How to Make Weight Loss Feel Easier
March 5, 2023
Weight loss for many people is hard. Avoiding putting on weight is also hard. Gaining it is easier than ever. Why?
We live in a very food driven culture which makes it harder than ever to try to eat less.
We are living in a world we’re not built for – we’re designed to eat when food is available and lose weight when it’s not.
But in the world we live in food is always available, therefore causing conflict within ourselves when we try to eat less.
The reality is that we can either accept the conflict and choose to be overweight OR we can CHOOSE to do something about it!
But the trouble is, losing weight for many people is not as simple as going on a diet and expecting to be able to follow it. It takes time, practice, and work on ourselves to change our whole mindset sufficiently to reach our goals and keep the weight off afterwards because we are literally fighting all our natural tendencies.
We need to be kinder to ourselves
Part of the change in mindset requires avoiding continually beating ourselves up.
No progress is ever made being stuck in a consistent negative thought loop all the time. We tend to deprive and punish ourselves, causing us to fall off the wagon and overeat, leading to almost starving ourselves and over-exercising. Then we keep repeating this pattern; we get stuck in the same cycle.
But it does us no good whatsoever – so we need to get out of this negative pattern of behaviour. But how?
By using a different part of our brain!
The problem is that the part of our brain that’s responsible for our desire for food is the amygdala – or our primitive brain (1,2). Our primitive brain wants us to feel comfortable and safe, triggering emotional eating in response to experiencing high levels of stress without a care for the future. And in that moment when the weight loss goal is no longer important to us, we give in, and fall back into the same cycle.
We can overcome this by using a different part of the brain, the pre-frontal cortex – or our logical, rational brain (1). By bringing more awareness to our behaviour we can move away from this negative cycle.
But this is not something we can do overnight; this will take time and practice.
What can YOU do?
At the surface level we know we need to look at exercise and what to eat, but there is a little bit more to it than that.
I want you to think about two questions.
Firstly, how do you feel about your overall weight goal?
If you’ve got weight to lose, I’m willing to bet it feels quite overwhelming. It probably feels like you’re never going to get there and what is the point of even trying.
But this can set ourselves up to not even start if we imagine our goal in that way.
The second question is how do you feel about just getting through today?
How do you feel about just doing the best you can today? Does that feel more achievable than your end goal? If so, then that’s what you need to focus on. Trust that every day you are doing your best and doing what needs to be done. Then rinse and repeat.
Focus on the day you’re in rather than the end goal that feels overwhelming and too far away. The journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step as they saying goes – so just focus on that very next step. Every time you take that step, you get further in the right direction. You have to trust the result will follow.
What definitely won’t work is giving up – that absolutely is not going to get you where you want to be.
What is that next step?
Well, you may not be sure yet. We’re bombarded with information all the time, and especially ‘eat less and move more’. But what does that actually mean? Our next blog topic will be all about how much less you need to eat and how much more you need to move so keep updated to find out more.
So, the first most important thing to do is to focus on today rather than our end goal, but at the same time remembering why we’re doing it.
Tomorrow doesn’t matter, next week doesn’t matter, only today matters. However, for our actions to be in line with our goals, we need to know what our goals are and how these actions help make our goals more achievable. Every single action you make in the day, ask yourself “is what I’m about to do in line with my goals?”
If the answer is yes, great! If the answer is no, then that begs the question why are we even doing it. We need to be aware of why our goal is important to us. If we don’t, we’re not going to understand why we’re making the effort in the first place.
It is crucial to your success for you to think about what it is that you want and why you want it.
If you aren’t aware of your why, how can you answer whether your actions align with your goal?
If we can start to explore and become more aware of why we are doing something then we have the opportunity to take a different course of action; one that aligns more with our goals.
Shifting our energy from our end goal to the actions we make can help keep that focus on each individual day rather than becoming overwhelming and causing us to give in.
They say the more you focus on something, the more it grows. So, don’t grow your negative mindset and behaviours – focus on your why and how your actions will align with this.
