You are phenomenal in your own right.
Your body blissfully handles anything and everything you throw at it and is built in such a way as to recover and restore daily at a remarkable speed.
It’s truly awe-inspiring.
You have been crafted in such a way that you have power and authority in anything you set your mind and your heart out to do.
And this is the exact reason why struggling with your weight weighs on you, and can deteriorate your self-image.
Nevertheless, if you have struggled to lose weight or even maintain your weight I want you to hear this loud and clear…
Shift your perspective on the problem and don’t relinquish your power.
Western medicine has a way of releasing people of their responsibility for their own health. Instead of truly addressing the problem, medical advancements have given us a way out.
Everyone and every situation are not the same, but I see many who are capable, with no motivation or execution of the power to reach their “health dreams”, that’s including weight loss.
Notice I didn’t say health goals because many people I encounter don’t have goals at all, they just have desires, and that is simply never enough.
I’m here not to give you power over your health because you already have that. I’m here to make you aware of that power and give you guidance to fully utilize it to reach your weight loss goals.
Let’s dive in.
1. Stop Secretly Caring
Bringing that salad to work and having others question you if you’re on a diet. Going to the gym and wondering; What are people thinking when they see me struggling on this gym equipment?
These are all some of the negative thoughts that pop up in our heads that prevent us from engaging in health-promoting activities that will aid in our weight loss. Sometimes our self-consciousness can get the best of us, and stop us dead in our tracks.
Going for a power walk around our neighborhood or in the park is avoided because we don’t know who we’ll run into. The fear of the unknown stops us from seeking support and resources to aid us in reaching our goal weight.
Then, there is the fear of ridicule and shaming when people know you have a goal that you haven’t successfully met yet. The truth is all of these scenarios could happen.
Your coworkers and family will question you about your motives and your plans. You’ll probably run into people you know around your neighborhood or the park that will see your bare face, sweating in all your glory, and have people who will judge you despite your effort.
What’s more important than all these things combined is your health.
“I don’t care what people think, because people don’t think.”
Kanye West
The love that you have for yourself and your body should exceed abundantly what others think. Don’t run from a challenge, especially one that will bring you fulfillment.
Obtaining optimal health will follow you for the rest of your life, but so will allowing your health to fall by the waist side. People that judge and condemn other people while they’re trying to reach and achieve their goals have their own set of problems going for them.
That speaks volumes about their character, and the type of person they truly are at the core. People that are more willing to judge than to help, offer advice, and teach, are truly people who don’t think. And those types of people are of no concern to you.
Your concern is to achieve your goals at all costs as if your life depended on it because it truly does when it comes to your health.
3 Practical Exercises to Stop Caring
- Examine what’s more important: what others think about you, or your health, then answer why.
- Write down the names of 3 people who will benefit from your investment in yourself, creating the best version of you.
- Stop looking at now and identify 3 future benefits of your losing weight.
2. Realize Your Life is in Jeopardy
The CDC states that 6 out of 10 Americans have a chronic disease. Similarly, 1 in 3 adults are affected by obesity.
Being overweight is a national crisis and puts you at risk for . . .
- Heart Disease
- Diabetes
- Certain Cancers
These are some of the leading causes of death and morbidity, the deterioration of how you function normally.
Don’t let excess weight be an open doorway to other diseases and illnesses when you have the power to change it.
Therefore, your quality of health is important.
Our healthcare system is not one to rely on, and I think we can see that now more than ever.
Alternatively, you should . . .
- Address poor nutrition, and eat more fruits, greens, and veggies.
- Don’t be caught inactive, get your 150 minutes a week of moderate activity.
- Don’t smoke. That includes vaping and hookah which can compromise your lung function.
- Limit alcohol, your liver will thank you.
Ask yourself this question; do you truly value your health? Be transparent with yourself.
Do you truly value your body? When you truly value something, you have respect for whatever it is you value and view it as sacred.
Truly valuing your health allows you to make taking care of yourself a priority at the top of your list every day.
Those of us who value our homes or living spaces, INVEST time, energy, and resources in it’s renovation, keeping it clean, and making it visually appealing by the decorum.
Notice how taking care of our homes is an ongoing task, that if we fail to continuously engage, our homes will deteriorate, slowly but surely.
Imagine the same approach for taking care of your body and maintaining a healthy weight. You must invest your time, energy, resources, and most importantly willpower in order to meet your weight loss goals.
Your health should be a high priority on your list, and you have to decide to work towards your goals every single day.
Read my Top 20 Tips to Keep the Weight Off for a great starting reference.
What should I do?
- Place a high value on your body and your health. You only have one to go through this life with.
- Make your health a priority as you make your planner or schedule for your weeks and days. Ensure that you include health-promoting and goal-reaching tasks that you will complete daily.
