Wanna speed up your weight loss results? Of course you do. Then, my friend, one of the first things you need to look at is what you’re currently doing (or in this case, NOT doing) that’s slowing you down. On today’s podcast, I’m sharing five things you’re NOT doing that are slowing down your weight loss results.
Welcome to the podcast, love. Let’s dive in. I get asked a lot about what to DO for weight loss – which makes sense, because I’m a weight loss coach! And of course I have a super simple framework called The 5-0 Method that tells you exactly what to do each day to lose all the weight you want and keep it off forever.
But the thing we’re talking about today is something I almost never get asked about, and that’s what you’re NOT doing, and how it’s not only dramatically affecting your weight loss, but could be the reason why you would struggle to keep the weight off in the future.
So today, I’m sharing five things you’re NOT doing that are slowing down your weight loss results, and of course I’ve also got the solution for how to get them done.
Thing number one that you’re NOT doing is you’re not journaling. And I get it, I do. For the longest time, this was my biggest struggle, too. We’ve been taught since forever that weight loss is just a “body thing” – you eat right, you exercise, and boom, weight loss. There are formulas and math and calories in, calories out, right?
Well, not exactly right. Your body doesn’t exist without your brain, and the truth of the matter is that they are always, always working together. So it doesn’t really matter what you’re doing with your body if you’re oblivious to what’s going on in your brain.
The reason that I hear most often for why you’re not journaling is that you’re afraid of what you’ll find in there. You don’t want to go digging up old memories, or hear yourself complaining all the time, or be faced with all of your painful thoughts.
And I totally hear you on this. My history with journaling goes way back. I got my first diary when I was eight years old, and I had a love-hate relationship with it until just a few years ago, when I realized that NOT journaling was holding me back from my goals.
Side note: this is also when I developed the very specific and prescriptive journaling process I teach inside the Get Your GOAL membership. If I was going to journal, I wanted to make sure I knew exactly what to do and exactly what I was getting out of it.
And the reason why I kept coming back to journaling again and again until I finally found a formula that really works is because I knew those thoughts were in there whether I was writing them down or not. I could feel that low-grade lousiness lurking beneath the surface, even when I was actively trying to avoid it.
The truth of the matter is that ignoring your mindset blocks by NOT journaling doesn’t make them go away. In fact, the exact opposite. Your subconscious thoughts are currently slowing down your weight loss results, so the way to speed up your results is to find those thoughts and gently work on releasing them. Seeing your thoughts in your journal is the first step to changing them.
Nowadays, I’ve got a super simple routine for journaling that takes very little time and not only did I lose all the weight I wanted, but I know for sure that I’m keeping it off forever because I’ve developed the kind of loving and trusting brain-body connection that secures weight maintenance.
Thing number two that you’re NOT doing that’s slowing down your weight loss results is that you’re not weighing yourself. I can hear you “Ugh”ing me right now! I know. So let me start by saying that, yes, it’s my recommendation that you weigh yourself every day, but that’s not a law, it’s a suggestion.
It doesn’t really matter how often you weigh yourself, but it does matter that you DO.
I hear from women all the time that they just don’t want to see the number, they don’t want to face the daily, weekly, or even monthly reminder of how much they weigh. They’d rather not know.
My husband is like this. He’s gained and lost weight a handful of times during our marriage, just like me. But unlike me, he doesn’t like to weigh himself. It’s more or less fine when he’s maintaining, but as soon as he thinks he’s gaining weight, he avoids the scale like the plague.
But, just like the thoughts in your head, your weight exists whether you step on the scale or not. Avoiding your weight doesn’t change your weight.
Weighing yourself – again, on a time schedule of your choosing – gives you an opportunity to hear what you’re telling yourself about the number on the scale. Weighing yourself is a journaling exercise, a chance to find the mindset blocks that are slowing down your weight loss.
When you know what you’re thinking about your weight, you’ll speed up your weight loss results.
Thing number three that you’re NOT doing that’s slowing down your weight loss results is that you’re not tracking your calories. Or, you’re kind of tracking them. Sometimes. On days when it’s easy, or you’re doing good, or you’re not going out for dinner, or you know for sure that you’re going to hit your target without going way over or being way under.
But other days, you just don’t wanna!
