Week 4 of No More Weight Loss Resolution
At this point, you should be able to notice that you are creating that healthy baseline we talked about from the beginning with your food and movement. If you’ve been using the Experimental Mindset through it all, it shouldn’t have seemed like a lot of work to do.
We’ll keep building it out, staying open and curious with your food and movement as we go, but this week we’ll be focusing more on connecting the dots. Starting to realize why you do and don’t do certain things, learning to keep what you like and let go of what you don’t like.
Check out the No More Weight Loss Resolution Plan for the full 6 week plan
This week is all about embracing flexibility, finding joy in the process, and addressing those sneaky thoughts or behaviors that can throw us off track. We’ll explore the emotional connections behind our habits and learn how to satisfy the need for rebellion in harmless, playful ways.
If you want a refresher on what we covered last week, be sure to check out Week 3.
Ok, let’s dive in!
Reflecting on Your Journey so Far
So you’ve had a couple weeks to look at how you view and approach food, and ideally had some fun with movement last week.
What have you noticed so far?
- Are you surprised by your eating habits?
- Did you try foods you forgot about?
- Did you try Cut Cravings and learn anything from that?
- What was your favorite movement?
- Does health still stress you out or confuse you?
- Are you starting to feel more confident with it at all?
- Have you noticed anything when paying attention to hunger, fullness, and energy?
The goal isn’t to have it all figured out now, but to work on strengthening that curiosity muscle. Not trying to fix or diagnose anything, but learning to be more aware and pinpoint things.
Remember how I talked about in Week 2 that once you start to pay attention to things (especially if you’re writing things down in the printout or Experimental journals) that you’ll start to connect the dots?
Maybe when you don’t sleep well you wake up SUPER hungry.
Maybe when you don’t drink a lot of water, your digestion feels off.
Maybe when you don’t go for a long walk, you feel more tired throughout the day.
Being able to notice those things and make the connection is what I want you to look at this week. It doesn’t have to take long, even just glancing over things will help you realize some things you may not have noticed yet.
Shifting Your Mindset For Long Term Success
I know this is a 6 week challenge, but the ground work we’re doing here is something I want you to take moving forward. I don’t want you to be stressing about being over half done with the 6 weeks and not being close to some of your goals.
That’s not the point of this.
The overall goal with this 6 week challenge is to get you used to looking at things differently. Bringing simplicity back to health, because you know enough. You know what you “should” do and what doesn’t actually help you long term.
Sometimes we get stuck in a rut or routine change and get comfortable with the new change. Now, I’m not saying you can’t get comfy. I would actually LOVE you to get comfortable in your life!
But in order to do that, you need to put in some ground work on this new Experimental Mindset. And that’s what I want you to acknowledge.
Are you willing to keep this up moving forward?
Being aware of how you view foods, acknowledging when an old belief you no longer want comes up, when you fall off of doing the things that make you feel happy or deciding that it’s “not working fast enough” so might as well quit.
Unless you’re willing and wanting to change for the long term, you will always keep the yo-yo and cycle changing going.
Will you finally decide that now you want things to be different? And if so, that’s exactly what we’re going to be doing throughout our Year of Health and Hobbies. So in case you need that reminder to join and stick around, here’s that notice to stay for the free challenge.
The Inner Child and Healthy Rebellion
Ugh, inner child stuff? Yes, inner child stuff! Because how you lived, what you believed and were told when you were young has affected every belief and action you’ve taken up to this point.
I would even say up to 25 as affecting you and the thoughts you have about yourself.
So yes, I’d like to address it, or even be open to looking at how you’ve been existing up to this point. Because I’d like you to have some fun with it.
Another experiment, here we come!
But we’re going to start by looking at it a little differently.
Why are certain things so hard for you? Why do you feel a hard push towards something you KNOW is good for you? What are THOSE thoughts that are going on?
There’s a good chance that the part of you that’s struggling with this, is the child who wants to rebel and have some control around it.
- You had to get up early and take care of everyone else growing up? Then why would you want to get up early for yourself? Now’s the time to sleep in!
- You were told you were fat when you were younger, started skipping breakfast and lunch and THEN got praise. So why would you start eating breakfast now when you don’t want to be teased again?
- You were told that you weren’t smart enough to do X, Y and Z, so the thought of trying something new is scary. What if you aren’t smart enough to understand it and prove them right?
- You’ve been working hard your whole life and praised for doing so well. Why would you waste your time on something that isn’t going to benefit your future in any way possible?
I’ll be honest, this isn’t a fun part to address, but it’s necessary to at least acknowledge. And you skipping or avoiding this is just going to keep the cycle going.
There’s a reason you believe, fear, question, enjoy certain things while other people don’t. But now we’re going to work on fixing it!
We’re going to challenge each and every one of those beliefs. Whether it’s 3 or 10, I want you to be honest with yourself as we slowly work through them.
But for each belief, I want you to do something fun and healthy for your inner child.
Check out my favorite Adult Hobbies to Try for some ideas to rebel
For example, give yourself a day to do nothing. Get your favorite coffee, watch your comfort show, lounge in your cozy pajamas and don’t worry about getting your steps or “productive” routine done.
Get a piece of your favorite cake because you can. They literally sell a single piece of cake, that’s the ultimate adult move, who’s stopping you!?
Do something you’ve always wanted to do but worried what others would say. This could be really hard and uncomfortable before, during and even after doing it. But every new thing takes practice until you know more. We all start as a beginner to something new, just be brave enough to start.
Challenge yourself to take on a hobby that isn’t going to benefit you physically, financially, educationally or have any return on investment. Start reading a book that isn’t self-help, do a crossword puzzle because you have 10 minutes to kill, bake something you’ve had on your Pinterest board for years without anywhere to go.
Do something fun and childish simply because you want to, and notice how you feel after.
Addressing Self Sabotage and External Influence
The reason we struggle with changing old beliefs is because we’re comfortable with them. No matter how much they affect our day-to-day life, you’ve lived with them up to this point and know what to expect.
Self sabotage is going to come in when you try to change things because of fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of success, fear of failure, fear of being alone, fear of losing people, fear of proving your beliefs right.
And until you start challenging those beliefs over and over again, you’re going to keep falling back and self sabotaging.
It also doesn’t help with how much we’re online and seeing what others are saying and doing. And because the algorithm works so well, once you start reacting to content you relate to, you’re only going to keep getting more and more of that. Which will just solidify those beliefs you’re trying to change.
So with all the work you’re doing, I’d strongly encourage you to limit if not cut your social media usage. Especially as you’re trying to change things, I’d challenge you to get into a bubble of the things you WANT in life.
So focus on the movements you like and try to find community there. Focus on the foods you want to eat and maybe take a cooking class based on certain foods you like. Focus on the books you enjoy and maybe join a book club of like-minded people. Get comfortable spending time alone, but also challenge yourself to go out and be with people that truly make you happy.
I want you to be selfish and fill YOUR cup up for once. Especially as you’re working on healing your relationship to food and fitness, hobbies and personal belief, taking care of yourself is going to be top priority to make these changes stick.
So you’ve got a busy and heavy week ahead, but I also hope you’re able to find some fun along the way!
Now is the time to be selfish and start enjoying the life you’ve worked so hard to live.
And that’s it for Week 4 of the No More Weight Loss Resolution Challenge!
Keep your eyes peeled for next week and be sure to join the Diary where I’ll be sending you everything right to your inbox.
You’ve got this!
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