- Be totally honest and transparent with yourself. If you don’t value your health or body at this point, get around people who are instilling the habits you wish to have one day. Get around people who do value their health through their actions and implement what they do to your own style and mechanics. Their lifestyle is sure to rub off on you.
3. Unlock Your Hidden Potential
People often fail to realize how powerful their mind really is. Where your mind goes your energy and body is sure to follow.
So if you’re constantly telling yourself the lie that you can’t reach your weight loss goals, or this is just how you were created, it’s going to be very difficult to have any progress with this negative inner conversation going.
Often times ‘curing the mind’, is a cure within itself.
Recall the placebo effect, the power of expectation has been proven by research to have psychological effects on the brain that can reduce and/or improve physiological ailments such as pain, anxiety, and insomnia.
The Michigan Psychological Association (MPA) discusses in an article how powerful the mind-body connection truly is. They recognize that your emotional and mental state of mind, i.e. your belief system and your attitude, heavily influences your health and quality of life.
In addition, these factors ‘can trigger chain reactions that affect blood chemistry, heart rate, and the activity of every cell and organ in the body – from the stomach and digestive tract to the immune system.
Research actually shows that taking proper care of the mind, and your psychological health, can help with relieving stress, weight control, and even fatigue. Having the right mindset can prevent illness and limit its course if you do get sick.
“Whatever you think you can or whatever you think you can’t, you’re right.”
Henry Ford
So what should I do?
1. Be aware of and acknowledge that conversation within that takes place, where you believe you can’t accomplish your goals. The first step to solving a problem is to admit you have one.
2. Stop the negative inner conversation. Telling yourself you can’t and believing your doubts is like riding a bike without pedals, you’re gonna get nowhere. When a thought creeps into your head that tells you you’re limited in ability, kindly replace it with a positive and truthful message.
3. Meditate on what the Word says about you and visualize yourself reaching and sustaining your fitness goals. Just imagine you losing the weight, keeping it off, and how much of a positive impact it will have on your health, your life, and your family. Again remember, the mind is powerful what you think about, you have the potential to become.
The way you unlock your hidden potential is to start thinking differently. We were all created in the image and the likeness of The Creator.
- Stop saying you can’t when your father is a King.
- Stop speaking negatively of yourself when words produce life and death.
- Stop fearing what other people are gonna think when The Creator did not give us a spirit of fear, cowardice, or inferiority.
Position yourself now to create the best version of yourself.
4. Create a No-Nonsense Plan
Interestingly enough, you can’t hit a target you can’t see, and you definitely can’t reach a goal you don’t have.
In order to ensure that you’re successful on your weight loss journey regardless of how many pounds you want to lose, you must have a plan, and with that plan have goals and a strategy to reach them.
This will enable you to track your progress and make adjustments accordingly. It’s also important to mention that you should have realistic goals.
Nobody should try to lose 20 lbs in one week. You want a safe weight loss journey that yields lasting results, not a trip to the ER.
If you’re anything like how I was and have problems with starting things and not finishing, address this issue first.
You need consistency to keep pushing, to keep working out, to keep eating healthy foods that may not taste as good as what you’re used to. I can tell you one thing that worked for me, was looking past me.
You need to go from – “I don’t feel like working out” “Maybe tomorrow” “Let me stop at Chick-fil-a” and go to. . .
- I’m doing this for my kids.
- I’m doing this so I can serve the world with the best version of me.
- I’m doing this because I want a safe pregnancy.
- I’m doing this so I can keep up with my children/grandchildren to fully be a part of their lives.
We can’t control the future but we can do our best to influence it.
The first thing to creating a plan is creating the mindset that “I can do this.” Destroy that selfish part of you that only revolves around what you feel like doing.
You deserve your best.
So what should I do?
- Start off by giving yourself an exact number of how many pounds you would like to lose and how much time you’re giving yourself to accomplish the goal. Be realistic in your weight loss goals.
- Make sure your plan includes a routine, how much of a caloric deficit you plan to have, what days you’re gonna work out, how long you’re gonna work out for etc.
- Collaborate with your health care provider and trainer/coach if you have one.
- Find support whether through your family, your friends or through social sources like Facebook groups. There is strength in numbers.
- Stop following other people’s plans and focusing on their results. What works for them may not work for you. Create your own.
- Start small for consistency. Slow and steady wins the race.
- Don’t give up. When your emotions kick in that tell you, “I can’t” or “I’m tired”, remember your values, remember your motivating factors, and remember to take the focus from you.
Remember Ladies . . .
The best healthcare is self-care. Get serious about your life. Get serious about your health. No one is gonna take care of you like you take care of you.
If you enjoyed this post, don’t forget to share and subscribe to my newsletter. Thanks for reading !
Until Next Time,
