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How to Change Your Mindset and Lose Weight

How to change your mindset and lose weight? It’s really a great question, isn’t it? Weight loss is a very common goal for adults today, more so than ever before. According to the CDC, Percent of adults aged 20 and over with overweight, including obesity: 71.6% (2015-2016). That is a lot of folks out there wanting to lose weight. When you can find several gyms, yoga studios and the like in most any neighborhood these days, why is so many of us still overweight?

The answer isn’t an easy one because it’s not the same for everyone. We all know that each individual is different, has a different metabolism and different triggers that cause them to overeat or be very content to sit on the sofa instead of moving more and exercising regularly. However, there are some great practices that we will share to help you on your way in your personal fitness journey.

We Have To Get In Touch With Our Reasons (AKA Our Why)

To break our inertia and usual habits of poor eating choices and not exercising, we have to have a compelling reason to change. We need to have a vision of the body and fitness that we want to have so that when choices confront us – like between a chocolate cookie and an apple, we will make the smart choice.

If we can be mindful of the fact that our bathing suit wearing vacation is 10 weeks away, we can more easily choose the apple as a snack, than if we have no particular goal, save the old ‘I want to lose weight’ goal.

You may ask, ‘But Patricia, what if you don’t have an event like a hot weather vacation, looming in the near future to drive us?” That’s when we have to use our imagination and get creative. We have to pick a target and a date to reach it by, even if it seems of no significance to us, we need to pretend that it does have some special significance so that we can be driven to work hard on that goal and target date.

The Power of Imagination

When you do not have a compelling event coming up that you want to lose weight for then you have to make believe that you do. Then you need to pick a good reason that will compel you to consistently act in accordance with obtaining your goal by your target date.

Get it fixed in your mind that by June 1st (or whatever date you choose) you need to be down X (insert your goal) pounds or your life will be unbearable. Imagine that this target date and goal are of paramount importance to you and that you absolutely MUST do it!

Once you believe that it’s an absolute MUST, then you can obsess daily with getting yourself to act in accordance with your goal.

It will be such an easy decision to eat the apple over the cookie and get to the gym when you have a MUST target like that.

Your imagination is a wonderful and powerful gift so use it to your advantage!

Use Mentors

Now that you are on your way towards achieving you goal, be on the look-out for motivation from other’s success stories. You can easily find stories on social media, in books, on T.V. and movies of others that achieved their MUST goals. Use these stories to keep yourself inspired and on course. Not only will their success stories inspire you but success also leaves clues and you can learn from what they did. Why re-invent the wheel, follow other achiever’s examples to see what works for you.

Chances are the determination and drive of these mentors can help brainwash you into having similar, can-do-it attitudes and affect your mindset in positive ways to help you achieve more than you have ever before.

I remember when I was a teenager, I watched / exercised to a daily show from Denise Austin and it continuously inspired me to want to be fitter than I was and emulate her positive energy. I remember thinking, “what would Denise do” when confronted with a temptation to indulge in laziness or binge eating. Denise got me through a lot of touch teenage years and inspired me to become a personal trainer years later. She was one of my many mentors that have made me the success that I am now.

Pick A Plan and Stick With it.


Now that you have a target and you have made it your must do, now you have to pick your plan of action or strategy to get you there. If your plan is to go for a walk every day for at least 20 minutes and weight train three times a way while you incorporate a particular diet plan, then stick with it long enough to test that the results are on par with your goals.

If it turns out that your particular strategy isn’t working (after you tried it for long enough to tell), then just view that as data and adopt a new strategy to test out. Do not get hung up about your lack of progress, just adjust your steering to keep you on course. Anyone who has ever achieved great things had to go through many trials and errors to find the systems that work best.

Practice Gratitude

Staying grateful may seem inconsequential to a weight loss strategy but I have found it works well with my clients and as well as my own self.  If we can stay in a grateful mindset, then fails are simply lessons and success is celebrated each step along the way. If we wait until we achieve our goal to feel grateful and happy, then we are missing out on each day along the way. We should not reserve happiness until we reach our destination, life is about the journey.

20 Responses to “How to Change Your Mindset and Lose Weight

  • I have to say, you address this universal issue from such a unique perspective bringing into bearing, a very important factor that most often overlook. I totally agree that to break out of the habits that cause us to be overweight, we must without fail, have a compelling reason to change. That being said, the power of a mindset change can be utilized in this regard. Thanks for sharing 

    • Patricia Sullivan
      4 years ago

      Hi Rhain,

      Thank you for your comments. Mindset is the key to change for sure. We have to have a strong, compelling reason. Thanks again!

  • Nuttanee
    4 years ago

    What a perfect timing for this article. I think in order for us to lose weight, it is not only just about you eat, it is about how you think as well. You have to change your mindset that you can do it and it is a new lifestyle that you enjoy doing. All the tips are useful but I would like to add that community is also important. It is always good to belong of a certain diet plan so we can exchange our experience and thoughts 🙂

    Cheers! 

    • Patricia Sullivan
      4 years ago

      Hey Nuttanee,

      You are right. Having the support of a group or community is hugely helpful. Why go it alone? Thanks for your comments!

  • Fiona K
    4 years ago

    Hi, 

    Thank you for sharing this great article with us on how to change the mindset and lose weight. l have picked up weight myself over Christmas holding days getting in touch with my reasons will not be difficult for me.I found it very informative and helpful , I have friends that have problems committing to what they say to Pick A Plan and Stick With it. l am going to share your article with them and my boss, this article might score me to get increase at work, it will be very helpful as losing weight is not easy without proper self motivation, committing to losing weight is never easy for anyone and with your article l am sure it will help a lot of people, job well done. I have book marked your website so that l can come back to read it again. Great article.

