Mental exercises to lose weight

Mental exercises to lose weight include practices such as increasing confidence in your own ability to succeed, identifying obstacles and thinking about early solutions for them and relearning how to deal with food.

This type of exercise has been widely used because being overweight is not only caused by overeating, but also because the mind fails to control eating behavior and sabotages weight loss attempts.

1. Imagine and shape your success

Daily imagine how you will feel after reaching your weight and lifestyle goal. For that, one must imagine the body, the clothes that you can wear, the places you will go to because you feel good, and the satisfaction that you will feel with your new image, new health and high self-esteem as if something was already achieved. .

Doing this exercise will bring great satisfaction to the mind and will create powerful positive emotions, which will stimulate new efforts and bring more confidence in the future achievement.

2. Write your wishes

Putting desires on paper is an even more powerful way to focus the mind and strengthen it for achievement. Write down what clothes you are going to wear, what size of jeans you want to buy, which beach you will go to in a bikini, what walks you will take, what your physical activity routine will be like, and even what medications you will stop taking when gaining health.

Also write down your daily achievements and how important they are as they bring you closer to the end goal. Each achievement must be seen as an extra step to consolidate the change, which must be definitive.

3. Find reasons to love yourself

Find positive points on your body, from the hair to the shape of the hands and feet. Accept your height and type of curves, without wishing to fit beauty standards that are completely different from your body and genetic structure.

To admire yourself and imagine the best shape for your body is to put real goals in your life, and not seek a perfection imposed by the media and that your body can never achieve.

4. You choose how much you eat

Taking commanding attitudes towards food is important to get out of addictive routines like attacking an entire chocolate bar or always having a dessert after lunch. These commanding attitudes include actions such as:

Do not eat what is left just for food not to go to waste;
Do not repeat the dish;
Put limits on the amount of goodies you will eat: 1 scoop of ice cream, 2 squares of chocolate or 1 piece of pie instead of eating it all at once.

Remember that you decide how much to eat, and that food will no longer dominate your emotions.

5. Plan exits to the obstacles

Predict which obstacles will arise throughout the weight loss process or throughout each week. Write down on paper what actions you will take to control yourself on your nephew's birthday, at a friend's wedding, or on a trip with the class.

Plan how you will continue practicing physical activity during the test week and what drink you will have to avoid alcohol at the Sunday barbecue with the family. Predicting and preparing for problems in advance is finding solutions that will be put into practice much easier and more effectively.

6. Stop being afraid of food

Forget that chocolate is fattening or that frying is prohibited. In a balanced diet, all foods are allowed, the difference is the frequency that they are consumed. Dieting often involves thoughts of restraint, anxiety and suffering, which predisposes the brain to give up, because no one likes to suffer.

Always remember that no food is fattening or thinning, and that you can eat everything, as long as you find your balance. See the First steps to lose weight with dietary reeducation.

7. Look for alternative pleasures

Your brain does not relax and is satisfied with just food, so identify and note other sources of pleasure and contentment. Some examples are going out with friends, taking a walk outdoors, walking your pet, reading a book, dancing alone at home or doing handicrafts.

These pleasures can be put into practice in times of anxiety, when the previous trend would be to eat sweets or order a pizza over the phone. Try to force yourself to take an alternative pleasure attitude first, so that the food will always be in the background.

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