You want to lose weight. You know what you SHOULD be doing to make that happen, so why is it that having a big list of things you know you should do just makes you want to do them even less?

Your shoulds

You should eat 2 pieces of fruit a day, and 5 serves of vegetables. You should exercise 30-60 minutes a day. You should avoid sweet/fatty foods. You should drink 8 glasses of water a day. You should eat more wholegrains. You should cook healthy meals and not buy takeaway. You should plan your meals for the week. You should pack healthy snacks and lunches.

Anyone else wanting to run away?

When your weight loss goals = a hundred extra things to add to your to-do list, they can seem like added burdens to your already overflowing list of things you should be doing. And there’s nothing exciting or motivating about burdens.

Add to this the overwhelming guilt you experience for not doing all those things you SHOULD be doing, and you have a recipe for negative feelings about yourself, and negative self talk, which reduces motivation even further.

Your outcomes

Instead of focusing on the process, why not focus on the positive outcomes and cut it into bite sized pieces!

Examples:

– Each kg lost lowers blood pressure by ~1mm Hg

– 30-45 mins of moderate exercise improves blood sugar control for 24 hours.

– Every cigarette you don’t smoke extends your lifespan by 11 minutes.

What works…

Take things one day at a time, one healthy choice at a time, shift your focus to a positive that comes out of a single action (rather than it being a should). Weight loss comes from the sum of a thousand little choices you make over time. Everything adds up. So make your choices add up to something positive!