    Wishing you all the best and stay blessed!

    • Patricia Sullivan
      4 years ago

      Hi Fiona,

      Thank you for your kind comments. I am glad that you find it helpful and that you are sharing the knowledge with others. Best of luck on all your goals!

  • Shanta Rahman
    4 years ago

    Many thanks to you for sharing such an excellent article with us .Losing weight is not really important for weight loss, it is important to change your mind because if you do not have confidence in yourself, then losing weight is never possible. I can enjoy a beautiful life by changing my mindset .Also, it is important to include a specific diet .I have to choose the compelling reason for the change to break regular eating choices and non-exercise habits. That’s why I have to build my imagination, find inspiration from success stories, pick the right plan, and practice regularly. This is how I was able to change my mind to lose weight .

    Lastly I hope everyone reading your article will benefit greatly and be able to change their mind to lose weight and share their new experiences with you soon.

    • Patricia Sullivan
      4 years ago

      Dear Shanta, I am very happy to hear of your success. Thank you for your comments. 

  • Juan Saladin
    4 years ago

    Getting a clear reason is very important. That reason is what will fuel us when we get tired. Thanks for sharing this great post!

    “Pick a plan and stick to it” sounds great, It is kind of the one logical thing to do, right? Well, better said than done in most of the cases I remember. We, being humans have our “Reasoning” power, which is another way to say: A powerful capacity to act like animals and then come up with the right excuses and justifications.

    What could be better than your own health and as a plus, looking lean muscles? 

    We tend to see more for others than for ourselves. I remember running a donation campaign for my school in my last year. In my community, we were introduced to alcohol and other drugs really early in our lives. There was no efficient way that our young fellows away from drugs until resented with the opportunity of saving a life (by donating their blood). 

    Blood donation comes with some requisites. You should be clean for your blood to be donated to someone else (Bingo!)

    Getting in shape should be a secondary or indirect result of your main intention (that needs to be more powerful).

    • Patricia Sullivan
      4 years ago

      Dear Juan, thank you for your comments. It’s great that you did a blood drive!

  • Villarose1
    4 years ago

    Hi Patricia,

    First and foremost I would like to congratulate you for being able to lose weight and be healthy. 
    This is a very common problem nowadays and I feel so sorry for those who are really in great distress trying to lose weight and by being able to resist the temptation of eating yummy and most of the time unhealthy for you. 
    your site would definitely a blessing as you’ve given quality recommendations on what to do in order to lose weight. 

    I do agree with your mind setting. Really a powerful one if you intentionally exercise it. 
    Also seeking mentors. 
    Yes! Absolutely! We  don’t know everything and so we definitely need the help of those who are expert in a certain field. 
     Well done, and keep going. 
    you are definitely giving great values and you can be assured of a great reward too in return. 

    Cheers,

    Villarose

    • Patricia Sullivan
      4 years ago

      Hi Villarose1, thank you for your share. It sounds like you have the right mindset to achieve any goal. Thank you for the encouragement to me and others. 

  • Claude Langlais
    4 years ago

    Hello Patricia.

    I am a middle-aged man and the only diet I have ever followed is when I quit smoking A year later I had gained about 25 pounds and thanks to this diet I lost them in as much time.

    I no longer remember the name of the diet but I had to consume only fresh fruit or fruit juices in the morning and as much as I wanted and eat as usual the rest of the day.

    Your article reminds me that we have to get out of our comfort zone if we are to accomplish or achieve something important to us.

    • Patricia Sullivan
      4 years ago

      Hi Claude, thank you for your comments. I am overjoyed to hear that you successfully quit smoking and lost weight in the past. You obviously have a strong will and I am sure that you can achieve anything!

  • These are great tips and thanks for sharing them. I agree with what you said that we need to have a vision and it’s because everything begins in the mind. I have a weird trick that works for me. Before I eat something considered junk food, I ask myself how that particular food could affect my eyes because I’m always conscious of eye health. Like, before I eat a candy bar, I ask myself how can all the sugar, empty calories, fat, food colorings, etc.. affect my vision? Because eye health depends a lot on nutrition. Then I find myself not wanting to eat it.

    Sunny

    • Patricia Sullivan
      4 years ago

      That’s a very good way of tricking yourself out of eating poorly. I love it!

  • Md Millat
    4 years ago

    Thank you so much for sharing such an excellent article with us. Your article was interesting and informative. I have got a lot of information about change my mindset and lose weight. I think for us to lose weight, it’s not just about my eating, it’s also how I think. I have to change my mindset that I can do it and it is a new way of life that I enjoy. In each case, we need to change our eating habits and change our mindset and we need to exercise regularly. It is beneficial to the body and helps in weight loss. I enjoyed reading your article. I will share your article with my friends so that my friends can benefit from reading your article. Thank you again.

    • Patricia Sullivan
      4 years ago

      Hi Md Millat, thank you for your comments. Keep up the healthy mindset

  • MrBiizy
    4 years ago

    Hello Patricia. This is definitely one of the best guide I have seen that will help loose weight if followed strictly. The truth is our minds control our lives. Poverty and riches are born of the mind, although poverty is very stubborn, lol. In loosing weight, the mind will play a vital role in helping us choose healthy food over unhealthy ones and also engage us in effective and regular exercises. Taking weight loss deadline as a very important event would be just effective enough. A positive mindset is what is required to loose weight.

    • Patricia Sullivan
      4 years ago

      Hello MrBiizy, thank you for your comments.You are right a mindset is what it takes to put in the hard work against wrong choices. 

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