The way we perceive ourselves is as important as the way we feel, our body weight and fitness regularly represent a good part of that perception, many of us face numerous challenges not only physically but psychologically as well. Some people that have walked this journey assure that achieving the best version of yourself is 80% a mental game and 20% the real things you have to do.
Despite what the media and advertising are trying to sell as the experience of weight loss the reality is that many of us suffer from fears in the process of actually developing the habits that eventually will result into the physical condition we desire for ourselves.
Here is a small list of those fears so you can recognize them and it can be easy for you to overcome those episodes.
Fear of failure
This is by far the most common one, we all have to face it not only regarding weight loss but in almost every endeavor we try, for example trying to start a business, moving out from your parents house, getting married, being a good parent, getting your degree, definitely this is the big one.
Talking about losing weight people tend to create various “loopholes” to play themselves into actually fail or abandon their efforts, that comes from the principle that the human brain is designed to protect your comfort state, anything that tries to challenge your regular set of standards your brain will definitely try to create a way to prevent you from even trying to achieve it.
The best way to fix this is to recognize the triggers of this thought and cut the pattern, there is always a way your brain reacts and tries to control your actions, for example, this feeling that you are going to fail will cause anxiety and sometimes depression it even might provoke you to immediately compensate that anxiety by going immediately back to your comfort zone which is eating garbage. identify the patterns and break them immediately and do something that causes a positive reaction and not food related, for example, talk to somebody or write about it, workout for 15 minutes or plan your next meeting, anything that causes a disruption on your thoughts will do the trick!
Fear of a change in your relationships
Some of our interactions with others are based on customs, some of them are not all positive and lots of them create a relationship with others based on the food we share, for example when you visit your parents or your grandparents, or that friend that always orders pizza for dinner, all of this can translate to fear of stopping those dynamics and eventually change the relationship with your friends or relatives forever. But the reality as hard as it sounds is that again your brain is protecting your conventional patterns, most of the people will actually appreciate if you tell them the truth, you can say, “you know, I am trying to eat better cause lately I was not feeling well, so, for now, I pass on the pizza”.
Sometimes there is a real feeling of abandonment by the other person but again is not abandonment, is about improvement, just talk to them and tell them that you still there just you are not going to eat that crap.
Fear of unwanted attention
When you develop a self-image for so many years is totally understandable that you are used to thinking in some particular but not always positive way about yourself, your old image including your extra weight creates a protective image of yourself and losing that perception and physically losing weight it might cause to feel vulnerable, as you are changing your body, your whole physiology changes as well and that definitely will change the way the rest of the world sees you, this can either be positive and empower you to keep going or can be negative and again be an obstacle to achieve what you want, all depends on your attitude towards it, people will always notice your changes, embrace them and enjoy the process.
Fear of embarrassment
Losing weight often involves to put yourself on awkward situations and doing things you are definitely not used to, “putting yourself out there”, can make you self-aware of every movement you make, position, even your clothing, just remember everyone lives this process in a different way to give yourself permission to enjoy it.
Start small, seek for help and plan your goals in the long term, these three simple things can make a real difference between living in fear and let go and achieve your best.
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