Habits Are The Enemies Within That Sabotage Your Weight Loss Intentions
Habits Are The Enemies Within That Sabotage Your Weight Loss Intentions
Your habits are your worst enemies when it comes to weight loss.
They always attack us when we’re at our weakest.
You must learn to defeat them, or your weight loss goals will fail.
Habits can seem like another complete personality sometimes. Usually, one that’s opposing our good intentions about eating well and losing weight. It’s the most significant enemy on our weight loss journey. This enemy sabotages our every move, especially when we vow to eat healthy.
Then we somehow end up binging on the same foods that make us fat and unhealthy. Of course, then we feel guilty and blame ourselves or the food. These are both the incorrect target. Instead, it would help if you tried labeling what happened.
Something like, That part of my mind that’s been programmed to eat unhealthy took over. Label it something like “The habit that makes me eat unhealthy.” Label it something meaningful for you. That way, you have a correct target rather than blaming yourself.
Let’s try gaining more understanding of how and why you self-sabotage. It’s an important key to help you overcome this self-defeating behavior.
What exactly is this self-sabotaging beast?
Every time you end up self-sabotaging, it’s the habit or program that makes choices and acts for you. We think it’s our thinking, but it’s more like a state of non-thinking, right? This mindset forces you to go against your goals and values.
Self-sabotage is merely a trick of your mind that’s playing you. It’s keeping you stuck in your old patterns. Usually, you’re forced to play along and end up having to somehow “justify” your actions. It sticks the behavior more solidly. What do you do to sabotage your weight loss efforts? Do you use food to soothe your stress or negative emotions?
Maybe you have an all-or-nothing type of mindset about eating or health that causes you to fail. Habits are overpowering sometimes, right? They sneak up on you and bombard you with cravings. Self-sabotage isn’t the habit. It’s a state of being caused by habits.
And these habits have gotten you to where you are right now. That’s why I suggested you take the time to label these habits just like they’re separate personalities. Try it, and it will empower you if you do it well. If you don’t decide to stop them, then you’re most likely to continue doing them until you do.
What can we do to overcome these self-sabotage habits?
Let’s expand more on the idea of labeling these destructive habits. Let’s look at ways to dig deep so you can see them. Knowledge is power! You must identify your behaviors and patterns responsible for affecting your health, making it harder to lose weight.
Start a journal. Write down everything. Write the details of all the foods you eat in a day. Write down any thoughts and feelings that come up. Everything! Get to know on a deep level what you’re about. Write about your snacking, your overeating, any cravings, including their triggers, and insecurities about your body. Don’t hold back.
The more you can understand yourself, the more power you’ll have to change these habits. While you’re observing your behavior patterns, it’s important to note the emotions connected with them. What feelings occur just before, during, and after the self-sabotaging incidents?
Describe your feelings if you continue these behaviors every day for the next year or so of your life? What happens if you do nothing? Consider how that’ll make you feel. Now here’s where you take what you learned about yourself and do something about it.
It’s time to make new choices. Watch out for any justifications that you use. Are you lying to yourself to make it okay to act the way you do? When you notice these come up, do something different. Make a new choice. Consciously resist all the old behavior patterns.
The more effort you put towards practicing, the easier it’ll be, and the better you’ll get. Imagine how these new, positive actions make you feel, how they alter your outlook or attitude. Do this intentionally, so you don’t let older, deep subconscious patterns take over.
Avoid people, situations, or cues that trigger your behaviors as much as you can. When you place yourself in a positive environment, you release any stressors that made you choose poorly in the first place. You can eliminate all of your self-sabotaging patterns.
Final Thoughts
Don’t change things too rapidly. Taking smaller steps will help you stay calm without triggering stress. And, we know what stress does, right? Following these ideas can ensure you successfully end the self-sabotaging behaviors that stop you from losing weight.
You can only make massive transformations to your life by incremental changes. Focus on what you can do today that you can stick to, right now, to stop or lessen one action of self-sabotage. Put yourself on the right track toward better health, one step at a time.