Your weight loss journey isn’t just about your body. It’s also about creating a new, healthy lifestyle – and that means the mind is involved too.
What are some of the vital success factors to weight loss that are related to your mindset?
Maybe the most important thing is to be positive. When we meet our clients, we know they’ve already taken the first positive step to actively improve their health and lives. It’s important to keep believing in yourself and move forward in your journey. There might be days that are harder than others, or where you feel you’re not making as much progress as you should, but there will also be great days. It’s important to focus on what’s good and what you’re gaining rather than what you’re missing, for example thinking about your favourite Jenny Craig meals rather than longing for an old eating habit.
And think of all the great benefits of reaching your goal weight! They will be different for everyone but could include feeling better about yourself, having more energy, being able to keep up with your kids or grandkids, fitting into a favourite dress, or maybe buying new clothes! All of this is great motivation. Maybe you’d like to keep a list handy of all the reasons you want to lose weight.
It seems like a lot of people these days are talking about ‘mindfulness’. With origins in Buddhism and meditation, mindfulness means simply focusing your attention on the current moment, being ‘mindful’. At Jenny Craig, we’ve always encouraged this. Being mindful when we eat is super important. We can pay attention to how good something tastes, and eat more slowly and then notice when our bodies are feeling satisfied. If we’re watching TV or doing something else while eating, we could lose track of what we’re eating and how much. Being mindful lets us feel when we’re hungry and when we’re full, and you might even notice that you’re not as hungry as you think, or observe the times when we eat because we’re bored, or when we eat out of habit.
Some final advice for exercising mindfulness and creating a great mindset for your weight loss journey is to be kind to yourself. Recognise that you’re on a steady transformation that’s not about a diet or quick weight loss. It’s not a race and nor is it a competition with yourself or someone else. It’s not about perfection and doing things exactly right. It’s about a safe and balanced approach, sustainable and long-term. It’s about creating a healthy relationship with food and healthy habits for life, where a healthy mental outlook helps support your healthy body.
Our consultants will help you develop a healthy mindset for a healthier you. Learn more about how a consultant will guide you through your weight loss journey.
