So many people today are looking for the holy grail of weight loss. They want to know what the secret is to getting rid of extra weight and to keeping it off. There are thousands upon thousands of people and companies out there that will be only too happy to take your money and to offer the secret cure. But what you may come to learn, as you give them your money and your time, is that they really don’t have the secret answers. Behavior modification and a few key ideas are really the secret to getting that body that you want. Here are three ways to change your mindset and to start to move towards a healthier you. They may seem like unusual suggestions at first, but there is a great deal of psychology behind weight loss and these suggestions might help you to make a mind shift that can shift the weight as well.
Look Around
While you may think that everyone else in the world is so much thinner than you are, if you really take a good look around, you’ll see that this isn’t true. It just isn’t. Certainly, there are people who are naturally thin and who can eat a hamburger and milkshake for dinner every single night without ever having to worry about their waist. Yeah, we hate those people. But most people do have to worry and do have to work to have the body that they want. So first, it’s important to take a look around and to realize that not everyone is ahead of you in this challenge and that you’re doing pretty ok with yourself. It’s very important to come to any new challenge with a positive attitude. If you see yourself as a victim and you’re always thinking “Why me? Why do I have to work so hard? It’s not fair” then you’re going to find that you don’t do as well. If you come with a positive attitude and say to yourself that you’re working on your diet for your health and for your lifespan and that you’re going to do the best that you can, you may find that you have better results.
Distract Yourself
Many people eat because they are bored. You’ll eat at your desk during the work day because your work is boring; you’ll eat in the afternoon when you get home and have nothing in particular to do; or you’ll eat in the evening in front of the television. But what if you occupy yourself with an activity, you just might find that you eat less. This is a secret weapon to weight loss that few people realize. For instance, instead of sitting in front of the television at night, start to play online casino Australia real money games or competitive chess games with an opponent. These activities keep your hands busy, first of all. So even if you want to eat while you are playing, you can’t do so as easily as you can in front of the television. And second of all, you’ll find that the act of brainstorming your chess strategy or thinking about your next online casino Australia real money move will keep you busy enough that you may not think of going to get that snack. If you think about it, skinny people are often busy people. They might say something like, “I was so busy that I forgot to eat!” Now, those of us who love food would never find ourselves saying such a line, but we might find ourselves busy enough that we don’t stop for those snacks that have kept us heavy.
Make a Commitment
Psychologists have found that writing something down has power to it. If you write down your hopes and dreams, or your commitments, you’ll find that you stick to them more than if you just think them. There is something about the act of writing that codifies your commitment and that makes you more willing to take on your challenges. How should you go about writing things down? Here are a few ideas. You could write yourself a letter about where you want to be in a year. Write down specific items that you hope to achieve. This might be the amount of weight that you want to lose, the dress size or pants size that you want to get to, the number of crunches you hope to be able to do or anything else. Put the letter away and then open it in a year to see if you fulfilled the commitment. Another idea is to write down what you eat each day and how much you exercise. People like doing this because it keeps them honest and allows them to track how they are doing. You might decide to write a journal as well where you record your feelings, frustrations and triumphs.
All of these ideas should, hopefully, put you on the path towards weight loss and better health. There is no time like the present – get started today! There are always reasons to put off your weight loss commitment and always another pie that you might want to eat. But if you find a hobby to keep your hands busy, keep a positive attitude and write things down, you just might start to see a mind shift. And of course with this mind shift should come a weight shift as well.
