Author: Natasha Allen
In order to overcome sabotaging behaviors, you first have to look at what’s causing the behavior in the first place.
Fear of Success
This can look like fear of outshining a family member, or really showing up in life.
Fear of Failure
The embarrassment of trying to lose weight and failing can feel overwhelming.
Fear of Imperfection
If you’re a perfectionist I have some bad news for you: you’ll never do it perfectly. These fears will manifest differently in everyone’s journey, but the important thing is that you’re able to identify them.
If you’re having trouble reaching your weight loss goals, chances are you’re suffering from paralysis by analysis! You have all the information you need – in fact, you have more than you need – and it’s stopping you in your tracks.
You cannot and will not lose the weight until you are in the right frame of mind to do it. When we talk about “willpower” and “focus,” we are talking about your mental game. The hard truth is that before you get your body healthy, you must get your head healthy.
Break the Mental Barriers
Poor Body Image
A poor body image has been proven to keep people from fully committing to weight loss. If you don’t feel good about yourself, you are much more likely to give up before you get to your goal. To improve your body image, try focusing on your best quality. Practice impeccable grooming and quality self-care. Be as kind to yourself as you are to others.
Emotional Eating
If you look to food to support you in times of trouble, you are going to gain weight. And that weight will be troublesome and will likely propel you to eat more. To stop emotional eating, you’ve got to find new and better support systems. Look to friends, family, or a professional.
Comparing Yourself to Others
When you compare yourself to others, you lose. Occasionally, comparisons can boost your ego or motivate you to work harder, but most often, comparisons result in a disastrous assault on your ego, an attack that you instigated. Focus on you. Be selfish. Don’t worry about the other person.
Making Yourself Low Priority
The airlines will tell you; before you can save someone else, you have to put on your own oxygen mask. You will be better able to do your job, love your family, and be a friend if you take care of you first. Move yourself to the top of your priority list.
Lack of Trust
If you do not believe you can lose the weight, you won’t. You’ll make excuses to skip exercising and eating better. Basically, your follow through will suck.
To blast through your mental barriers and become proud of yourself, you’ve got to learn to love yourself and that means knowing yourself, seeing yourself as you really are, and being willing to nurture yourself the way you would anyone else you love.
Natasha Allen is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutritionist and received her Master of Business Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management, Devry University in 2006. She has been recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership, and professional excellence.
Website: Emotional Eating Advice
