5 Ways to Keep a Positive Mindset When Dieting and Exercising
By: Kelly Gonzalez
www.kellygonzalez.com (please see articles on website for more!)
1. Connect your efforts to a positive goal and ditch the negativity.
What do you think of when you hear the words diet, exercise, or weight loss? Hard work, a grumbling stomach, fatigue, discomfort, time consuming? Well, guess what? These are all negative thoughts. To do anything in life we have to have enthusiasm, energy, and passion for our actions. Who out there is enthusiastic about being a Debbie Downer and having negative thoughts? The key to success is a positive attitude.
Wanting to lose weight, because you don’t like the way your body looks in a bathing suit at the moment is a negative thought. You’re telling yourself you’re not good enough as you are in this given moment. Exercising just because your doctor told you that you have to in order to control your cholesterol levels is a negative thought, because you’re focusing on the problem and acting out of fear.
No one can make you do anything that you don’t want to do, but they can and should make you aware of the repercussions. That’s the job of health promoters. You have to go to work or else you can’t afford living expenses. Do you always like it? Maybe not, but have you noticed that the ones who succeed in their careers are the ones who actually find value and enjoyment in their work? Exercise and eating healthy is the same- the one’s that find value in it and can enjoy it for the positive reasons are more likely to reach their goals and succeed.
Give negative thoughts the boot. Instead of focusing on the reasons why you have to do it, and why you don’t like it or don’t want to do it, connect your goals to a positive end result.
Instead of thinking, “I wish I could lose weight, because I look terrible in all the suits I try on” (-) think “I WILL lose 5 pounds in 2 months (specific goal), because I want to save money and look great in my FAVORITE suit from last year. With this we now have 2 goals in which you focus on the positive: saving money (+) and looking great in a suit you really love. (+).
The same goes for health conditions. Instead of thinking “I have to exercise, because my doctor said so.”(-) Doesn’t that make you feel like a little kid that wants to rebel and break the rules sometimes? Instead, think I WILL exercise, because I’m going on vacation this summer and want to do that hiking tour I read about and I don’t want to take medication everyday. The positives are doubled: being in shape for an activity you desire (+) and not having to take medication or even bring it along on vacation (+)
2. Surround yourself with positive people
Positivity breeds positivity. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a workout partner that only complains about how much she misses ice cream, fast food, beer, and watching the Today Show from the comfort of her couch rather than putting in an early morning sweat session on the elliptical. If I don’t want to be around that type of person you know what I do? I make sure that I am not that person for anyone that I come into contact with. This goes for any situation in life. Stop trying to find the perfect match and be that perfect match for someone else. Your positive vibes will bring positivity back to you.
Look for the bright side in every situation. If you feel run down and only do 20 minutes of cardio rather than 30 don’t beat yourself up about the 10 minutes missed, but congratulate yourself on the 20 minutes you accomplished. Don’t use it as a cop-out, but always listen to your body when you feel like you’re on the verge of over-training. Surround yourself with people who will challenge you, motivate you to do better, but who also understand the importance of listening to your body and trust your personal judgment when it’s necessary.
3. Make a list of your accomplishments and positive feelings that derive from your healthy actions each week
Do at least one thing each day that makes you proud of yourself. Record these accomplishments daily or weekly. I try to do this for different aspects of my life. I try to accomplish something good related to business, my physical training, conditioning, health, and something related to education. This could be making a new contact for my business, maintaining proper portion sizes of healthy meals all day long, upping the intensity in my workout if possible, finishing an assignment for my Masters program and learning a new “Fit Fact.”
Start small and build your way up. Set a goal in the morning like “I will drink more water today and not have soda” or “I will make it to the gym after work and do 45 minutes on the treadmill.” Record these accomplishments, and at the end of the week revel in your progress, but only for a moment. From there ask how can I improve upon what I did this week? I will not only drink more water and not have soda, but I will also make a healthy dinner each week instead of eating out” or “I will not only go to the gym after work and do 45 minutes of the treadmill, but I will also do this on Monday, Wednesday, in addition to Fridays.
4. Practice Gratitude Daily
The feeling of being proud should also stimulate feelings of gratitude. Be proud for making the good decisions you made, and be grateful for the capability to do so. Your health and physical condition is in your hands. If you can go to the gym, be grateful to have the funds to belong each month. There are people who wish they could, but may not be able to afford it. In addition, if you ate healthy all week be grateful for the food that was available for you to nourish your body. Not everyone can access healthy, fresh options. If you have the ability to run, walk, move freely, train hard, but choose to be sedentary, just think, a lifestyle like that could make it a permanent condition. Negative behaviors don’t make the body or spirit happy.
A study in the Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology reported that “happier individuals reported greater sensitivity to reward, greater appreciation in general, when compared to less happy individuals.”
Multiple studies by Emmons and McCullough concluded “the habit of noting and savoring gratitude for aspects of one’s life plays a significant role in a person’s sense of wellbeing.” In fact it can “enhance happiness levels by about 25%, and helps people achieve personal goals.”
Practice gratitude and be thankful for the choices and options for living a healthy lifestyle that are available to you. Gratitude lets us see our healthy actions in a positive light, and thus allows you to keep a positive mindset.
5. Know that there is no such thing as failure.
Lets say the event you’ve been preparing for finally rolls around- your next athletic event, summer vacation, your wedding day, whatever you’ve worked so hard for. Perhaps you didn’t quite reach your goal, maybe things didn’t go the way you visualized they would.
Say, you were on a quest to lose 10 pounds and you lost 7 lbs. Are you going to cry about not losing 10 and wish you never made the effort or are you going to feel successful for losing 7 and continue to work hard to lose the last 3 lbs. What’s your mindset?
The way I see it is that the glass is always half full. You made an effort and got results. Great, now what can you do to go the rest of the way? It’s time to re-evaluate and strive for better. It’s the only choice we have in life.
If you weren’t the winner in a road race you’ve been in training for are you going to say, “well I guess it’s not for me!” or are you going to appreciate the fitness you gained, the friends you made along the way, value the experience, and continue to challenge yourself?
The only way you will surely fail is if you give up. “Never, never, give up.”
Sources:
Alspach G. Extending the tradition of giving thanks: recognizing the health benefits of gratitude. Critical Care Nurse [serial online]. December 2009;29(6):12. Available from: CINAHL with Full Text, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March 12, 2010.
Tucker K. GETTING THE MOST OUT OF LIFE: AN EXAMINATION OF APPRECIATION, TARGETS OF APPRECIATION, AND SENSITIVITY TO REWARD IN HAPPIER AND LESS HAPPY INDIVIDUALS. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology [serial online]. September 2007;26(7):791-825. Available from: Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March 12, 2010.
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