I have written this article for those of you who are trying to lose weight easily. When I use the word ‘easy’ I am not talking about those miracle crash diets where you can lose a stone in a week. These types of programs are unsafe and are not sustainable for long periods of time. Even if you do get results with some of these crash diets, you will find that you will most probably put all the weight back on once you’ve finished.

Working as a fitness instructor, I come across a lot of people that are trying to lose weight, in order to get an idea of the best way to work with each individual I’d normally ask a series of questions about their current eating and exercise habits. Although insigh/tful, I know that people are not always aware/honest about their food and exercise routines. Often when I’d challenge some of the information that I’d get, I’d be accused of not understanding as I’ve never personally had a problem with managing weight. Recently I had the opportunity to live with a friend who is obese. In observing her I have been able to get a deeper understanding about how an obese person thinks and in this article we will look at tools to change your mindset from fat thinking to thin thinking instantly.

Fat Fallacies

One of the common misconceptions about people that are obese is that they do not know about healthy eating solutions. Now although there may be some people that fit this description, I would say that they are in the minority. People that are trying to lose weight often have a large resource of information about weight loss. They may have tried a variety of weight loss programs like protein shake diets, no carb/atkins diets, cabbage diets, maple syrup diet to name a few. People that are actively trying to lose weight can also be very informed about the calorific contents within foods. I get really confused when trying to count calories yet my obese friend can reel of the amount of calories in all the foods she eats with ease.

Forget Food

Most of the information that I’ve come across to assist people in trying to lose weight focuses on food/exercise, this I think is where the problem lies. Food for my friend is like an obsession, she is always thinking about it. She thinks about what she should be eating, what she shouldn’t be eating, when she is eating, when she is not eating, why she is eating, what other people are eating, how other people are eating. Even times when she is not hungry, if she notices that she has not eaten for what she considers a long period of time, she will eat because she feels she should. For her food is not just fuel it is pleasurable. Although she is aware of how to eat healthily she enjoys different tastes. She may fantasise about having a particular combination of food and she impulsively has to have it. This has nothing to do with being hungry. I have seen at times when she has cooked something healthy at home but will go out and buy a takeaway because she felt like it.

Change Focus

In order to change the relationship that you have with food when trying to lose weight, give yourself a specific amount of time to plan and think about the food you need to eat for the day and make necessary arrangements. This process should take no more than half an hour. If you know you are going to be out for a while and it may be difficult to find something to eat, bring a healthy snack with you or make a packed lunch. Eating is a routine and how it fits around your life will depend on what you have to do. Consciously thinking about food in a practical way is necessary and healthy and allows you to be honest about your eating requirements.

I’ve noticed that my friend will make excuses for eating junk food like saying she finished work late and hadn’t eaten all day so she had to just grab something. This excuse is redundant because she knows her work schedule and is aware that she will finish late, she also knows that at 1a-3am in the morning, the time she normally finishes the only hot food available to her is fast food like mcdonalds or fried chicken. Therefore if she leaves to go to work without preparing something first, she already has set herself up to eat rubbish later on. I said it before, but just to reiterate if you are seriously trying to lose weight you need to be honest with yourself. Ask yourself the question is losing weight really important to me? If it is, then taking time to plan your food for the day shouldn’t be too much effort.

Remember what and how you think effects your actions, so this is the most important thing that needs to change. Changing your mindset about food, will transform you from fat thinking to thin thinking resulting in a thinner happier you!