Changing Mindset for Weight Loss: 7 Secrets to Stay in Shape

Your mindset is essential to making any lasting change. In the short term, you may be able to motivate yourself to work out and eat a slightly more healthy diet for a few weeks. However, without the right mindset for losing weight, you may find yourself slipping back into unhealthy habits. In order to make a lasting change, make a plan to change your mindset for weight loss. In this article, we share eight tips on how you can refocus on your weight-loss goals and start seeing results.

Having a clear set of achievable goals will help you maintain the correct mindset for weight loss. If you have a positive growth mindset and believe that you can achieve the things you set your mind to over time, you will be able to create and reach goals. Starting with goals gives you a clear vision of what you want to achieve.

Think beyond "I want to lose 10 pounds" and go for a wide range of goals within your control, such as:

• Being able to bike 25 minutes to work without stopping
  
• Replacing soda and sugary drinks with tea, coffee, and water
  
• Being able to play an entire game or round of your favorite sport
  
• Knowing how to read a food nutrition label and use it to make healthy choices
  

For many of us, food is an emotional and inspiring reward. It's incredibly easy to turn to your favorite comfort food after a long day or reward yourself for hard work with a snack. Breaking the connection that "food = reward" is crucial to changing your mindset for weight loss. Once you train yourself to feel satisfaction from repeatedly reaching your goals, you can more easily break the habit of rewarding or comforting yourself with food.

In the same vein, it's never good to deny yourself when changing your mindset for weight loss. Avoid grouping foods into "bad" or "good" categories; while there are obviously some foods that are worse for your health than others, do your best to separate emotions from your healthy choices. Additionally, it's completely okay to indulge in your favorite foods in moderation, no matter how "bad" you may feel like it is. Life is all about finding balance, so don't deny yourself the foods you love every now and then!

Far too often, we eat our meals in a rush. Slow down meal time, and take the time to enjoy your food if you truly want a mindset to lose weight. If you slow down meal time, you will be less likely to overeat. People commonly overeat because of a variety of social or cultural reasons, but the best way to combat overeating is to stop eating before you start to feel too full. If you wait until you feel full to stop eating, when you digest your entire meal, you'll begin to feel stuffed.

Self-discipline is important for developing the right mindset to lose weight. You'll often have to tell other people "no" throughout the process. Whether you're turning down a night in with your family to head to the gym or turning down doughnuts in the office, you'll need a reserve of self-discipline to draw on to make these tough choices.

One way to make your journey easier and increase your self-discipline is by removing temptations. If you normally pass by your favorite fast food place on your way home from work, consider taking another way home so you're less tempted to stop and grab something to eat.

Having patience is key to a good mindset for losing weight. It can be incredibly tempting to weigh yourself every morning, but if you will be discouraged by natural weight fluctuation, it may be best to stick to a weekly weigh-in. However you choose to track your progress, make sure you give yourself a long timeline to achieve your goals. Real life and human biology can often get in the way of our weight-loss goals, and part of having the right mindset to lose weight is accepting that it will take time.

Exercise of any kind is extremely important if you're seriously looking to lose weight. While you can't exercise away a diet of junk food, keeping your body active will not only help you achieve a good mindset for losing weight, but also shorten the amount of time it takes. Talk to your doctor or healthcare professional about an exercise plan that would work for you, making sure you consider cardio activity (like dancing, running, and swimming) as well as strength training to get the best results.

If you want to motivate yourself toward the right mindset for losing weight, using a weight-loss journal can help. There will be days or even weeks when getting to the gym is impossible or you can't seem to shake your junk food cravings. Even worse are the family gatherings and social obligations that take you off track with your weight loss. If you keep an honest record in your weight-loss journal, not only will you be able to look back at all your hard work on the bad days, but you'll be able to notice patterns over time and adjust your strategy as needed.

To create the right mindset for weight loss, you need a solid plan. If you have achievable goals for your weight loss, including your diet and fitness, you and your doctor can create a strategy to reach them. Make sure to keep yourself in the right mindset. Remember, there is no such thing as "good" or "bad" food, and it's important to disconnect your emotions from your eating habits.

The right mindset to lose weight is one where you slow down to enjoy your meals, find a form of exercise that you enjoy, and work toward your goals with both patience and persistence. If you keep working with a good mindset for weight loss, you will see results over time.