Being able to lose weight is as much a physical game as it is a mental game.  And the mental game can be so much harder to manage and keep positive.  Below are 4 tips to help you when that self-doubt and negative thoughts start to creep in.

4 Tips on How to stop negative thoughts or self-doubt:

Share your good and bad moments with your support system.

Regardless of how your day was, it’s important to share what is going on with your weight loss with others.  I fully believe this was the key to my success this time around.  I was sharing my journey with all of you, I was very open and honest about my progress with my family and friends and I talked about the program and how wonderful it was to my co-workers.

It’s important to remember that this journey involves all of those people in your life because it’s a lifestyle change.  It’s not a diet.  So make it a lifestyle by talking about it (the good and the bad) with those who matter most to you.

Remember that you didn’t gain it all in 1 day

This might be the best piece of advice you receive.  I know it’s hard to remember this when you are suffering from self-doubt, but it’s important to remember that you didn’t gain all the weight in 1 day or 1 month.  So, when you are losing .2 pounds a week, remember this.

I think it’s so important to not get discouraged when you see a big number of pounds to lose as your goal.  Set small goals of 10 pounds or less and when you reach those, set a new goal.  This can help keep you motivated without having that self-doubt creep in.

Don’t compare yourself to others

I suffer from this myself, so I get how hard this can be, but you need to just stop comparing yourself and your journey to others.  I lost 30lbs in 3 months, but I know that others have lost more and others have lost less.  And that is totally okay.  Have some grace with yourself and be patient.

If anything, compare yourself to yourself.  Take a picture of you currently, and then look at your before picture.  Put the 2 side by side if you need to.  This totally helps when you have that doubt that it isn’t working.  Because let me tell you that it is…just look at the side by side comparison to get your motivation back.

Losing .2 pounds a week or less is still a loss and not losing anything is also not gaining anything

As discouraging as losing nothing or only a little bit each week can be, you didn’t gain anything.  And not gaining anything is still a loss.  Remember that.  It’s totally okay to only lose a little bit – it’s normal actually – so don’t beat yourself up if your loss isn’t as much as you thought it should be.