What exactly is the dieter’s mentality? The dieters mentality is an ingrained way of thinking when you’ve spent many years living as a chronic dieter.
Chronic dieting not only effects the way you think, it effects how you speak and how you act.
Here are some examples of what I mean.
A chronic dieter will say things such as:
- I’ve been good all day today so I should be able to eat __________ now.
- I was so bad today so I may as well continue to eat everything I want.
- I can’t eat that it’s not on my diet.
- I shouldn’t eat that because( I’m not supposed to) it’s not on my diet.
A chronic dieter will think they have to “be perfect” and if they don’t do it perfectly that they have somehow failed. Which ultimately leads to self-sabotage.
A chronic dieter will have thoughts such as:
- What difference does it make? ( I can’t do it anyway)
- What’s the point? ( Forgetting the point is you want to lose weight)
- I will be better tomorrow. ( Usually there are many tomorrows)
Someone with a dieter’s mentality has the all or nothing way of thinking. You are either in or you’re out. You are “on” something or you are “off” something.
A chronic dieter focuses in willpower and discipline rather than mindset and making a different decision that will serve you.
So how can you overcome the dieter’s way of thinking?
You first have to be able to recognize your thoughts.
You need to pay close attention to what you say to yourself. Most likely you aren’t even aware of what you say because you’ve been saying it to yourself for so long that you can no longer hear it.
You have to change your language. Get rid of referring to yourself as being “good” or “bad”. That’s you judging yourself with the negative inner critic.
You need to be able to get out of that “all or nothing” way of being.
You have to recognize that long-term weight loss is not about being perfect for a short period of time. Lasting weight loss comes from making daily choices and decisions that will best serve you.
The best way to overcome the dieters way of thinking is to practice thinking different thoughts. Sounds crazy but it’s true.
You can change your thoughts because after all our actions follow our thoughts.
So if you think “What difference does it make?” you will probably eat because you’ve told yourself what you want (weight loss) doesn’t matter.
If you think, “I’ll be better tomorrow” you’ve just given yourself permission to emotionally eat.
Try a little exercise where you keep a journal of the thoughts that you think and then next to it write a new thought that will serve you. Then practice your new thoughts.
In my program What Are You Really Hungry For, I take you through an in-depth training on how to overcome the dieter’s way of thinking. You will also learn why you self-sabotage your weight loss efforts and get the tools to change it. If you are looking for a long-term weight loss solution rather than always looking for the quick fix, schedule a free call with me now.
