The Psychology of Weight Loss Motivation. When it comes down to it, weight loss is simply about a deficit in calories. But for being so simple it’s surprisingly challenging.
So when it comes to the psychology of weight loss motivation, here are some things you need to know, and should frequently remind yourself of.
1. Accept Yourself, As Is.
This seems a bit backward, right? I’m trying to get fit but also be just fine with not being fit?
Yes, exactly. Most of us are envisioning ourselves in the ideal body that we want, the one that is a very long term goal that’s hardly achievable.
That sets us up for failure because that picture you have in your head will take a long time.
This is one of the most common psychological reasons for not losing weight.
It can be hard to give up that rigid view of what we see as fit, sexy, strong, etc.
But the psychology of weight loss motivation shows that it’s worth practicing because having such high standards puts extra stress on you and even the people around you. It creates a daunting environment & state of mind.
Here is another thing;
A lot of us start thinking about our fitness goals after the holidays, or after we’ve had a “cheat weekend” or we found a box of donuts at work, etc.
We want to improve our body, and that’s okay. But, we get stuck on this idea that we’ve put ourselves behind.
We went backwards, fell off the wagon, whatever you want to call it, don’t.
What you’re doing is refusing to accept your own patterns, lifestyle, & tendencies.
We gloss over those aspects that are really the most important piece of changing our lifestyle by calling them “mistakes”.
The reality is, the holidays will come back around.. every year. Your boss will still throw pizza parties & you’re still going to occasionally eat many more calories than you had planned.
Every time this happens & you notice your inner words saying things like “I shouldn’t have….XYZ”; reframe them.
Here is an example of adjusting this mindset;
I accidentally ate 3 donuts. That’s 900 calories. It’ll take me 6 hours of walking to burn that off and correct my error.
(In this frame of mind you’re insinuating that you’re powerless but also must reconcile your actions.)
I chose to eat three donuts that I really liked. I’ve planned on eating healthier and I can still do that. My body burns about 2000 calories everyday without doing anything.
(In this sentence you made the choice. It’s accepting & empowering).
This isn’t to say that everything you want to do you should do. But, it’s shifting your frame of mind, lifting the guilt off your shoulders & acknowledging yourself as you are.
Which leads me to something else to consider when you’re using the psychology of weight loss motivation.
2. Get to Know Yourself
You can get rid of the guilt and still want to be a better version of you.
But it will require some self awareness.
A lot of us follow inspiring people on Instagram or learn from youtubers, etc. It’s okay to get ideas or inspiration from others, but there’s no need to force yourself into the steps that others take.
Too much of that exposure can create a disconnect from our own journey; which is the most relevant one.
Here’s how you can use the psychology of weight loss motivation
- Talk about your habits with accepting people
- Consider how your environment impacts you and your lifestyle
- Who are your people and how do they impact you?
- Recognize your own shortcomings or unhealthy habits
- Then explore them
- Identify barriers & try addressing them
- Try different approaches
- Take the time to reflect
- Therapists can also help sort out emotional tendencies
- There are tons of online groups to connect with others
- Give yourself grace
“When a flower doesn’t bloom you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower”
Alexander Den Heijer
- Try tracking things and pay attention to your patterns
Psychology of weight loss motivation says that if you start to pay attention to how things influence you, motivation will come easier.
Which leads me to my next tip.
3. Find Inspiration
Sometimes things like creating a vision board or trajectory map keep us engaged. They make goals more personalized & enjoyable.
Here are some ideas for inspiration
- Revisit something that once inspired you
- Or come up with a new way to spark the feeling
- Listen to a TED talk
- Track your progress
- Go on walks/outside.
- Make a pros/cons list
- Be willing to travel a bit
- Meet new people
- Meditate
- Find someone who shares your vision
- Read motivational quotes
- Do something out of your comfort zone (but don’t hold yourself to a certain standard)
Psychology of weight loss motivation proves that when we succeed we’re more motivated to keep working.
But success is subjective; so here is another tip.
4. Relentlessly Admire Yourself
Lifestyle changes are challenging & you’re likely going to come up with some inaccurate adjectives to describe yourself.
