Contrary to popular belief, body transformation, weight loss and weight gain doesn’t happen in the kitchen and the gym first, it all starts in your head.
That’s where you win or lose, in your head
The moment you think about making a change in your lifestyle the battle starts in your head and it’s real.
You hear all sorts of argument why this is not the right time to decide to change; you don’t have the money, there’s no time, people won’t’ like you anymore if you lose weight or gain weight and it goes on and on.
And then another voice, tells you this is good for you, you’ll look good, you’ll have more admirers, you’ll fit into your skinny jeans.
Most times being healthier might not be the first thing that comes to your mind when you want to lose weight or gain weight.
It might be fitting into your skinny jeans or wearing a bikini or simply looking good, to shock the people that say you can’t.
Most times the health part comes when there is a health crisis.
So what do you do?
Concentrate on the thoughts that are more important to you
Discover for yourself what feels right and best and most advantageous to you.
Your decision to take a step towards your goal comes from the thoughts more charged by emotions
Your decision to change is ultimately based on your self-interest.
It means that if the skinny jeans thought is more charged by emotion, you’ll go for it, but, if lack of time and money is more charged you’ll stay back.
Your brain will rationalize the reason the skinny jeans should be the ultimate.
It will show you an image of yourself strutting with curves and you will start giving yourself reasons for working out that is consistent with your intentions – to fit into a skinny jean
That’s when you’ll do everything in your power to make out time and that’s when the transformation begins.
How do you educate your head to make the right decision?
Here are 4 steps:
- Interrupt your thought patterns
Anytime those self limiting and sabotaging thoughts come, interrupt it by asking these important questions:
- What do I really want and need?
- List 3 benefits of these things
- What emotions are you feeling right now?
- Write 2 reasons you think is making you feel this way.
- Is there anything you can think of to help you overcome these feelings?
- How many options are available to you? Are you really thinking each one through?
- How will this decision affect your life in a month, a year, 5 years?
- How confident are you that you’ll overcome?
- What are your reasons for your confidence?
- What will be the first, smallest or easiest step for you to take now?
Disrupt those sabotaging thought patterns and focus on the benefits to you and trhe smallest steps you need to take right away.
2. Do you feel safe?
For you to make the right decision you must be secure. If you don’t feel secure, you may make the wrong decision.
If you don’t feel secure about starting a lifestyle change you will not make the decision to start; you won’t take action
What needs to happen for you to feel safe?
3. Ditch the overhaul mindset
Overhaul mindset has killed many lifestyle changes by gradually strangling it.
Give yourself room to improve.
A baby doesn’t crawl; feed herself, walk, run and potty train the same day.
It takes months of consistency and sometimes relapse, of building one stage on the other for growth and development.
Teaching or even expecting a baby to do all these things the same day will lead to frustration, confusion, chaos and lack of progress.
A baby sits before crawling, but when she starts crawling it is sustained.
Sometimes after a baby starts to walk, they may crawl but, they immediately go back to walking because it’s being a gradual and progressive learning process..
For you, cleaning out your pantry, going on a diet of carrot soup and starting a HIIT routine the first day of your lifestyle and body transformation is likely to overwhelm you and make you feel like a failure and give up.
Make small strategic changes, like drink 2 more glasses water every day for 1 week or add veggies to all your meals.
As you achieve these goals, you’ll get more confident and these changes will gradually stack up one on another till you achieve your goal.
The good part is that the change will be easy and no longer a goal but a lifestyle.
4. Let your imagination lead you
Imagine how you’ll feel and look 3 months from now if you make that change
Visualize
See your body glowing with good health
Imagine yourself stronger and looking good
Imagine yourself growing older gracefully
Let your imagination run wild (on positive) things will happen in your life and body as a result of your action.
It’s the connection of your emotions, thoughts and visualization that will cause behavior change to achieve the transformation you want.
Above all, take life one day at a time.
Don’t beat yourself up. No one is perfect