Developing a Mind Set for Fat Loss and Lifestyle Change
Everyone has a breaking point. Some of us have to hit rock bottom to realize it’s time for massive change in our lives. The good news is that it is not necessary to hit rock bottom before taking the action necessary to improve your quality of life. We have all been blessed with free will which means you’re free to change the trajectory of your life at any time including right here and right now. No one is stopping you but yourself.
The story of how we got to the weight, body composition, and mind set we are currently at has served its purpose. To successfully move forward with fat loss and lifestyle change it becomes necessary to extract the gifts, values, and lessons from the experience. This process isn’t meant to be a beat yourself up self-therapy exercise. It is designed to be a positive experience as a means to see where we fell short of our standards and reveal the silver lining of our experiences.
On the whole, we are either motivated by experiencing pleasure or avoiding pain. Pain is our internal gauge to let us know something isn’t right. We use food, drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, etc. to numb the pain rather than deal with the underlying emotions. Speaking from personal experience using food to numb out emotions of frustration, boredom, fear, guilt, shame, etc. I was in so much pain I wanted to hide from the world. It got bad enough that I experienced suicidal thoughts. That was enough for me to get very real with myself and make the changes necessary to feel joy, happiness, confidence, freedom, safety, security, etc.
I spent thousands of dollars and countless hours at seminars, retreats, and certification courses in an effort to find out what was wrong with me that I had all the tools and knowledge to make a change in my life, but did not have the drive to do so. While I was at a retreat by Sunny Dawn Johnston she said something that rocked my world – “I love myself enough to do something different.” It finally occurred to me that I had very little self-love, self-care, or self-compassion. Without these attributes it is very difficult to establish a mind set for success in anything, especially fat loss and lifestyle change. I had a fundamental belief that I was not worthy of love, affection, attention, success or praise. I had limiting beliefs that were simply not true. I had to explore these beliefs and put a stop to them.
My inner critic/gremlin was running rampant. The abuse I inflicted upon myself emotionally was absurd. Every once in a while I would share the thoughts rolling around in my head with my husband and it would make him cry. I was brutal to myself. I had to be hyper-aware of my negative thought patterns and put a stop to them immediately. It was highly annoying in the beginning because it consumed my life, but I started coming up with two positive statements and/or two things to be grateful for every time my inner critic/gremlin showed up. Over time, this bully fell away resulting in more and more positive progress not only in my mind, but in my body. The nutrition strategy became easier to follow and exercise became fun. I looked forward to Sunday mornings when I measured my weekly progress.
I started reading books by some of the top authors in the self-help industry like Louise Hay, Don Miguel Ruiz, Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, Brendan Burchard, Brene Brown, and so many more. I strive to read 30 minutes of positive reading material each day to keep my mind healthy and free of negativity. I rallied my support team to let them know I was making some major lifestyle changes and I would need their help. I started Keto on October 24, 2017. Cutting out the processed carbohydrates and sugar from my nutrition helped my mood immensely. I was still taking natural herbal mood supplements like Mood Boost, 5-HTP, St. John’s Wart, etc. until the changes in my mind and nutrition were enough to stop taking them.
A crucial step in the process of developing the mind set for fat loss and lifestyle change is to define what change you want to make in the first place. Getting crystal clear with where your focus will be going is imperative. Identify the feeling and/or experience you’re looking for. Raise your standards and change your should into musts.
Fuel your mind with positive people, messages, and places. Serve yourself nutritious foods. Move your body in ways that feel good. Cultivate a spiritual practice that connects you to a power and presence of peace, love, and joy.