Because I work in mental health & am passionate about it; I’m gonna drop some knowledge.
Let’s get a bit more detailed, because it’s important.
You learned how to perceive yourself from those around you, a long time ago. Sometimes we gather this information in obvious ways but many times it’s subtle.
We learned a lot of it from caregivers that
- Create unrealistic standards
- Pretend emotions don’t exist
- Force certain expectations onto kids
- Shame people for expressing emotions
- Never displayed appropriate emotional responses
- Refuse to take accountability
- Compare kids to other kids, adults, parents, or siblings
- Equate their definition of “success” to someone’s worth
Many of us were conditioned & are still bound to these “psychological shackles” or “cognitive distortions” & they tend to HEAVILY influence our actions.
Here is a visual of how our thoughts inevitably impact our behavior.
Here is a PDF of this if you want to use for yourself
It can be hard to adjust these when we don’t even recognize we have them. Underneath many unhealthy lifestyles is a thought distortion (that we learned & can unlearn) that is impacting our results.
It takes practice (and often some guidance) to untangle those thoughts & realize that you are deserving of admiration.
I’ll leave you with that.
But, I would be skipping a very important aspect of the psychology of weight loss motivation if I didn’t mention sleep.
So, last but not least…
5. Prioritize Your Sleep
Tons of people overlook the value of good sleep. If you’re trying to make positive lifestyle changes, clean up your sleep routine.
Not getting enough sleep causes your body to increase cortisol which
- Increases your stress
- Raises your blood sugar
- & Increases blood pressure
These changes in your body might look like this;
- Poor cognition, focus or attention
- Increased anxiety and depression
- Feeling tired through-out the day
- Feeling tired after sleeping
- Difficulty remembering
- Being “spaced out” or “sidetracked” easily/often
- Increase in mistakes/errors
- Mood changes
Here are some research backed, proven better sleep choices.
Address Your Caffeine
Try to either reduce caffeine, eliminate caffeine, or cut yourself off earlier in the day.
Caffeine makes us use the bathroom more often (including at night) and also stimulates us. It also makes us more prone to anxiety.
Don’t be too quick to underestimate the impacts of caffeine.
Caffeine withdrawal can last up to about 9 days, so even though your sleep may improve without it, you will go through about a week of caffeine withdrawal symptoms which include:
- Being tired
- Irritable
- Sad
- Tremors
- Headache
- Anxiousness
Address Your Nicotine
Nicotine is another stimulant which means it’s likely hindering restorative sleep.
With nicotine in your system it will likely take you longer to fall asleep and you won’t sleep as deep or as long as you would without it.
It’s worth contemplating, reducing, eliminating, or cutting yourself off earlier in the day.
& Alcohol
Alcohol is a sedative, so it does help us fall asleep.
But, it’s really not a good thing for your overall sleep quality.
Because of the complex way our sleep cycles work, when alcohol is in our system we end up getting less REM sleep overall, which decreases our sleep quality.
I could give you a very long list of the negative impacts of alcohol but just take my word for it.
& Marijuana
Let me guess; You use marijuana to help you fall asleep? I hear this ALL the time as a mental health professional.
As much as it hurts to hear it, unless you’re managing severe chronic pain that would otherwise impair your sleep, marijuana is likely working against you. Here is why.
Many people say it helps them fall asleep, but research has proven that it fragments your sleep cycles, preventing you from getting deep restorative sleep that is really important for you to function at your best.
Another thing, Cannabis is stimulating for a lot of people which can increase symptoms of anxiety.
Shortly after using it we feel awake, energetic, happy; if you use THC juuussst before you go to bed; you’re likely throwing a wrench right in your precious sleep cycle.
Think about the impacts of doing this chronically.
You would continuously be shorting yourself on restorative sleep, leading to chronic symptoms of insomnia which impacts many aspects of your health.
The effects of sleep deprivation on the brain should not be taken lightly.
Did you know statistics show that people with mental health disorders use marijuana more than the average population?
It’s worth mentioning that ‘correlation’ does not mean ’cause’.
But, don’t overlook the undeniable correlation with deteriorated mental health and chronic use of THC.
Don’t shoot the messenger, I don’t like it either.. But my advice is, pay attention to what weed is really doing for you.
