Creating Your Future
Envision the results of what you wish for in your weight loss journey. Knowing where you are headed makes the journey there much easier!
Some of this weeks episode highlights are:
10:18 If you want a different future, you have to begin thinking different thoughts. Eventually, new thoughts become ‘super highways’ and weight loss becomes easy for you.
12:27 Envision your future self. Who are you going to be? Then write a letter to yourself now, from the future, you. Have your future self give you some advice and support.
13:42 You're going to be much more successful at remembering your vision if you have support.
--- Full Raw Transcription Below ---
Dr. Angela Zechmann (00:00):
You are listening to the Keep The Weight Off podcast with Dr. Angela, episode number 31.
Introduction (00:06):
Welcome to The Keep The Weight Off podcast, where we bust all the dieting myths and discover not just how to lose weight, but more importantly, how to keep it off. We go way beyond the food and we use science and psychology to give you strategies that work. And now your host, Dr. Angela Zechmann.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (03:51):
Welcome everyone and thanks for joining us this week - or more accurately, joining ME this week! Today I’m flying solo since Marchelle is taking some well deserved time off, but she'll be back later.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (03:56):
It’S early September, and this is the time that a LOT of people start thinking about losing weight. It’S interesting because in the weight loss world, there are certain seasons when people focus on their weight. There’S the obvious time at New Year’s and then there’s the March/April Springtime prep for summer. We always get big peaks of people interested then. But September and to a lesser extent October are the times people again think about their weight. Summer vacations are over and traditionally, kids are back in school and there is more of a routine again. I do recognize that the pandemic has changed some of this to a certain extent, obviously - but we’re seeing a lot of people starting finishing up their vacations and starting to once again think about weight loss.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (03:56):
Truth be told, it’s always a good time to be focused on your health and your weight loss. And I think now - when people are starting to think about getting themselves back on track after summer vacations - now is a good time to talk about your mindset…. How you should be THINKING when you are starting a weight loss journey. This is really really important, and I think you'll understand better by the time i'm done today.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (03:56):
We will be starting the next class of Journey Beyond Weight Loss in just a few weeks, so if you’re interested in that, go to https://www.journeybeyondweightloss.com/ and get yourself on the waiting list.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (03:56):
Journey beyond weight loss is my 12 week course and membership where I'm teaching you all the skills that you need in order to lose weight and keep it off. And I support you with weekly coaching calls and you have a community of other people on this journey with you. Having a community to support you is super, super important. So if you're interested in that, just head over to https://www.journeybeyondweightloss.com/ and get yourself on the mailing list and get yourself signed up, right now, when this podcast issues, you can sign up for the waiting list, but if you're listening to it later, we will be open for registration, coming up around September 12th or 13th.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (03:56):
All right. So let's talk about mindset. By mindset, I mean, what are you thinking about your weight loss journey? What are the thoughts that are going through your head about losing weight? And I want us to think about what kinds of thoughts are going to be helpful to us and what kinds of thoughts might actually hinder us. Okay. So let's test out a few of the common thoughts that I hear people say to me when they start their weight loss journey.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (03:56):
So here's one person and she says, oh my God, my diet starting the day after labor day, I'm a little nervous. It's going to be hard. I hope I last longer than I did on my last diet.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (03:58):
Well, that's one person. Here's the second person. And here is her thinking. I can't wait to get all this weight off all I can wear our stretch pants. I'm tired of feeling like crap and not being able to participate in activities with my family. So that's the second person.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (04:20):
Now let's move on to the third person. And here are the thoughts that she is having about her weight loss. She says, I have a vision for my future in which I am healthy, happy, free of pain and free of cravings. And I'm excited to see what I will learn on this journey to the new me.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (04:44):
Okay. So that's three different scenarios there. Who do you think is going to be most successful in her weight loss journey?
Dr. Angela Zechmann (04:52):
So let's talk about each of these approaches for just a minute. I'm going to call the first person nervous Nelly. Remember what she said? It's going to be hard. I'm nervous. I hope I last longer than my last diet. There are two things about nervous Nellies mindset that I want to point out.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (05:14):
The first is that she's nervous or she's anxious. Now our emotions fuel our behavior. I'm going to say that again because it's so important to understand this. Emotions fuel behavior. So what kind of behavior will the emotion of anxiety fuel?
Dr. Angela Zechmann (05:37):
Think about that for a minute. It's going to cause her to slip up, to give into cravings and to give up easily. So she starting out her weight loss journey with a series of thoughts that are not helpful and may actually even hinder her progress. The other thing I want to point out is that she's thinking about past diets, she's really focused on the past, and she's worried that she's going to make the same mistakes this time.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (06:10):
This is also not going to be helpful. All she will do is recreate her path because she's so focused on it. Okay? So that's person number one, nervous Nelly mindset is not going to be helpful.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (06:28):
Let's talk about person number two, who I'm going to call disgusted but determined Diane. Don't you love my names? She says, I can't wait to get all this weight off all. I can wear are stretch pants. I'm tired of feeling like crap and not able to participate in activities with my family. So now actually she's coming from a little bit better of a mindset than nervous Nellie was, but she's still focused on what she doesn't want. And she's sort of beating herself up. Can you hear that? The emotion of disgust is going to put her at risk of really beating herself up when she slips up and everyone slips up eventually, right?
