The First Step to Losing Weight

Losing weight can be extremely difficult for some people, and then all of a sudden the weight can fall off. Over the last few months, I noticed my eating has felt out of control. I’d been emotional while working through some issues from the past, and understood that eating is often used as a method to feel safe. So, I allowed myself the time to indulge and enjoy outings with my boyfriend, knowing that I would soon turn it around. In time, I’ve learned what works for me.

I’ve transformed my body multiple times since having my son, and have learned that within six weeks, any body can transform – with the right mind set.

We often decide that we want to lose weight, but don’t really know where to begin. Knowing we want to look a certain way, and knowing that we need to eat a certain way, but we often give up after not seeing immediate results. We want instant gratification, and decide that because the weight isn’t falling off, and we aren’t feeling good, we’ll turn to food to feel better immediately. Eating stimulates our brain, and releases endorphins that lift our mood. Soon after quitting our “diet” and eating that meal that we know will add to our weight gain, we feel even worse than we had before we began. And so, the cycle continues.

After leaving an abusive relationship, I was over 40 pounds overweight. My entire life I had been thin, standing only 5’3” tall. I’d always been active, worked out, did gymnastics, and loved the outdoors. Throughout that five year, on-again off-again relationship, I had gained and lost at least 35 pounds multiple times. I was so unhappy, and fed myself to feel safe. By the time the relationship ended, I was a shell of who I once was. I honestly didn’t even recognize myself in the mirror. My hair was dyed dark (I’ve always been a blonde), had lost my sense of humor, and my love of the outdoors. I truly didn’t even know what I liked anymore.

But once again, I knew the secret to change and where I would begin – the mind.

When people think of losing weight, they look at all the things “out there” that they think they must do. We think “I need to go get a gym membership”, “I need to exercise more”, and “I need to go out and buy all of the healthy food I can find”. But I’ve found, through personal experience, that none of this matters if your mindset isn’t right. I have a gym right inside my home. Not even that can get me to work out when I’m not in the right mindset.

Before we do any of these things in order to make a change, we must look within, and change our beliefs.

Often times, when we are overweight, it is because we do not believe that we are capable, or even worthy, of being thin and feeling beautiful. There may be an aspect of ourselves that we do not like, and so we punish ourselves with food without even realizing it. The food that we are eating is just there to make us feel good in that moment, but later causes us to feel worse. Therefore, our view that we do not deserve to be healthy, feel healthy, and look healthy increases.

If we can learn to change only ourselves, before we change anything in the outside world, we can have more success in absolutely anything that we choose. The first step, is changing your beliefs regarding yourself, your weight, and your worthiness.

When we are happy with ourselves, and feeling good, the weight will take care of itself.

We will know that we are capable of anything, and that eating right makes us feel even better as the weight falls off. But it all begins with self-acceptance, self-confidence, and the ability to release the need for instant gratification. With a focus on all of these things, losing weight can become simple.