It is possible to have our mind trip us up and prevent us from losing weight in Cleveland TN. One of the biggest hurdles is that we have developed such poor eating habits, and breaking them causes us a lot of frustration. They are actual habits… we've done them over and over for months or years, and breaking them just doesn't come naturally.

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Identify Our Weaknesses In Cleveland TN

First, we have to identify our weaknesses. It's an unhealthy habit that has been easily and innocently created. Then we have to develop an alternative plan to help break that habit - because it's the situations, the emotions, and the triggers that give rise or power to these habits.

For instance, one might consider an alternative plan to stopping at Mcdonald's. Creating a newer, healthier habit might involve investing in a special type of coffee so that it doesn't feel like we are compromising or being punished. We can turn a negative into a positive by making our special coffee at home before we leave, and then drinking it in the car. To solidify our new habits even more, we can take an alternate route to work so that we aren't tempted along the way.

A journey of breaking old habits and creating new ones is part of a new lifestyle of eating. If we don't replace our old habits with new ones, then it is more difficult to stay away from the old habits. Decide earlier in the day something to do instead to help break the pattern. There are plenty of options out there - like taking a walk, calling a friend, engaging in a hobby, exercising, reading a book… something we enjoy. So, list them and make a plan on how we are going to help break the habit. Don't wait until the last minute to try and combat the urge to engage in the habit we created. We must decide earlier in our day and tell ourselves over and over what we can and will do.

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Eating To Be Social

Another common psychological issue is that of eating to be social. Sometimes the issue is really that others "feel" judged by our decision to not indulge without us ever having to say a word. It's not true that we are judging… it's their issue… but we somehow end up being the bad guy or being weird for turning down unhealthy food. Recognize that those who don't respect our healthy boundaries aren't concerned about us - they are more concerned about themselves, and what they have decided we may be thinking about them. Just don't make a big deal of saying no. Be gracious. Don't make it about weight loss. If pressed, make it about health. That is harder to argue with and easier to defend.

A biggie in the mind game department is our country's total fear of fat. It is very hard for most of us to overcome the decades-old faulty information on fat. Years of indoctrination have convinced us that eating fat causes us to be fat. Nothing could be further than the truth… that is, if we are eating the right kind of fats. Fat is key not only for health, but also for weight loss. If we fail to shake the fear of fat, even when we reduce our high-glycemic carbohydrates, we will end up on a low-carb, low-fat diet with overall low energy, hunger and a diet that will only leave us stuck and stalled. Eating fat teaches our body to burn fat.

Fat is an incredible hunger buster, too. It helps to satisfy our brain - to tell us we aren't hungry. It also makes food taste delicious and slows down the spiking of blood sugar when we eat. That is so important if we want to lose weight. Otherwise, we will also spike insulin, which is a fat-storage hormone, and totally interrupt our weight loss.

All-or-nothing thinking is a big mind game or roadblock. We need to give ourselves permission not to be perfect, but to do the best we can, and we will do great. Keep in mind that permission does not include making excuses - it can be a fine line at times.

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Hurdles We May Encounter

Depression is a weight loss hurdle some encounter. It has an undeniable connection to weight gain. They tend to reinforce one another. Depression increases cortisol (our stress hormone), increases inflammatory proteins throughout the body and brain, impairs glucose intolerance, and causes an accumulation of visceral fat - meaning, the fat around our organs. Resist in, a hormone that increases insulin resistance and diabetes, also increases during depression. This is one factor related to why depression has long been linked to Type 2 diabetes.

Alright, next, we have the issue of "stalling" in our weight loss. It's not a true plateau, but it is a period of time when our body doesn't burn any fat as it attempts to adapt to all the changes that have taken place. When we reach a stall, focus on the other changes - things like increased energy, sleeping better, clothes fitting better, blood sugar better, off medication, no reflux or heartburn, decreased pain or no longer having pain at all and being able to enjoy more activities. The weight loss will come if we don't throw in the towel because of discouragement.

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Comparing

Lastly, a really big mind game hurdle for so many is that we compare our weight loss to that of others. A big part of this thinking is not understanding the differences in our bodies - our medical condition, medications, how many times we have gained and lost weight, metabolic dysfunction, age, male vs female, younger vs older, stress and lack of sleep. There are a myriad of reasons why we all differ when it comes to losing weight. We need to give ourselves permission to do the best we can, giving our body time to heal and repair from years of damage, inflammation and disease. Stay the course. This race is not a sprint - we are in it for the long haul, and the sooner we get our eyes off of how much better we "think" someone else is doing, the happier we will be.

We can think on these "mind game" battles over the upcoming days and weeks. We can write down which ones most describe us, and be proactive about changing our thinking and making some practical changes, as well.

Remember, it all starts in the mind.