7 Thoughts that are Holding You Back from Losing Weight

Have you ever given any thought as to what might be holding you back from losing weight or achieving your weight loss goals? If you are constantly thinking about losing weight and fail at losing weight, I have a suggestion for you – stop thinking about losing weight! How many of us when asked that question would blame our friends, co-workers, food, and alcohol? Your thinking could be the problem.

Our minds are extremely powerful. Through our thoughts we create our reality. Thinking too much about losing weight may, in fact, be keeping you from losing weight. By some estimates, 85% of people who successfully lose at least 10% of their body weight will gradually regain it to end up as large as or even larger than they were before they went on a diet.

I remember interviewing Lisa Nichols, motivational speaker and CEO of “Motivating the Masses”, on my Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, and asking her how she lost the 78 pounds she was carrying for the past 20 years and she said “Vince, I didn’t lose it, I released it”, you see Lisa knows the power of our thoughts, if she would have looked at losing weight as something she lost, she may one day find it again and that wasn’t going to happen, so in her mind, she released the weight and she has been able to keep it off. You can listen to my interview with Lisa here.

Another friend told me how she lost 15 pounds and during her last trip to Jamaica, found it. Perhaps losing weight has more to do with our thinking.

Let’s explore those seven thoughts that are holding you back from losing weight:

1. “It’s just too hard to diet.” This thinking renders you helpless. People who are easily frustrated want easy solutions. We’re seduced by fad diets because they appeal to that immediacy. Yet people who rely on fads suffer high failure rates as I stated earlier. It’s no wonder the word diet has the word “die” in it, you have to die to stay on it. You have to change the way you look at dieting and see it as a lifestyle change. I don’t diet, I eat healthy and when you eat healthy there is no need to diet.

2. “I don’t have time to cook.” When people say they don’t have time to cook, I tell them you don’t have time not to cook. Thirty minutes of cooking healthy meals will save you the excess calories you’d be taking in from oversized restaurant portions and time on the treadmill trying to work it off. Studies show that people who cook meals at home tend to eat more healthfully and weigh less than those who don’t. Eating at home is also less expensive, therefore allowing you to keep some of your hard earned money.

3. “I must be thin.” Really? Says who? This kind of thinking creates desperation and sabotages a healthy approach to weight loss, such as sensible eating. This type of thinking is also a byproduct of too much media, whether it’s television, magazines or social media. There is a difference from being thin and from being healthy. Have you ever heard of the term “skinny fat?” These are people who are thin but carry an excessive amount of visceral fat (fat around their vital organs). Wouldn’t it be better if you just chose to be healthy and fit?

4. “I need immediate results.” The demand for immediate improvement undermines commitment to a long-term goal. You may be trying to lose weight to fit into that dress; attend that class or family reunion, or maybe that wedding. This type of thinking is setting you up for a colossal fall. You see, immediate results are rarely lasting results.

5. “I have to join a gym before I can lose weight.” For the past few months gyms have been shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic and are just starting to reopen. It has been estimated that the average American gained 5 to 10 pounds during the shutdown. This type of thinking puts you at the mercy of external circumstances. This is what I call an excuse. The last time I checked, walking was free and anybody with two legs can do it. There are also exercises you can do at home for free, no gym membership required and when you combine exercise with eating healthy your body will lose the excess weight naturally.

6. “I can’t lose weight no matter how hard I try.” Remember what I said earlier about our minds being powerful. You just told yourself that you can’t lose weight no matter how hard you try; now your body will respond to whatever your mind tells it. What if you would have said, “I can lose weight no matter what I do,” just the very sound of that statement reinforces confidence and belief and makes you feel good about yourself.

7. “I’m too old to lose weight.” Really? You just told yourself that you’re too old and guess what your body is going to do with that information? You guessed it! It will manifest your belief into reality, why, because you said you’re too old to lose weight. Your body is saying “your wish is my command”. The truth is inactivity makes us old and our thinking makes us old. What is the difference between adults and children besides age, experience and the way we think? Children move and adults sit and the more you sit, the older you get.
The best way to defeat these seven thoughts is to first decide that all of this negative thinking is getting you nowhere but feeling overwhelmed and anxious, and then you must find ways to clear out the obsessive, negative self-defeating thoughts. Here are a few suggestions:

(a) Take action steps and stop thinking about what you can’t do and start thinking what you can do, i.e., I can exercise, I can eat healthy. Eliminate the word can’t from your vocabulary.
(b) Going on a media diet can help. Start cutting back on what you are feeding your mind through social media, magazines, and television. This means being selective. If what you are reading or participating in does not make you feel good, don’t participate.
(c) Meditation and meditative practices can help. Meditation allows you to be still and listen to what your body needs.
(d) Limit the amount of time you spend with negative people. Life is for the living and is meant to be filled with peace, happiness and love, so let’s start living. No excuses.

There you have it. Seven thoughts that are holding you back from losing weight. Have I left any thoughts out? Tell me what you’re thinking that’s holding you back and I will recommend action steps to take to resolve it.