RESHAPE YOUR HEALTH

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4 Weight Loss Plateau Solutions to Start Losing Weight

mindset weight loss weight loss plateau Apr 29, 2021

Note: Reshape Physical Therapy and Wellness evolved into Weight Loss for Health, and finally Zivli. How to Lose Weight After 50 was our first course that eventually grew into Zivli. Some old blog posts or resources mentioned in this episode may have been removed. 

Learn 4 little-known weight loss plateau solutions to start losing weight again. If you want to break a weight loss plateau, you’ll have to overcome limiting thoughts and beliefs about your ability to lose weight.

Getting past a weight loss plateau can be hard, but this video will make it easier. You CAN lose weight and keep it off. 

Maybe you’re just thinking about losing weight or consider yourself a beginner. Whether you’ve plateaued on low-calorie, low-carb, keto, or intermittent fasting, this episode will give you uncommon ideas to get past your weight loss plateau. 

  

Tip #1: Find Your Why

I like to say the goal is not the goal. If you have a “goal” to lose 50 pounds, that is not your real goal. Your why is your goal. When people focus on the goal, the external number itself, that is not very motivating. 

If their progress is slower than they want, it’s really easy to lose motivation. But when you make your why your goal, you never lose motivation. I think of your why as the core of three circles. 

How will reaching this goal make me feel? For example, maybe you attribute a 50 pound weight loss to making you feel more confident, have a higher self-esteem, more energy, more self-kindness, less joint pain. 

Next, ask what will losing 50 pounds allow me to do or do better. Maybe your clothes will fit better, you’ll be more comfortable on an airplane, you’ll put yourself out there more at work and in your social life. Maybe you have activity goals like kayaking or hiking, or keeping up with your family. 

Lastly, how will reaching this goal impact the lives of your loved ones? Take your answers from the first two questions, and ask how a more confident, happy, active you shows up differently as a person, partner, parent, child, or grandparent? What are the ripple effects of your good health? Who else is impacted and inspired by your healthy choices?

The core of those three circles is the real goal. Not the 50 pounds. Keep your eye on your why. 

 

Tip #2: Face Your Fear

This is something we are going to learn more about in my Weight Loss Breakthrough challenge. But I use this a lot when coaching my Weight Loss for Health members. FEAR is an acronym I use to help members realize how their fears ultimately become self-fulfilling prophecies. 

I love the book I Am Enough by Marissa Peer. In it, she describes the 3 fears common to all humans. They are: I’m not enough; I’m different and can’t connect; or I want something that I’ll never have. 

Usually any fears surrounding weight loss can be traced back to one of these common fears. 

F stands for fear. Fear is how you feel in the present based on the attitude and attention you’re placing on an unwanted future. For example, you’re afraid nothing will ever work for you to lose weight. 

E stands for emotion. Often this is the easiest part of the acronym to identify first, and we have to work backwards to find their fear. People will say they are apathetic, hopeless, resigned, frustrated, so many things. And those emotions are stemming from their fear-based thoughts.

A stands for action. What actions result from your emotions? Negative action, or inaction, results from negative emotions. This would include things like sitting on the couch, wanting to lay in bed all day, feeling like you have no energy so turning to sugar for a quick pick-me-up. 

R is for result. You can see that these negative actions, or inaction leads to no results. And your fear of not losing weight becomes a reality. 

Just knowing that this is happening is usually very eye-opening. Because most people have never thought about how much their thoughts impact their emotions, actions, and results. 

Knowing this is so powerful. Because instead of letting your external results (like a number on the scale), determine your internal state, I teach you how to make your internal state (your thoughts) drive your external results. You get to be in the driver’s seat of your own mind.

 

Tip #3: Know How Your Brain Works

There are two important keys here. 

The first is to know that your brain is wired to return to the familiar. That’s why 95% of diets fail. You’re familiar, ingrained pattern of behavior is one that’s counterproductive to losing weight and keeping off. There are several ways this manifests including an all-or-nothing mentality, procrastination, yo-yo dieting, and many more. 

The second thing to know about your brain is that you can control it. You can make unfamiliar familiar, and familiar things unfamiliar. You can make unfamiliar healthy thoughts and choices familiar. And you can make familiar unhealthy thoughts and choices unfamiliar. But this doesn’t happen with just positive thinking. It doesn't just happen by journaling. Or writing down your goals everyday. That’s where the last tip comes in. 

 

Tip #4: Catch & Change Limiting Thoughts

This is where the magic happens and it’s probably my favorite kind of coaching. If you want to learn more about how to catch and change these limiting thoughts, join our full program with in-depth trainings and personalized coaching. 

 

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Resources From This Episode

>> Join Zivli

>> Freebie: Weight Loss Mindset Audio Training

>> Freebie: The Ultimate Food Guide

>> Take the Weight Loss Plateau Quiz