This one is inspired by something I notice in myself as well as with my clients. It’s definitely a recurring theme.
When we are trying to lose weight or stay on track with our healthy eating, many of us have a tendency to blame an “outside” source of difficulty like our metabolism or menopause, etc.
“Outside” meaning something that’s outside of our control.
We think, “Ugh, I just have a slow metabolism and that’s why this is taking forever/harder for me/not working.”
I’ve heard it countless times. Even from my own brain.
But the interesting part, which we almost ALWAYS uncover during coaching, is that a “slow metabolism” or the like is actually a masked version of our frustration.
Let me explain.
We blame our inability to lose weight on the idea that we just have a slow metabolism when what’s really going on behind the curtain is frustration — we do well for a bit, then we get sick of doing what it takes, so we get frustrated and go off plan (even a little bit counts here) and then we end up not losng weight or gaining.
The key here is that it can even be just a little bit that we overeat on.
When we overeat at all, the body isn’t going to lose weight.
We know this intellectually, but when we’re actually repeating this process over and over again, it’s much easier for us emotionally to blame it on a slow metabolism or a hormonal issue.
It’s easier to say that there is something wrong with us than to admit that it’s just because we had a few too many bites of this or that.
And we don’t even really notice those extra bites either, especially when we are going subconscious and just…how should I put it…zombie eating? Eating mindlessly out of frustration.
Weight loss really does come down to just math.
If we eat a little too much, we gain or maintain.
But how honest are we being with ourselves about what we’re eating compared to what we NEED to eat to be at our healthy weight?
I have done this countless times…and then I started noticing those thoughts occurring:
“Ugh, I just have a slow metabolism.”
“Man, this just isn’t going fast enough.”
“This is hopeless.”
But that mindless eating we do because of frustration is the actual straw that breaks the camels back.
Not our metabolism.
Not our hormones.
None of that.
But if we can just be honest with ourselves about exactly what’s going on ALL the time, that’s when we gain true agency over our actions and thoughts and we get real results.
Staying conscious and sticking to what works is the name of the game here.
–Deciding ahead of time what we will eat and writing it down as a plan.
–Being conscious and admitting all the food that we’re ACTUALLY eating vrsus what we planned.
–Weighing every day and removing the drama from using a scale. Like checking our bank account to know how much money we have at all times.
These are the steps that actually get us there, if we repeat them day in, day out and just remove the drama over doing this.
We work to stop making up all the stories that this is hard…because it’s actually quite simple but we just have a toddler for a brain rebelling against our “rules”.
We realize that within guidelines, within budgeting, within planning there is actual freedom from all the oppressive thinking and guilt trips and shame from our typical overeating behavior.
Planning is not prison. Planning is freedom.