Every morning when you wake up, focus on what you do want and that will make you feel more inspired.
Thinking about what you don’t want puts you in unhelpful frame of mind and is likely to set you up to feel miserable.
So maintaining this focus on each day helps builds a solid foundation for making healthier choices, but how do you know what these healthier choices are?
Practical Solutions
When it comes to what to eat that is healthy, it is a big topic deserving of an article of its own.
But a good rule is to try to eat food as close to its natural form as possible. The more packaged and processed, the less likely it is going to be good for us (3).
When we’re choosing what to eat, we need to be thinking in terms of our mind AND our body. You may want to treat yourself with some chocolates, you may feel that you deserve it, but actually you may be just nourishing your mind, not your body. Try to think for everything that you eat whether it’s nourishing your mind AND your body with as natural ingredients as possible.
In terms of how much to eat, if we want to lose weight, we need to be eating less than our bodies need – i.e be in a calorie deficit (4). The problem is that calories hide everywhere, and it becomes incredibly difficult to know where. Therefore, it’s important to be mindful of your portion sizes.
Try to measure and record as much as possible, until you know what a portion size really is, and make sure you eat slowly. Eating slow gives our bodies a chance to catch up to the fact we’ve eaten enough; it allows us to become satiated (5), as well as being better for gut health.
Eating speed – If we eat very fast, we can easily overeat before we even notice. A way to manage this is to make a secret competition in your mind with whomever else you’re eating with to not be the first to finish, or even be the last, as a way to help you pace yourself better.
Are you drinking enough fluids? Water is obviously ideal, consuming 1.5 to 2 litres per day. But as long as we’re getting plenty of fluids, specifically low-calorie fluids in the day, and plenty of fruit and vegetables, then you are going to stay hydrated and better focused to stick to your goals (6,8).
Drinking sugary drinks, such as Coke, sneak calories into our diet without really satiating ourselves. These extra unnecessary calories are full of quick-release carbohydrates, meaning we burn through the calories we need at the time relatively quickly, leaving us with less energy supplies for later on as well as leaving us to feel like we still need food – leading to consumption of extra calories (7).
Sugar free alternatives, like Diet Coke, aren’t the best thing, but if it’s better than what you would normally go for then it’s still a good move.
Rather than trying to be perfect, think what you can do that’s just a little bit better than what you did before – this is what will make your weight loss more sustainable; small changes.
Also, fruit and vegetables are a rich source of hydration (8), as well as containing many of our essential micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Having many sources of fruit and veg throughout the day, five or more different sources (9), can ensure some of your hydration needs are met.
Are you getting enough sleep? Sleep is another big topic in itself which we will go over in more detail in the future. But there is a huge relationship between sleep and weight (10). If we’re getting enough good quality sleep, preferably 7-9 hours every night, we will be in a better position to make good choices. Feeling tired and grumpy exacerbates the difficulty of staying on track with anything we’re trying to achieve, let alone something as hard and life-consuming as consistently healthy eating and weight loss.
Are you managing your stress levels? We live in highly stressed environments. If we’re not looking after our stress levels, we’re going to be constantly living in our primitive brain, trying to comfort ourselves with every decision we make, leading us to overindulge.
If we don’t manage our stress levels, it can become a real barrier to success. Therefore, stress management techniques are essential to maintaining focus each day.
One proven method for effective stress relief is regular movement (11). We’re not designed to be sedentary creatures, glued to a seat for the majority of the day – we’re supposed to move. But life doesn’t allow everybody to move as much as they would like to. Becoming more aware of this, however, can help us consistently increase our activity levels.
Think about whether you are moving regularly throughout the day, even if you can’t do “formal” exercise. Just being generally active each day as much as you possibly can makes a big difference. As well as helping manage our stress levels, this can improve our mental wellbeing (11). Sitting down all day is not helpful for our mental health – many of us experienced this during lockdown. If we’re not feeling good about ourselves, again, it’s going to be much harder for us to make the right choices that support our health for the long run (and causing us to make choices to comfort us at every corner).
