Let me tell you why weight loss is a mind game.
Your brain, whether intentional or not, is an avid professional liar. It skews your vision, your comfort, your worth, your mood, your perception, your understanding, your experience. And for what gain? To literally fight with yourself. What kind of mind game is that. I’m intentionally fighting myself every single day. And it’s not “just a little fight,” it’s day in and day out on top of 15 other fights I’m just tired of having with other people, with myself, with society, with the world, with the truth. No wonder we are exhausted.
Here’s what happens…
I’m awake, because my mind won’t shut down and when my mind won’t shut down, I’m hungry. But if I eat, I sabotage my healthy allotted calories for the day. If I don’t eat, my brain doesn’t tell me hey good job, you got this, you’re going to be sexy tomorrow, you’re one step to healthier and performing what you preach. It’s not real hunger, it’s emotions.
No, it’s not that simple.
It says, hey you deserve it, you exercised today. Hey you were stressed today one time won’t count. Oh you’re tired. Oh you don’t like those foods. Those foods won’t make you feel good or feel happy or calm. They get stuck in your teeth and that’s just not enjoyable for anyone. Or what if you never eat this again. What about that one time you ate it and you felt nostalgia and remembered hanging with your dad. Or what about saying no makes you look like a party pooper and a “weirdo” or “on a diet” which all implies temporary success. Or what about feeling rude when you decline plans revolving around foods. What about the holidays when “it’s the only time I get this” — you’ve nearly tasted it for 40 years, it hasn’t changed. What about that calm that does come over you when you do consume something you were merely dreaming about. What about when you can’t deny it because your partner made it for you or it’s a special occasion. And that would just create another type of fight.
Or how about when you have a craving and you even make it to the point of “this didn’t taste as good as I remember it tasting,” what happens next? Not, don’t ever do that again. Nope. It’s try it next time it’ll be better. What in the actual world is this purgatory of mental battles. This is why we “fail” at weight loss. It’s not a drug, it’s not a “diet,” it’s our own heads, our own brains and our own excuses.
And yes I use this verbiage in my visits because I can’t find a better word that fits the complexities of weight loss so perfectly.
Oh and then. Then when you’re actually doing great at portion control, have you ever tried to cook less after 20 years of a recipe? Like it really is harder than it seems. And then your eyes chime in and say, that’s not going to fill you. That’s not enough. You “always” eat this much, better eat that much again. My goodness. Of all the fights that I can generally just walk away from unscathed, this one is the hardest and most tortuous and I don’t have it all figured out yet.
