Of course you know how to live healthy and lose pounds. Now just do it. This month, together with Mieke Kosters, we help you to realize your intention. Not necessarily by eating healthier, but by changing your behavior and creating habits that you can maintain.
You have resolved to start this month well, to take control, to stick to about 1400 kcal and to cut back on sugar. Before the day is over, you have had that extra cracker with lunch. And you really couldn't resist that home-baked brownie that you got with your coffee on the terrace…
Tomorrow I really start
Shit, failed again you say to yourself. But tomorrow, tomorrow I'll do it for real. And so it goes on. Sometimes weeks in a row. Until your goal of living a healthier life fades away and the need to start fades into the background. I know it all, you tell yourself, I just have to do it once.
Recognizable?
The question is what exactly is happening:why don't you do what you really want? Why not do what makes you happy? Why can't you eat less? Why don't you just start? The reason for this can be on different levels.
Level 1:Knowledge about food and weight loss
You may think you know everything about weight loss, but not everyone seems to have a realistic idea of how much they really eat, not when it comes to the kilocalories in any case. "I eat healthy and don't lose weight," some people say. Just remember:eating healthy is different from losing weight. You can eat very healthy, but still eat too much. For example, if you eat a lot of nuts and avocados, losing weight is difficult. Too much organic chocolate will make you just as heavy as normal chocolate. It is not surprising that you underestimate how much you eat. Even a dietitian estimates their own kcal intake to be about 10 percent lower than it actually is.
About actions that help you achieve the goal
Suppose you do have sufficient knowledge about weight loss, then you also need to know which actions will help you achieve your goal. You prefer to record your desired behavior in a concrete action plan. A vague plan like 'I just need to eat less sweets' doesn't work. You need to know exactly which actions work for you. Examples of actions you can pin for yourself are:
Making this action plan takes time and effort, you have to sit down for it. If you don't, or if you do make a plan, but you don't stick to it, then the cause is a level deeper.
Level 2:Fat is between your ears
If you don't manage to stick to your actions, losing weight has to do with your beliefs. Then there are all kinds of thoughts and rules in your head, which (unconsciously) stop you from taking action. Those are thoughts you take for granted:
You let these thoughts determine your behavior. You take your thoughts seriously. But:you always choose your own behaviour. Whatever you think, you can do something else.
To lose weight from now on, you need to realize 2 things:
You decide for yourself what you do and don't put in your mouth, no one is forcing you to do anything. Just let those ineffective words be there (let the dragons scream), like some kind of background music. They may scream loudly, but they won't hurt you. From now on, your thoughts no longer determine your behavior! You tackle yourself and choose to stick to your action plan:you lose weight.
An example:The button must be
Suppose you recognize the thought in yourself:'if the button is not turned on, it just won't work'. Well. That's nice and easy. You don't have to change anything, because 'the magic push of a button' has not yet happened. nonsense.
First, there doesn't have to be a switch before you eat less. Less is always possible. You don't always feel motivation. Sometimes you don't feel like unpacking the dishwasher:you do that anyway, because you rationally know that tomorrow will be better. It also works with less food. Sometimes you follow your ratio. Because it's better for you!
Secondly, the 'famous button' doesn't really turn on until you do it! When you experience how much less food gives you in energy and positive feeling about yourself. And of course in the end to weight loss. You only get the button to continue, so get out of that vicious circle NOW.
Suppose your friends are getting an ice cream. You have three options:
1. Don't eat, you decline the ice cream and choose your long-term goal.
2. Choose a custom portion/variety. You take 1 scoop in a bowl instead of two scoops on a cone or you take an ice cream cone.
3. Eat extra and compensate for that later. You take two scoops, but you delete your snack in the evening.
You can do something about the cause behind your urge to eat. Ask yourself why you are actually eating. If you are aware of your real need, you can choose a real solution. Are you tired? Go to bed. Are you lonely? Call someone. Are you bored? Find distraction. Are you mad? Go into confrontation or find another way out (boxing, spitting at a friend). Are you restless? Dive into a book, go to bed, investigate what causes that, take a bath, etc. You determine your own eating behavior yourself. Try not to let external factors determine.
Conclusion:procrastinating is hard
Bottom-line:If you want to lose weight, but you don't. Then you remain dissatisfied. Plus, even if you don't overeat at all, you'll feel overweight. Rightly or wrongly, when you look in the mirror you suddenly see fat rolls.
I speak from experience:the strange thing is that if you do eat according to plan, you immediately feel better and slimmer. After two days in control of your own diet, you just put on that nice pantsuit, that dress or even that bikini. You glow again, feel your strength and self-confidence come back (although almost nothing has changed in weight yet). The question is:what do you give yourself? You are what you do! If you act slim, you are slim. Immediately in your head, and eventually also on that scale. Make an action plan and stop listening to your own excuses. DOING is always possible!
Enjoy, Mieke
Mieke Kosters is the founder of Skinnyminds. The approach to stop dieting and dieting and start losing weight permanently through behavioral change.
Are you already on your way to a slim mindset? Download the free checklist here.
