When managing body weight, you’re probably laser-focused on how your weight is changing day to day or week to week.
This most likely applies whether or not you’re also taking obesity medications.
Though I advocate tracking body weight as a good self-monitoring tool, weight is only 1 metric of health.
If you’re someone who loses motivation easily when pursuing health goals, here are some mindset tweaks to consider:
1-Pay Attention to Immediate Benefits
As you try new things in your quest to attain better health, start to reflect on ways these new activities offer you some immediate benefits.
Realizing immediate benefits can drive healthier behaviors.
Here are some examples:
- A 10-minute walk outside in the midst of a stressful work day can help you feel less stressed and have a clearer mind.
- A planned healthy snack that combines protein and produce can give you an energy boost in the late afternoon.
- Taking an after dinner walk with your dog before or after work helps to lift your mood.
- Doing resistance training 2 times a week in the morning at home using your own body weight and some bands can make you feel stronger.
When you remind yourself of the many ‘health wins’ you are achieving on your quest to a healthier weight, you’ll be more apt to stick with those behaviors.
2-Strive to be a “B” Student
A common misperception my patients struggle with is thinking they have to strive for perfection in order to be successful managing weight.
But this perfectionistic mindset only sets you up for failure because eating and exercise rarely go perfectly each and every day.
Since managing weight tends to be a lifelong endeavor, I encourage all of my patients to drop the perfectionistic mindset and strive to be a ‘B’ student instead.
Interested in adopting this new ‘B’ student mindset? Here are some ways to get started:
- Instead of banning all desserts from your diet, you find some treat options that are satisfying enough that you only need 100-200 calories worth.
- Instead of giving up drinking any alcohol, you enjoy a glass of wine as a special treat 1 or 2 times per week.
- Instead of giving up all bread, you find some higher-fiber, thin-sliced bread options that you enjoy.
For more examples, check out my self-help book, Six Factors to Fit: Weight Loss that Works for You!
3-Ask for Help
Changing your mindset from “I have to do this by myself” to “Let’s do this together” can go a long way toward moving you in the right direction when managing weight.
Make 2024 your year to assemble your weight management professional team.
If you’re struggling with healthy meal planning, following an exercise program or managing stress and unpleasant emotions, you can get expert help to manage weight from health care professionals like registered dietitian nutritionists, personal fitness trainers and health psychologists – all important team members.
Start by seeing your primary care provider to have him or her partner with you in your quest for better health; you can also ask if you are a candidate for any of the new weight loss medications.
Remember that weight is only 1 parameter of health, not a destination itself.
RK
Robert Kushner, MD
