Mind Makeover Pt II: Keep Your Thought Life in Check

Written by JJ Smith, #1 NY Times Bestselling Author and Weight Loss Expert

Posted September 13th, 2017 under Diet/Weight Loss, Health and Wellness, JJ Smith

Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve hit a point where you realize making a lifestyle change is a massive mental challenge that requires stamina, rational thought, and emotional support. You won’t lose any weight until you makeover your mind first. So we’ve developed a ‘mind makeover’ series where we’ll share my top seven mental strategies to keep your thought life in check! In series 2 of 4, we’ll explain why the world doesn’t owe you an ice-cream sundae and why having a losing mentality when you’re trying to win makes no sense!







The World Doesn’t Owe You An Ice-cream Sundae







We don’t always just eat to satisfy hunger. Let’s say you had a bad day—everybody at work was getting on your last nerve so you tell yourself, “because the weight of the world is on my shoulders and everybody in my circle has given me a hard time today, I deserve an ice cream sundae!” This is not the right mindset. The world does not owe you an ice cream sundae. The reality is, life’s going to bring you challenges. Occasionally using food as a pick me up, a reward, or to celebrate isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, when eating is your primary emotional coping mechanism—when your first impulse is to open the fridge whenever you’re stressed, upset, angry, lonely, or bored—you get stuck in an unhealthy cycle where your eating habits are causing your weight loss journey to be ten times harder than it needs to be.

Emotional hunger can’t be filled with food. Eating may feel good in the moment, but the feelings that triggered the eating are still there. And to be honest, you often feel worse than you did before because of the unnecessary calories you’ve consumed. The next time life throws challenges your way and your first thought is to turn to food as a coping mechanism, here’s what I want you to do: Write down ten things that make you feel comforted or rewarded, then plan to do one of them when you feel stressed or overwhelmed so you don’t resort to unhealthy eating. It could be a pedicure or a phone call to one of your friends. Anything really, as long as it gets your mind off of eating. No matter how powerless you feel over food and your feelings, it is possible to make a positive change. You can find healthier ways to deal with your emotions, eat mindfully, and regain control of your ideal weight.






Don’t Be a Loser (With a Losing Mentality)

Magic Weight Loss Pill







It’s a losing mentality to have fifty pounds of excess weight for ten to twenty years and all of a sudden get upset when you haven’t lost ten pounds in one month. Some of you have gotten spoiled with the 10-day green smoothie cleanse because you dropped ten pounds in ten days. You have to understand that permanent weight loss is not the purpose of a detox diet. A detox is to cleanse your body and get rid of excess toxins, which helps you shed a few pounds.

With all of the instant gratification available to us in today’s society, it makes it hard to have patience. The truth is, losing weight is a journey and a process. You didn’t gain all of your weight overnight so don’t expect to lose it all in one night either. Don’t give up on yourself! Normal weight loss is one to two pounds per week. That means by the end of the year, if you push forward and stay consistent, you could lose anywhere from fifty to one hundred pounds! When you feel like quitting ask yourself: Are you able to fit back into your favorite pair of jeans? Are you feeling sexy and confident? If the answer is no, push forward. You have to keep the big picture in mind. You can’t stress over two pounds when you’re trying to lose fifty! Losing weight requires having realistic goals and patience—think about where you’ll be in a year if you stay the course. Don’t develop a losing mentality on your weight loss journey. Stay the course and keep pushing forward! Until next time…









-xo JJ