You can read more about the impacts of THC here
Teach Your Brain Where To Sleep
Where do you sleep?
Maybe its a bed, maybe it’s a couch, wherever it is make sure it’s a place you sleep, and that’s it.
With the exception of sex, don’t start doing other activities where you sleep, like reading, scrolling Facebook, watching YouTube, watching TV, etc.
Our brains learn to associate a certain location to sleep. When you lay in bed and shut off the lights your brain increases your melatonin.
If you get in bed and turn on the tv, or do XYZ… You’re losing that association & are much more likely to have symptoms of insomnia.
Wherever you lay down to sleep, make sure that’s the only thing you do there.
Make a Routine
If you want to build on that association you can make a routine before you go to sleep. It doesn’t need to be excessive, but here is an example, lets say you want to fall asleep by 10:30pm each night.
- 9:00pm-9:15pm Prepare coffee maker. Put keys, purse and phone where they go.
- 9:15pm-9:30pm Take a shower
- 9:30pm-9:50pm Read something (not in bed or on a screen) while having a tea (without caffeine in it)
- 9:50pm-10:00pm Brush teeth
- 10:00pm-10:30pm Go to sleep (hopefully it’s that simple)
Get Rid of Distractions
Try to reduce loud noises, bright lights, pets or other stimulating/distracting things where you sleep.
Napping
There are a couple of things to consider about naps. Such as, how long is a nap?
Sticking to less than 90 minutes is usually best.
There are some benefits of napping but napping for over 2 hours is pushing it.
Sleep in a Cool Temperature
Temperature surprisingly has a lot to do with our sleep quality. During REM sleep our body temp drops which lets us repair cells and store memories.
A cooler environment will also promote melatonin and human growth hormone.
Most of the time when we can’t fall asleep at night, or wake up and can’t fall back asleep; it’s because of our body temp.
Sleep experts say 60-65F or 15-19C will help our body get to the ideal temperature, and fall asleep quicker.
Exercise
A couple of sleep and exercise facts:
Exercise does release endorphins which can keep us awake and it also raises your temperature, which needs to come down before you get restful sleep.
So, try to be done with exercise 1-2 hours before sleeping.
Exercise does help us sleep better though. Humans are meant to move. We have an internal clock that relies on a sleep-wake cycle.
When you exercise, you increase your body temp, which tells your body to be awake & helps your body differentiate when it’s time to be awake and when it is time to sleep.
Do Something To Relax in The Evening
- Reading
- Breathing exercises
- Journaling
- Sit outside in the grass
- Listen to a podcast
- Color
- Paint
- Bird watching
- Chat with a friend to debrief about your day
- Take a warm shower, bath, or foot soak
Melatonin for Sleep
Melatonin is a hormone we make naturally in the absence of light.
Taking a melatonin supplement is typically considered safe.
We usually make enough of it on our own, but if you wanted to try supplementing it you could try taking it about an hour before bed.
Side effects of melatonin include
- Sleepiness
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Nausea
Melatonin side effects are generally pretty low risk but it is possible to use too much.
Here is a free PDF about sleep hygiene
So when it comes to the psychology of weight loss motivation; there are 5 lengthy tricks, from a mental health nurse.
If you liked these words you can read more at www.twoforsue.com.
I write and continuously learn about anything mental health related. I’ve stumbled through all of life with somewhat of a “mental health lens”, intrigued, saddened, bitter, and mystified by it.
I’ve lived through some things, but so have many others. I by no means think I have the “right” answers or know the most.
I blog about mental health because I’m passionate about it & want to share the ongoing challenges of it with others.
My mother passed away when I was 12 (from addiction). My dad was an alcoholic & still is.
I became a registered nurse in 2015. At the moment I’m a mental health professional. I enjoy helping others but like many others have my own obstacles.
Dysfunctional habits & PTSD were my life until the age of about 27. Lived in horrific moments that happened when I was child & lacked the guidance to find my way out.
Had my son as a teenager. I married a person I didn’t want to marry because I was that much of a people pleaser.
I used a lot of the things I blog about to transform my life.
Here is a much lengthier About Me
Some other places we can connect
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