Hi friends! Coach Lisa here!
The famous New York Yankee's catcher, Yogi Berra, said "the game is 90% mental, the other half physical". The same could be said for weight loss! I have been thinking lately about the multiple aspects of this journey for people. We see on a daily basis people struggling with the physical part of this journey - how do I lose the weight? How do I make that number on the scale move? What if I don't get to my goal in time? But very rarely do people openly address the other side of this which is the reason that most of us are here in the first place.
The mental side of this journey is just as important, if not more so, than what you're putting in your mouth. Are you actively working on fixing the mental part that contributes to why you're here? How many of us have lost weight only to regain it because we gave up? We had people or events in our lives that sabotage our progress? We're too much of a people pleaser? We felt selfish making time for ourselves if that took away from our partners, kids, other obligations?
How many people are emotional eaters? We know this, yet we try to deal with the eating as the problem instead of fixing our using the eating as a coping mechanism.
Stress or Emotional Eating
A small change in perspective may help. You know that eating doesn't change anything. The answer to stress is not in the fridge or pantry. You already know this... So maybe in that moment where you think, I'll eat this and feel better - stop to tell yourself the truth. Eating this will probably just make me feel guilty, bad about my choices, out of control and upset with myself. It is going to make my problems worse, not solve anything. I could have it but I chose not to. I am stronger than that. I am better than that. My health and success are worth more than that.
Close the door... Walk away... You are in control!
What are you doing to change the mental side of your journey? Without making that change, I truly believe that any weight lost will not be sustainable.
I lost just over 100 pounds in 2005/2006 but didn't deal with the issues that led up to me being almost 300 pounds to start with. When a trigger for one of those main issues came up again, I immediately stopped what I was doing and ran the other direction and started putting weight back on. It took me a long time to be ready to work on the other half of this journey and I am by no means perfect at it, but without it there's no way that this will be the last time that I find myself at the foot of this mountain.
Do you have a good support structure in place? What do you need to maintain motivation? What can we do to help not only with the physical side of this journey but also with conquering the mental side of it?