Those are the main focal points to make sure we’re including in our daily lives. We also need to make sure we’re not overdoing stimulants like caffeine, cigarettes, or other not-so-legal substances.
Limiting our alcohol use is also very important due to the hidden calories, the lethargic and mentally draining hangover, as well as just simply being a toxin for the body, which all in all, can severely impede our work towards our weight loss goal. Altering these key things within your lifestyle can make such a big difference to your success each day.
The problem with this, however, is trying to change everything all at once.
Trying to change everything adds an extra layer of stress, becomes overwhelming and we’re back at square one wanting to give in.
So rather than changing everything, do a stock take what you currently already do. How do you measure up on all those different areas. Look at where you can make small improvements. Focus on one thing that’s going to make the biggest difference and start with that. You can build from there once that first thing becomes habitual. Take your time and the rest will follow.
Summary
Our practical solutions to sticking to your goal starts with being more aware of what your goal is every morning when you wake up.
Ensure every action you take aligns with this goal.
Try to keep control of your portion sizes and that your food sources are as natural and unprocessed as possible.
Stay hydrated, consuming sugar free alternatives and five or more pieces of fruit and veg per day.
Regularly aim for 7-9 hours of good quality sleep every night.
Move as regularly as possible throughout the day, especially if we lead a sedentary lifestyle, to help manage our stress levels.
Avoid consuming too much caffeine, cigarettes or alcohol.
And finally, focus on the day you’re in. Make one change at a time and stick to it until it becomes second nature and the rest will follow.
I will leave you with one last thought that is so important to take on board.
If you are going to be successful with weight management, you need to understand it will take you far longer than you think it will. It will take far longer than you want it to.
But if you keep putting one foot in front of the other, if you don’t stare up at that mountain and instead just look at that very next step, making sure every step is in the right direction, I promise you will get there.
You just have to be patient with a capital P!
Want some help – join my community for tips, information and be the first to know when I’m taking on new clients.
See you there!
Claire
With thanks to contributing author James Jones, BSc (Hons) Psychology (1st class), PT (L3)
Claire Jones is a multi-award-winning Sustainable Weight Loss Coach, Mentor, Therapist, Speaker and Author of the popular book “How To Eat Less”. She helps people learn how to manage their weight well for life.
With a career background of over 25 years spanning the NHS, HM Prison Service, and the UK Fire Service, she had seen first-hand what happens when people don’t look after their health, and had a natural desire to help and to serve those in need.
However, it was after overcoming decades of yo-yo dieting and learning how to look after her own health, that she found a particularly unique way to be of service. She realised she had found an effective, unique and sustainable solution to the weight loss and regain cycles that so many go through, that cripples their confidence and holds them back from the lives they really want.
She is known for her relatable, down-to-earth manner and for helping her clients finally crack the code to their healthy weight and happiest selves.
References and Further Reading
1) Prefrontal Cortex and Amygdala Subregion Morphology Are Associated With Obesity and Dietary Self-control in Children and Adolescents – Kim, M.S. et al, 2020 (National Library of Medicine)
2) Liking and left amygdala activity during food versus nonfood processing are modulated by emotional context – Garcia-Garcia, I. et al (2019)
3) Healthy Food vs. Highly Processed Food: What to Know – Kubala, J. (2021)
4) What is a calorie, and how much of one is healthy? – Van De Walle, G. (2019)
5) Does Eating Slowly Help You Lose Weight? – Spritzler, F. (2019)
6) Water and Your Diet: Staying Slim and Regular with H2O – Shaw, G. (2022)
7) The impact of sugar sweetened beverage intake on hunger and satiety in minority adolescents – Shearrer, G.E. et al, 2016
8) Foods High in Water – Brennan, D. (2022)
9) Why 5 a Day? – NHS Website (2022)
10) Sleep More, Weigh Less – Paturel, A.(2022)
11) Exercise and stress: Get moving to stress management – Mayo Clinic (2022)
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