Let’s talk mental weight loss hacks, because I have used a few over the years. I see people who want to lose weight focusing on their food intake and workouts. Which is great of course, but there is more to weight loss. The reason why we gain weight is often because we have some underlying issues like stress, trauma’s, bad coping strategies and horrible eating habits. These mental ‘problems’ can make you start eating more than you should and gain weight. In this article and new video I’ll share my mental weight loss hacks to stop eating too much, let’s go!
Get some help
I can hear you think: ‘Girl what!? I don’t need no help, I’m not crazy and I can do this by myself.’ I am sure you can, but why say no to help to speed things along? Since I started studying social work, I’ve learned how important and good mental help can be. I have used the help of a psychologist and social worker a few times in the past. Let me tell you, this metal weight loss hack is the best! You see, our brains often take us on a trip we can’t stop. We are often programmed to cope with our issues the wrong way, like eating and then gaining weight.
A psychologist, coach or social worker can help you figure out what those issues are. And also help you find out how to cope with them, without eating yourself into a food coma. They can also tell you what it is your doing right and that is very important. Hearing that your life isn’t as bad as you thought, often gives you that boost of confidence you need to let go of that bad food pattern. That’s what really helped me out a lot. I learned that I indeed was making good decisions, which helped me stop eating out of stress. Stress I got from worrying about certain decisions and where my life was going.
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Train your brain
One of my mental weight loss hacks is training your brain. Meaning that you are often very used to eating a certain way, which turns into a habit your brain keeps asking for. It’s important to train your brain so it gets used to new healthy eating habits. For instance, I used to skip breakfast, which made me ‘binge’ a bunch of snacks around eleven in the morning. My brain was so used to eating a candy around eleven o’clock, I had the hardest time stopping this habit.
By training my brain I learned to have breakfast before nine a.m. in a few months. I started by having breakfast before nine o’clock in the morning once a week for a month. Then I slowly started having breakfast more and suddenly my brain started asking for breakfast before nine in the morning. Boom! That’s some really good brain training right there! Training your brain might take a while, but it’s really possible and necessary if you want to lose weight. Start today with something small, like skipping that unnecessary afternoon snack you always have.
The scale is your friend
A lot of people will tell you NOT to look at the scale. I’m tell you to DO look at the scale, haha! Let me explain why, because I know it sounds a little crazy. When I started losing weight I stood on my scale every day, hoping I lost some weight. I would track every weight change in the My fitness pal app and I started to notice some patterns. First of all, I’m a woman and I get periods. I noticed that I get heavier towards and during my periods. This helped me out mentally, because now I know I didn’t get fat overnight. It’s just water weight and a temporary body change.
I also learned that after having a big meal, you often carry that weight around in your stomach the next few days. Which also means you didn’t gain (fat) weight. No, you just have to poop, haha! You will see that you can lose up to half a kilo after pooping. Sounds crazy, but it’s true. Weighing yourself every day for a month or two, can help you understand when your body weight changes and why. This prevents you from stressing out when you suddenly ‘gain’ weight and you don’t know where it’s coming from.
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Eat the cookie
Yes, I’m telling you to eat the cookie. Not all the cookies, just one or maybe two. I learned at school that saying no to something, makes you want it even more. That’s why a lot of people who go on strict diets often fall of the wagon and go on a binge. They simply tried to hold back on eating the cookie, which makes them want it even more and then they ‘suddenly’ go overboard. So, when you are changing your diet, try to do it slowly. You see, your brain and body are very used to eating a certain way.
Going cold turkey may work for some people, but a lot of times it doesn’t. You might last six days without cookies, telling yourself you can’t have any. By day seven you eat two packs of cookies, because you can’t hold back anymore. Which will probably make you feel bad and like it was all for nothing. That’s why you see me have a cookie once in a while, even though I eat Keto style. By having one cookie I prevent my brain from wanting too much. This is how I managed to stop going overboard on snacks, because I use this easy moderation technique to train my brain and body.
I hope these mental weight loss hacks can help you too. I am all for having a healthy lifestyle, but I’m also about being fully relaxed about it. Losing weight is awesome, but food should not become your enemy. So use these hacks to help yourself instead of stressing yourself out, which will probably make things worse. Do let me know if you want to learn more about my mental weight loss hacks, because I have some more in store for you.
Enjoy your day,
Kaya-Quintana
P.S. Follow me on Youtube for more weight loss tips and tricks.