I believe that in many ways we manifest our own destiny, and that nothing has more to do with the outcome than what we believe the outcome will be. Another great quote that sums this up comes from Henry Ford: "Whether you think you can, or think you can't- you're right." In order for us to be successful in life, we must first believe that we will be successful in life.
This mind set is critical when it comes to losing weight. I am not saying that all one needs to do is look in the mirror and say "I truly believe that I am going to lose this weight!" and then it just happens. No. If one truly believed they were going to succeed in weight loss, and then celebrated this belief with a cheeseburger, fries, and a bag of Double Stuff Oreos, one would soon be having a crisis of faith. (And bypass surgery a little down the road.) Weight loss is difficult; I know this from experience, but if we start our journey with the wrong mindset we stack the deck against ourselves.
I belong to a popular weight loss website, myfitnesspal.com. I use it primarily to track calories as it is a very user friendly site and has, in my opinion, a very good database of foods and their calorie values. One of the other features of the site is the message boards. From time to time I will find myself perusing the recent posts to see what people are talking about. Overall the commentary is extremely positive and supportive, and that is one of the main reasons people turn to the message boards. (Another big reason why people use the message board is to get advice, and a lot of the advice on there is terrible, as in flat out wrong. This should be no surprise as it is free advice given over the internet by strangers. Also, the irony of me pointing this out in a blog is not lost on me at all.)
One thing I do come across on the message board is examples of people starting out with the wrong mindset. For instance, a post on the message board from a new member said the following: "I sure hope this site works and I stick to it. Joined another program with very similar features but it stopped working for me, so I quit." Can you imagine if a CEO of a company came out said, "I sure hope we have a good year. I've tried a business plan very similar to this one before and it didn't work so the company went bankrupt." How do you think the share price of that company would do after such an announcement?
Here's the deal- websites, books, diets, weight loss programs, and yes, even blogs, have never lost a single pound for anyone. They don't "work", they can only provide guidance. The only part of the weight loss equation that works or doesn't work is the person trying to lose the weight. Websites don't get up and go to the gym. A blog doesn't fire the motor neurons that pick up a piece of cake and lift it to our mouths. (To the credit of the myfitnesspal community, a number of people were quick to point this out, kindly, to the new member.)
I know that there can be a lot of fear, uncertainty, and anxiety throughout the journey one takes to lose weight and reclaim their health. This is probably at it's peak in the beginning stages, but can show up at any time. The best thing one can do for themselves from the get-go is to start their journey with a positive mindset. Here are a few tips for doing so:
- Use positive self-talk. This might feel a little corny at first if it doesn't come to you naturally, but if that is the case, fake it til you make it. Tell yourself that you are going to be successful in your weight loss goals. "I am going to start making healthy eating choices and lose this weight."
- Visualize your goals and your success. See yourself as the successful person you are going to be.
- Focus on what you want to happen, not on what you don't want to happen. Use positive words and mental imagery when you are visualizing your goals. There is a huge difference between "I am going to be healthy and fit" versus "I don't want to be fat anymore." Positive thoughts attract and create positive outcomes. Negative thoughts attract and create negative outcomes. Pick the positive ones.
- Be realistic when you do your goal setting. Weight gain doesn't happen overnight, and neither does weight loss. Know going into this that you will need to sustain the positive attitude through times of adversity.
There is the old saying that a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. The first step of any journey should always be creating a positive mindset for the journey. It will make all of the steps that follow that much easier to take.
Be well.
