Do you want to achieve your weight loss goals quicker? If yes, you have to scrutinize your present weight loss strategy.
Building healthy habits like drinking more water and going for a run a few times a week can also help speed things up.
Note, if you have an ounce of self-doubt in you or you think you cannot achieve your weight loss goals, chances are you won’t.
One of the primary reasons most people looking to lose weight have self-doubts is they have failed many times in the past. Many people have the notion that if they couldn’t do something in the past, they likely can’t do it in the future.
In this article, we are going to be exploring some tips that will help you overcome self-doubt and build healthy habits that will improve your health and help you lose weight.
Overcome self-doubt
Inspect your close circle
Do you know that people you hang out with can determine if you will become confident or not?
The people you spend the most time with can have a profound effect on how you think and look at yourself.
Dr. John Kounios, a professor at Drexel University, pointed out that our neural connections can change rapidly after a brief conversation with someone.
The bottom line here is that the people you spend the most time with can impact your mindset and weight loss efforts.
If you hang out with people who don’t respect you or those who see you as a loser, your self-esteem is going to suffer. Before you know it, you will start doubting yourself and your abilities (1).
Find the source
One of the most effective ways to solve a problem is by figuring out its source.
You can overcome self-doubt by looking inward to find the root cause.
Think deep about the situations or events that trigger your self-doubt and do something about it.
For example, if the root source of your self-doubt is linked to your past failures, you can build your confidence by refining your weight loss strategy and learning about fitness and dieting.
Don’t be too hard on yourself
Self-doubt is a negative emotion that can lead to self-criticism or negative self-talk.
An effective way to overcome this problem is by practicing self-compassion. If you can do this, you won’t be hard on yourself each time you fail. This, in turn will save you from drowning in doubt and keep you motivated even when things are difficult.
One study shows that there is a link between self-compassion to reduce anxiety, as well as higher self-esteem (2).
Practicing self-compassion can also help you become emotionally resilient.
So instead of allowing self-criticism and self-doubts to ruin your mood and make you less motivated to work on your goals, practice self-compassion.
Always remember that you aren’t perfect and will make a few mistakes as you work towards your weight loss goals.
Stop asking for validation
Seeking others’ opinions can be helpful and even help you achieve your desired results quicker.
However, making it a habit to ask for people’s opinion before taking action or making a decision can hurt your confidence in yourself.
If you have this problem, you are likely going to doubt every step you take towards your weight loss goals.
Even when you take some positive steps to lose weight and improve your health, you will still be doubtful until someone comes along and tells you did a good job.
You just have to learn to have faith in yourself and your abilities.
Steps to building healthy habits
Outline the habits you want to build
Of course, you have the freedom to build basically any healthy habits you want. But if you really want to achieve your weight loss goals, you should only build habits that will help you achieve it.
For example, if your goal is to lose a few pounds, you should build habits that revolve around eating healthy and exercising.
The first step to building any habit is listing out or having a clear picture of what you want to build.
If for some reason you can’t brainstorm a habit that can help you achieve your weight loss goal, here are some steps you should take.
- Think about what you really want to achieve
- Research ways to achieve what you thought about
- Build habits around your findings
Make a solid plan
The major reason people fail at building healthy habits is they don’t plan.
Without a plan, you will not know what steps to take and things you have to avoid to get the results you desire (3).
Regardless of the habit you want to build, your plan should include two important things.
Actionable steps
The first should involve actionable steps that will help you build the habits you want.
For example, if you want to eat healthily, a step or action that can help you achieve this is stocking up on healthy food or learning how to cook.
Foresee future obstacles
All you have to do here is to brainstorm possible issues or challenges that will make it difficult for you to build your desired habit.
For example, if your habit is about eating healthy, you should think of things that may make you eat unhealthy foods like stocking up junk foods and not taking lunch to work.
See, you don’t have to do everything on your own. Get your trusted friends and family members involved. They will be willing to go above and beyond in their efforts to help you.
Weight loss habits to help you lose weight
Below are some healthy habits that will help you lose weight.
Eating high-protein foods in the morning
What you eat for breakfast may determine if you will be able to stick to your diet or not.
For example, if you start your day with foods that are rich in carbs, you are going to become hungry after a while. Even worse, you may crave unhealthy foods.
Eating high-protein foods in the morning will help you do everything from reducing your cravings to making you feel full and satisfied.
One study in adolescent girls found that a high protein breakfast can reduce cravings more efficiently than a regular breakfast (4).
Besides making you less likely to overeat, protein-rich food can also help increase your metabolism and lose weight (5).
Drink more water
Making it a habit to drink more water can help you burn more calories.
You see, water can increase the amount of energy your body expends for 60 minutes (6) (7).
One small study found that drinking 500 ml of water can increase metabolism by 30% (8).
Another study found that drinking a liter of water daily may help one lose up to 4.4 pounds within 12 months without making drastic lifestyle changes like exercising and eating right (9).
Drinking more water can also help reduce your appetite and prevent you from overeating.
One study in adults found that drinking 500 ml of water daily can help one reduce the number of calories they consume by 13% (10).
So if you are really serious about achieving your weight loss goals, you have to make it a habit to drink at least 1 liter of water daily.
Exercise
Making it a habit to do some sort of physical activity every day can improve your health, help you lose weight, and prevent diseases like diabetes (11).
Exercising can also help keep your blood sugar stable. This will go a long way in reducing your hunger level throughout your day.
Prepare your lunch
If you don’t want to make poor dietary choices during your day, you should prepare a healthy lunch in the morning or the day before.
A recent study found that meal planning can improve one’s diet and lower the risk of obesity (12).
Making it a habit to eat home cook meals can also help you lose weight.
One study found that people who ate home-cooked meals 5 times weekly, were 28% less likely to become overweight than individuals who ate home-cooked meals thrice weekly (13).
The bottom line on how to overcome self-doubt
To achieve your dream weight, you have to cut off things that are holding you back like self-doubt and negative self-talk. Doing this, will help you remain focused and determined to keep pushing even though things are difficult.
Building healthy habits like eating high-protein foods in the morning, working out regularly, and drinking more water can also help make it a bit easier for you to achieve your dream weight.
To increase your odds of success in building any healthy habit, you have to foresee challenges you may face along the way and figure out ways to scale through them.
