You Don't Really Want to Lose Weight

This is a summary of my latest video.  If you’d rather watch that, you can do it here.

More than half my clients and Facebook Group members tell me they want to lose weight.  That’s a huge percentage, and it is probably the same in the rest of the world, too.  But, let me ask you this.  Does everyone who says they want to lose weight and does the work actually succeed?  Cleary, hard work and more willpower is not a guarantee that you can lose weight.  So what does allow people to achieve their optimal weight goals?

If you’re one of those people, I get it.  I’ve been there, and I understand.  It’s not your fault.  After all, we live in a society that promotes a $255 billion dollar diet industry, and if we are all successful at losing weight, that industry will put itself out of business.  That is NOT their intention, as you can imagine.  In other words, the HUGE industry that we look to for help losing weight is actually incented to make sure you do not succeed.  And, if you keep trying to lose weight the way the diet industry tells you to do it, you could continue to want that for months or even years to come.

What if there was another way?  You see, you don’t really want to lose weight.  Don’t get me wrong, you may want to achieve your optimal weight, or even weigh less than you do right now.  But none of us want to lose weight.  Losing something sounds wrong, or at least uncomfortable.  Maybe the idea of being on a restrictive diet does sound uncomfortable (it does to me), but losing something also implies you want to find it again.  Think about that.  If someone says they have lost their diamond earrings, are they happy about it?  Absolutely not.  They will likely keep looking till they find those earrings.  See the difference?  I don’t know anyone who says they want to lose weight who WANTS to find that same weight again, but the truth is, somewhere between 80-95% of people who start a diet to lose weight gain it right back.  In other words, they DO find it again.  So, the term losing weight starts with a presumption of failure.  You may lose the weight, but you’re likely going to find it again, too.  

What if you could shift your perspective?  What if you could reframe  that phrase “lose weight” to “release weight”?  Hear the difference?  Doesn’t releasing weight seem more comfortable that losing weight?  If you release something, it goes away and doesn’t have to come back.  It’s free, and so are you. That’s what you really want, right?

Now before you stop watching because mindset stuff doesn’t help you achieve your goals, let’s be clear about one thing.  Mindset is critical to your success, regardless of your goals.  Our brains can only act on what they believe to be true.  So, for example, if you believe you only like junk food or you don’t like water or you don’t have enough willpower, that is how your brain is going to act.  The key to releasing weight is to BE the person who has already reached their optimal weight.  A person at their best fitness level probably hates junk food, drinks LOTS of water, and doesn’t have to use willpower to eat healthy foods, because that’s what healthy people do!  Pretty logical, right? This same mindset shift will work for any challenge you’re facing, too.  

So, do you want to keep working really hard and possibly have nothing to show for it or would you rather focus on your mindset so you can release that weight?  If you’re ready to BE that person who has already achieved your goals, come join our Power in Stillness private Facebook Group.