Using Psychology
to Lose Weight
Part of feeling confident that you can do it—losing excess weight, that is—is having a belief that your own body weight is changeable. What we are talking about here is simply believing that your body weight isn’t fixed. It is changeable. Having this belief is especially helpful when your weight-loss effort is threatened, like when you cheat on your diet and then have the urge to give up and just splurge.
How does believing “my body weight is changeable” work? First of all, it helps you stay motivated and committed rather than giving up on yourself. Your diet cheat isn’t the end of the world. Your world is shaken for a moment or two, but having the belief in your own body weight being changeable refreshes your sense that you can do something about the big mistake you just made. Secondly, having the belief that your body weight is changeable encourages you to think of weight-loss strategies to make this belief come true.
Facing weight-loss challenges with the strong belief that your overweight body is changeable puts you in the mindset to follow through and find ways to make what’s changeable change.
