Losing Fat Is Not About The Diet

Let’s face it we all know how to lose Fat: Eat right and exercise and there are many successful diets to choose from. If we all know what to do to lose Fat how come obesity is so prevalent? Why is Fat loss a billion dollar industry in this country?

It’s Not About The Diet! Research shows it is about our individual thought process.

Recent research shows that one of the most effective treatments for treating binge eating is cognitive and behavioral therapy. Meaning the problem lies in the distorted way we view our self and our place in the world. It is about the automatic negative self-talk we engage in without even realizing what we are doing.

Here are a few common distorted ways of thinking:

All or nothing thinking – you view everything as black or white. “I’m a success” or “I am a failure.” Rather than “I succeeded this morning, didn’t do as well this afternoon but I am back on track.”

Catastrophizing- fortune telling. All your thoughts about the future are negative. You eat one cookie and then think to yourself, “I’ll never lose Fat” or “I’ll never stick to a diet.”

Emotional reasoning – you think something must be true because you “feel (actually believe)” it so strongly. You ignore all evidence to the contrary. “Yes, you have been finding it challenging to stick with a diet routine” but the thought that “I will always fail” is not really true. Think about a time in the past when you lost Fat. Even if you haven’t lost Fat in the past why can’t you lose Fat now? Each day is a new day.

Labeling – you label yourself and others without even considering evidence that might lead you to a different conclusion. “I’m a loser or ” he’s no good.” You box yourself in with this type of negative self-talk.

Allow yourself to be human. Life is a journey with ups and downs. Every day is new – it is a day you’ve never lived before and you can make choices that lead you to having more joy in your life.

Learn to fail or fail to learn. You can learn from the times you fall down. The key is to find the learning and quickly get back up. We all fall down.

Don’t be fooled by media. The media continues to throw images at you of how should look. The whole purpose of advertising is to sell you products that will supposedly make you look the way they tell you to look. More than 97% of the population doesn’t look like a supermodel. We are various shapes and sizes – unique in our own way.

Don’t get obsessed about losing Fat. Your body is the shell that carries you through life’s journey. Learn to take care of your shell. Treat it with loving-kindness and give the right diet for one meal a day recipes if you think that it is the best diet for you without being hard on yourself. You are not your shell.

Try and see if you can catch yourself in distorted thinking.