Developing Mental Toughness for Long-term Weight Loss: 4 Quick Steps!
Man, did I feel like that today. I just wanted to check out and lose myself in literally stuffing my face with junk food. I was consumed with thoughts of pizza, nachos and cheese, gummy bears and Ben & Jerry’s New York City super chunk ice cream. Oh, and let’s not forget the peanut butter cup candy. Maybe your favorite question is, “Wine, anyone?” Maybe your choice of food to emotionally zone out is different, but is any of this resonating with you?
So what do I do when this pattern pops up in me? This is where developing mental toughness will get you the desired results you deserve. Below, I am going to walk you through four quick steps that have worked wonders for me in developing mental toughness, and I know they can work wonders for you!
4 quick steps to developing mental toughness:
1. First, realize your pattern of internal dialogue and foods when you are getting ready to emotionally eat or start binge eating. Once you begin to pay attention, you will notice that you crave the same foods every time and that there is an impulse or urge to eat right away. You will have the same automatic dialogue of eating and watching TV or telling yourself you’ll just eat this one time and start fresh tomorrow, etc.
2. Stop and realize you are trying to avoid or escape a bad feeling. We automatically want to feel good. Tell yourself that having a bad feeling is not the end of the world; you are not dying. Take a moment to identify the feeling, where it is in your body and what is it trying to tell you. If you cannot find it, that is okay. Just continue to tell yourself that it is okay to feel bad. Allow yourself to just sit with it.
3. Remember to breathe. Through this time, take deep breathes, letting go with every exhale.
4. Have the mantra: “There is no tomorrow. I only have this moment. What I do right now is the only thing that matters. What I do right now is creating my future.” Repeat this over and over again as you breathe.
You will notice that as you go through this process, the feelings that were leading the desire to eat will lesson; as they lesson, your desire to eat will lesson.
The key to developing mental toughness is to become aware of your automatic behaviors to escape bad feelings. If you follow these four steps every time you have an impulse to emotionally eat, you will create a new pattern of reacting to your feelings. When you have a plan to decrease the number of times you emotionally eat, you will be amazed at how quickly you begin to see results in weight loss!
Prudence Ticknor, MS, RD
Bariatric Dietitian, Wellness Coach & Mind/body Practitioner
Owner and author of the Mind over Eating virtual program and work book developed specifically for bariatric patients. When your mind changes, your body will follow!
Prudence has specialized in educating and counseling people who have had gastric band, bypass and sleeve both pre and post- surgery for over ten years. She has lost over 70 pounds with the methods she teaches.
Visit www.moe-vt.com and use the Mind over Eating program for FREE!
These are such great awareness's! Boredom is a thought feeling state; meaning you have a state of mind about being bored (thoughts) and feelings associated with it. Ana Gram, since you ID associations of the word "boredom" with other thoughts like " feeling left out of activities that my family or friends are doing"
So go deeper with this; does this create feelings of loneliness or isolation/separation or not being loved, etc... Once you ID the core feeling(s) which you have already ID is not boredom but something deeper. Then ask yourself is this thought feeling state even true, really true right now in the present or is it like you said something brought up from your subconscious from child hood? Also just practice sitting with it.
This is going to sound funny; but get to know it. Where is the feeling in your body? How intense is it from a 1 to 10? What type of energy does it radiate if any? Become curious about the feelings. This is a form of meditation/mental focus. If you can stay focused long enough even ask it what it needs to go away. You will be amazed what you find out about yourself. Remember feelings are just blocked energy in your body created by thoughts/ belief structures instilled in you from child hood.
This process you are going through is so empowering.
Yes, I will definitely spend more time working on this as this is where the weight loss battle is won or lost, in the battlefield of the mind. It will be an interesting exercise for me as we enter this Easter Holy Week, as I think that ultimately forgiveness will be what I need to release those hurts that continue from childhood so they no longer have the ability to influence my future behavior in negative ways.
These are such great awareness's! Boredom is a thought feeling state; meaning you have a state of mind about being bored (thoughts) and feelings associated with it. Ana Gram, since you ID associations of the word "boredom" with other thoughts like " feeling left out of activities that my family or friends are doing"
So go deeper with this; does this create feelings of loneliness or isolation/separation or not being loved, etc... Once you ID the core feeling(s) which you have already ID is not boredom but something deeper. Then ask yourself is this thought feeling state even true, really true right now in the present or is it like you said something brought up from your subconscious from child hood? Also just practice sitting with it.
This is going to sound funny; but get to know it. Where is the feeling in your body? How intense is it from a 1 to 10? What type of energy does it radiate if any? Become curious about the feelings. This is a form of meditation/mental focus. If you can stay focused long enough even ask it what it needs to go away. You will be amazed what you find out about yourself. Remember feelings are just blocked energy in your body created by thoughts/ belief structures instilled in you from child hood.
This process you are going through is so empowering.
Prudence, wonderful article! Ana Gram, my experiences are similar. Just know that I love you for living today. You are precious. You are a gift to this world regardless of the ignorant people who abandoned you. Many souls understand your struggle and we're rooting for you. We wish we could hugggg you.
Prudence Ticknor 75
Posted
Share this comment
Link to comment
Share on other sites