving your weight loss goals. Therefore, it is important to have control of your thoughts, so when you experience thoughts that are counterproductive to weight loss, you can cut those thoughts off quickly.
Become More Present
To gain more control of your thoughts you want to learn how to be more present. If you learn how to become naturally more present, you will have a lot more control over your thoughts and will be able to cut off thoughts that are counterproductive to you achieving your weight loss goals.
To be present means that your attention is focused on one thing and it doesn’t waiver and that one thing that your attention is focused on is the present moment.
People who are naturally present are usually focused on the present moment. Now if a thought pops into their head, they can choose to temporarily take their attention off the present moment and focus on the thought, but they’re making a choice to focus on that thought. They have control over what thoughts they choose to give attention to and what thoughts they don’t.
If a beneficial thought, like a good idea or epiphany, pops into their brain, they can choose to give that thought a lot of attention. If a negative thought pops into their brain, they can choose not to give that thought any attention and keep their attention focused on the current moment.
When they don’t give the negative thought any attention, the negative thought goes away. That is why people who are very present have such an advantage with weight loss. You see, if they encounter a thought that is counterproductive to them achieving their weight loss goals, they can choose not to pay any attention to that thought and keep their attention focused on the present moment and the counterproductive thought goes away.
How To Train Your Mind To Be More Present
Now that you understand that having a more present state of mind can help with weight loss, it’s important that you know how to train yourself to be more present.
To train yourself to become more present you want always to try your best to be in the moment. Whatever task you’re doing, give yourself to that task completely. For example, when you’re at work, totally be at work completely. Don’t allow your mind to drift and start thinking about things outside of work. Just focus on the task at hand.
When you don’t allow yourself to think of anything except what you’re doing at that moment, you’re training your mind to be naturally more present. As your mind becomes more and more present, your attention will become more and more naturally focused on the current moment.
It will be harder for thoughts to take your attention off the present moment unless you make a conscious choice to take your attention off the present moment so that you can give attention to that thought.
You will be able to decide what thoughts get your attention and what thoughts don’t. When a thought that is counterproductive to you achieving weight loss pops into your head, you will be able to choose not to give that thought any attention and keep your focus on the present. By not giving that counterproductive thought any attention the thought will go away and have little effect on you.