Have you ever had any of the following thoughts about losing weight?
“Losing weight is so hard”
“I keep trying to lose weight and nothing is working”
“I have failed at this so many times”
“Once I hit age 40 (or menopause) my hormones are working against me”
“I love eating and it’s so hard/unfair to give up the things I enjoy”
I know I have had thoughts like this very often So often that they feel like truths. Many would argue that they are true. But what if, upon closer examination, we realized that they aren’t true?
Science in cognition has shown us that if we think a thought enough times (or even hear the same message from our external world- from family, friends, or the media), these thoughts/messages become habits. When faced with a circumstance, our brains automatically take the path of least resistance and think the thought that it is used to thinking. Thoughts like the ones listed above are patterns of thinking that have become ingrained in our brains over the years. I like to think of these thought patterns as teeny tiny physical grooves in our brains. The grooves aren’t permanent but each time we think a thought, the groove gets a little deeper. If we train ourselves to think new thoughts, we create new grooves or habits, and the old grooves fade away. Of course, this takes time because your brain is going to fight you to think the old thought. BUT, the beauty about being human is that we are probably the only species who have awareness of our thoughts. We have the ability to think about our thoughts and remind ourselves to think another way. This is a superpower!
What if we practiced thinking these thoughts instead?
“Losing weight takes small, simple changes.”
“If I make a plan and stick to it, I will see results.”
“I am close to finding a plan that will work for me.”
“Age and hormones have very little to do with my success in weight loss.”
“I don’t have to give up anything I love to lose weight.”
Those statements are just as true- if not more true- than the first set of thoughts, but they are very likely to make you FEEL different, perhaps a little more empowered, about your reaching your goal- whether it is losing weight or something else. This feeling is critical to your success and you have the power to create this feeling. It all begins with a little work to shift your thoughts.
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