Preliminary step to weight loss is training your mind

As a dietician in my practice to make people eat healthy the most common statement which I have always come across is, “Mam, I don’t think I will lose weight how much ever I try because I don’t have the willpower”.

Well, when you are aware that you do not have the will power then all you need to do is set your mind on it and work towards it. You can lose weight if you decide you want to. The biggest barrier you face is actually being self-discipline and having a strong will power. It is a vicious cycle we all have fallen into.

The cycle starts with eating a poor diet full of carbs, fats, and processed foods. This, in turn, makes you lethargic and tired all the time. You don`t feel like exercising. What follows next? Is a huge loss of willpower and you end up feeling extremely miserable and hopeless?

But, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Certainly, there is a ray of hope for all. You can make the change. If you truly want to lose weight, you first have to build the power to make it happen! Willpower is a like a skill. It has to be mastered and nurtured through practice. For example, if your most favorite sweet is passed on to you and you say no for the first time, it is much easier to say no for the second time too and vice versa. But, the question arises how do you say NO?

Whether it is a good habit or a bad one, the brain has the capability to ‘format’ the data and ‘add’ a new habit. When you repeat a behavior a number of times, it becomes a part of you.

So if you give into the craving of eating the sweet for the first time it develops a weak pathway for the brain where a chain of neurons works to translate your thoughts into actions with the same action time and again it becomes a strong pathway and thus a habit is formed.

So can you think of a time where a good habit is difficult to break?