And believe me, I feel you on a deep soul level on this one. I used to absolutely hate tracking my calories. I refused. So much so, in fact, that it stalled my weight loss progress for months at a time. Because, of course, when I wasn’t tracking my calories, I wasn’t eating the right amount for weight loss.
For me personally, sometimes that meant I was severely undereating, and sometimes it meant that I was significantly overeating – I’ve gone both ways at different times in my life. And the truth of it is that your menopausal body needs a pretty specific amount of calories in order to lose weight. Which means you need to track.
In full transparency, I’m going to tell you a story: I lost weight without tracking my daily calories by eating more or less the exact same thing every single day for nine months. There were variations on the dinner meal – I had calculated the calories for basically everything I was ever likely to eat, so I had the portion sizes figured out. But I didn’t track every day.
This is why it took me nine months to lose seven pounds. I totally slowed myself down by not tracking. Because I was fooling myself! Ignoring that extra spoonful of dinner I ate when I was putting away leftovers, or pretending like that heaping tablespoon of peanut butter was the same size as a regular tablespoon, or telling myself that I would make up the calories later if I “accidentally forgot” – that’s air quotes, by the way – to eat lunch.
And I want to pull this apart for a second, because there’s an important point to be made here about finding a workaround like allegedly eating the same things every day. Yes, I did lose weight without tracking my calories, but eventually – in order to keep that weight off – I had to face how much I was eating.
Just like your weight and the thoughts in your head, calories exist whether you’re tracking them or not. And also like weighing yourself, tracking your calories is a journaling exercise. Every time you open up that app, or that spreadsheet, or that notebook – it’s an opportunity to find the mindset blocks you have about how much you’re eating, how much you think you should be eating, and how much your body actually needs to eat to lose weight.
When you’re willing to be honest with yourself about these things, you’ll be capable of losing all the weight you want and keeping it off forever.
Thing number four that you’re NOT doing that’s slowing down your weight loss results, is you aren’t holding yourself accountable at the end of the day. One of the things we do inside the Get Your GOAL membership is post in the morning about the tasks we intend to get done, and then post again in the evening about what we actually got done. One of those things is a lot easier than the other!
It feels so good in the morning, to be full of motivation and possibility and put it out there that you are going to rock your day, by easily completing all five of The 5-0 Method daily tasks.
But then, at the end of the day, it’s a lot harder to look yourself in the eyeballs and admit that your water didn’t drink itself, or your workout went twice as long as you intended, or it’s already an hour past your bedtime.
I get it. I start the day full of vim and vigor, too, with big plans for how everything is going to be so easy. And for so long, I really thought I was doing myself a favor by not beating myself up after a day where I didn’t meet my targets.
Believe me, I’m not telling you not to give yourself grace. But what I am telling you is that not looking at your behaviors and the tasks that aren’t getting done is slowing down your weight loss results.
Like your thoughts, your weight, and your calories – ignoring your accountability doesn’t relinquish it. Holding yourself accountable at the end of the day for the tasks you did and didn’t do is a journaling opportunity. It’s a chance to find your mindset blocks about your tasks and lovingly release them without guilt or recriminations.
When you’re willing to really see what you’re doing each day, you’ll speed up your weight loss results.
And finally, thing number five that you’re NOT doing that’s slowing down your weight loss results is that you’re not doing a monthly check in. So, again, in full transparency, let me tell you how much I resisted and avoided keeping any kind of records, including a monthly progress check. My overwhelming thought was that I wasn’t making progress, so why should I check?
Well, here’s why, and it’s the exact same reason I’ve mentioned for the other four things on this list: your progress is happening (or not!), and avoiding looking at it doesn’t change it. The monthly check in is yet another journaling opportunity.
Taking an objective look at your parameters, your consistency, and your progress will speed up your weight loss results, and NOT checking in will slow you down.
I know you’ve heard it throughout this podcast, but let me sum it up for you like this, here at the end: Being willing to look at yourself honestly – your thoughts, your weight, your calories, your accountability and your progress – is THE THING that will speed up your weight loss results.
Take a look at yourself and really see yourself. Honestly. Lovingly. Non-judgmentally. It’ll change everything.
Thanks for listening today. I’ll talk to you again soon!
