7 ways to Stop Weight Loss Self Sabotage in its Tracks
Self sabotage in weight loss can be so common. Whether you find yourself overeating, bingeing, or drinking too much alcohol - it’s a pretty rubbish feeling that can spiral and self-perpetuate until we stop it. So what can we do that before it all snowballs?
Immediate and Practical Steps
Drink some peppermint tea (unless you have reflux!).
Feeling bloated after overeating is never a fun feeling and that discomfort can just make you feel worse. Peppermint tea is great to support digestion and can really help with that bloated feeling. Fennel is also a good option. Bonus if you put the tea into a thermos to take on a walk!
2. Go for a walk
This is not a cop out - trust me I hate it when people tell me to go for a walk when I’m in a negative headspaace! Nevertheless it really can be so effective in helping to give you a quick mood change! Forget trying to “burn” anything off - the fresh air and the endorphins give you great mental health benefits. Listen to an uplifting playlist, motivating podcast or make a call to a friend for an extra boost.
3. Breathe!
So often that self-sabotage cycle can be accompanied by anxiety. A great technique to help calm anxiety is box breathing. This is a simple, quick and effective technique used by Navy Seals, and involves… Inhaling for a count of 4, hold the in-breath for a count of 4, exhale for a count of 4 or 5, hold the out-breath for a count of 4, then repeat for 5 rounds.
No need to go full “yogi” but just sitting still for 2 minutes is all you need for this breathing exercise!
4. Take another action to help you reach your health goals.
This can be something purely pragmatic such as booking onto a course or a class, making a shopping list. This will give you more of a sense of moving forwards and doing something pragmatic.
In General….
5. Ditch the diet (mentality) - especially calorie counting!
Trying to work within number limits encourages an all-or-nothing approach. If you feel like you’ve messed up then, sod it, right?! Take an opportunity to look at the approach you’re taking. Is it judgemental (ie. Are you labelling foods as good or bad)? Is it sustainable? Is it making you miserable? Bingeing with a view to getting really strict the next day puts a hell of a lot of pressure on you, and is a perfect way to set you up for failure if you stay in that mindset.
Focus on nourishing your body with healthy foods. Learning about how foods can impact your health, can be a powerful tool to break away from a destructive diet mindset.
6. Look back on the progress that you’ve made.
Remember that you’re never back to square one, so there’s no need to act like you’re at square one. Even if you gained weight, lost strength etc (which is never going to happen in one day anyway) - you’ve not gone back in time. You’re still in a different place than when you started. For example, if you take stock of your journey, you’ll realise that you’ve developed different habits, learned different strategies, and have a wider range of meals to choose from.
7. Remind yourself of all the workout benefits you.
If you solely focus on exercise to lose weight, workouts don’t just become boring - but it also becomes easy to lose motivation if you feel like you’ve already overeaten for the day. Endorphins, building strength and flexibility, improving confidence, learning skills and socialising can all be great motivators.
If you find yourself in this position more often than you’d like, it could be time to reassess your goals and actions. Why not get some outside help too?
Get in touch if you’d like to be part of a supportive group or work with a transformation coach for personalised nutrition, fitness and lifestyle guidance to reach your goals.