Improving Your Weight Loss Attitude

Ask any motivational speaker, personal trainer, coach or weight loss professional what the single most important factor affecting weight loss success is and many will say that it is our attitude.

Of course having a positive attitude is not the only thing you are going to need to achieve and maintain your healthy weight, but without one you don’t stand a chance of achieving your weight loss goals.

Exactly what is Attitude?

Attitude means to be "ready to take action." Your attitude is basically your approach to a particular subject or situation based on your combined:

• beliefs.
• feelings.
• values.
• behaviour.

Another way to put it is that our attitude is the way we choose to view the world and can be either generally positive or negative.

Where weight loss and your happiness in life are concerned, the degree to which you can maintain a positive attitude about yourself, your circumstances and the people around you, the more likely you’ll be to achieve your goals and be generally a happier, healthier person.

The Wrong Attitude

So how do you know if your attitude is currently a road-block to you achieving your weight loss goals?

Well, chances are you have the wrong attitude towards weight loss if you want to lose weight but either:

• Do nothing about it, or
• Do the bare minimum to change.

Here are some more specific signs that you’ve got the wrong weight loss attitude:

• You believe that exercise is a punishment for eating well.
• You feel that eating healthier will stop you from having fun.
• You place greater value on work and relaxing than on your health and being active.
• You fail to make lifestyle changes because ‘its all too hard’.

These are just some of the signs of a negative attitude to weight loss.

To find out if you have a generally negative attitude to exercise, healthy eating and weight loss, just listen carefully to what that little voice in your head begins saying when you think about making some real positive changes in your life.

Developing a Positive Attitude

As we said at the outset, developing a positive attitude towards weight loss is the first thing you’ll need to successfully achieve your weight loss goals.

If you have a generally negative attitude towards the things you know you’re going to need to do to lose weight, or if your attitude could be better, here are 50 things that you can do to improve it:

1. Think about what you want, not what you don’t.
2. Don’t wait for a significant medical or emotional event in your life to force change.
3. In uncertain times expect the best for yourself and those around you.
4. Use positive words when talking to yourself and others.
5. Be honest with yourself.
6. Remember that every positive step you take brings you closer to your end goal.
7. Think long term.
8. Become more aware of your mindset and attitude and how they affect you.
9. Remember persistence pays.
10. Set realistic goals and be satisfied by each positive step.
11. Believe that the benefits of hard work outweigh the effort.
12. Be flexibility enough to cope when things do not go to plan.
13. Be aware of your emotions and minimize emotional eating.
14. Learn to listen to your “internal dialogue”.
15. Sleep!  Sleep helps you feel good and function better.
16. Don’t be afraid to express your feelings – good or bad.
17. Simplify your life and get back to basics.
18. Help others.
19. Find your spirituality.
20. Allow yourself to be loved.
21. Participate in new physical and mental activities.
22. Follow the principles of holistic health.
23. Be wary of the negative focus of the mainstream media.
24. Let go of "emotional baggage".
25. Decide to have one positive day, then another, and another…
26. March to your own drum.
27. Try positive affirmations (scripted self-talk) and see if they work for you.
28. Remember attitudes develop during childhood and aren’t changed overnight.
29. Try not to compare yourself to others.
30. Make a list of all the things you like about yourself.
31. Know what stresses you.
32. Balance work and your personal life, family and health, and take time out.
33. Laugh – Try to find humour in everyday situations.
34. Change your scenery and your routine.
35. Recharge your batteries. Try meditation, yoga, hot baths, listening to music, or sleep.
36. Be a positive listener and speaker.
37. Remind yourself that failure is an event, not a person & you haven’t failed until you’ve given up.
38. Become a lifetime student.
39. Read something informational or inspirational every day.
40. Start and end the day with positive input into your mind.
41. Remember success is a process, not an event.
42. Be grateful. Gratitude is a wonderful habit to get into and it's free!
43. Choose to be happy.
44. Look at the bright side of bad situations.
45. Have faith in yourself and in the power of the Universe.
46. Associate with happy people.
47. Read inspiring books.
48. Learn concentration and meditation.
49. Remember being optimistic does not mean always being cheerful.
50. If you feel you need help, contact a healthcare professional.

So, how will you know if any of these suggestions are helping?

You’ll know you’ve developed a positive attitude when you start to expect success, you engage in positive, constructive and creative thinking, become optimistic about the future, find the motivation to accomplish your goals, look at failure and problems as blessings in disguise, believe in yourself and display self-esteem and confidence in everything you do.

Conclusion

Becoming an optimist will bring many benefits into your life, especially if you have weight loss goals.

Optimists are generally able to cope better with stress and are less likely to develop stress-related illnesses. When optimistic people do become ill, they tend to recover more quickly.

Developing a positive attitude adds to our quality of life and spills over into our relationships with others, enhancing their lives in the process.

Overall, a positive attitude helps lead to happiness and success. It possesses the power to change your whole life.

When you see the bright side of life, your life becomes filled with light. This light affects not only you and the way you look at the world, but also your whole environment and the people around you.

By following some of the tips above we hope that you can improve your attitude, enjoy achieving your goals and attaining success, be happier, have more energy, feel greater inner power and strength, develop the ability to inspire and motivate yourself and others, and acquire the ability to surmount any difficulty.

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