Dr. Angela Zechmann (07:14):
That being said, she is exhibiting some determination and you can see that she has some ideas about what the future is going to look like. Once she gets the weight off, the emotion of determination could really fuel some action that will serve her in her efforts to plan and prepare healthy meals and avoid junk food. But, I still think she could really improve a lot in her mindset.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (07:45):
So let's move on to person. Number three, I'm going to call her visionary Victoria. She said, I have a vision for my future in which I'm healthy, happy free of pain and free of cravings. And I'm excited to see what I will learn on this journey to the new me. Now, this is someone who, if she really believes what she's saying, and if she can keep up this mindset throughout all the ups and downs of the journey, she's going to do really well.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (08:20):
And so there are a few things about Victoria that I want to point out. First of all, she's not looking backwards to all the failed diet attempts in her past. She's not focused on all the Weight Watchers meetings she's been to the keto diet she tried, the lap band she had placed - all of that's in her past.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (08:42):
And instead of focusing on all of that past stuff, she's focused on the future. She's envisioning herself healthy free of pain, free of cravings. She has this powerful vision of the future of Victoria that is palpable and real for her. It's as if her mind is made up and the body will soon follow. This is a really powerful place to be.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (09:10):
The next thing to notice is that Victoria understands that she's embarking on a huge transformative journey. And she's excited about what she's going to learn about herself.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (09:23):
She understands that there are beliefs about herself that will need to be shifted and that she may need to take a look at the relationship she's created that she's going to be doing some powerful inner work as she makes this remarkable outer transformation. And she's eager about it. She's not afraid to dig deep. She's willing to feel some difficult feelings and do some hard things in order to achieve lasting weight loss and lasting health.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (09:56):
So how does someone like Victoria get to that place where she's so focused on the future that she wants to create for herself, that she's actually eager to experience some uncomfortable feelings, to learn more about herself, to make some fundamental shifts in the way she lives her life and more importantly, fundamental shifts in the way she thinks about herself.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (10:18):
And I think that's a really powerful question because our brains, your brain has been thinking certain thoughts for many, many years. Now, these thoughts are like super highways in the brain. And they're very easy to think. So for example, someone will say to me, I always plateau at around 200 pounds. Well, maybe that number is different for you, but this idea that there's a point at which things become dicey is an example of a thought that is easy to think for many people on this journey.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (10:52):
Another thought that's really common is I'm an emotional eater. And then every time you eat, when you're anxious or upset, you get to validate that thought. So this thought that I'm an emotional eater actually creates that reality for you.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (11:09):
So if you want a different future, you have to begin thinking different thoughts. And this isn't easy. I like to compare it to making a road in a wheat field. So there's this super highway of easy to think thoughts that are going at 80 or 90 miles an hour, but you're going to teach your brain to think new thoughts that are more congruent with the future that you want to create.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (11:34):
And so it's sort of like imagine that you're trying to make a path through a wheat field, and you have to clear that path first, and then you have to start walking on it. And then you clear some more, and you make a little road, and then maybe you can pave that road. And each step along the way, it's always easier to go back to the super highway of past thoughts, but the more you practice, the new thoughts, the more firmly they're going to take hold. And the more they will fuel your determination to become the person that you envision. Eventually, the new thoughts become super highways and weight loss becomes easy for you, but it's a process of becoming aware of which thoughts are helpful and which thoughts are not.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (12:23):
So here's a really good exercise to do. It is to envision your future self, who are you going to be a year from now? And then really get clear about who that future self is, what this future self is like. And then write a letter to yourself now, from the future, you. Have a him or her give you some advice. What would the future you tell you to stop doing? What were the future you tell you to start doing? What else might that future? You have to say? What would that you, that has accomplished your weight loss goals? Say about the times that you slip up? Just really envision this future. You who is healthy and happy and free of pain and cravings who can wear the clothes that bring out your personality, who has tons of energy, who can move freely and think about how that person thinks about themselves and how they live their life.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (13:32):
This is really, really important work to do before you even begin to start your next weight loss effort. And what I can tell you is that you're going to be much more successful at remembering your vision, if you have support. So again, I'd like to invite you to join me in the next class of Journey Beyond Weight Loss, which starts September 21st. We'll be opening up the class and membership during the week of September 13th. You can sign up, then just watch your email for the signup link or go to https://www.journeybeyondweightloss.com/ to sign up, but do this mindset work ahead of time so that you can come into it with a right thoughts that are going to really fuel your success.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (14:21):
All right, everyone, that's all for this week. I will talk to you again next week. In the meantime, stay safe out there. Stay healthy avoid crap food, and I will talk to you next week.
Dr. Angela Zechmann (14:35):
Take care. Bye bye.
Closing (14:36):
Hey, if you really want to lose weight and keep it off for good, your next step is to sign up for Dr. Angela's free weight loss course, where you're going to learn everything you need to get started on your weight loss journey, the right way. Just head over to JourneyBeyondWeightLoss.com/freecourse to sign up. Also, it would be awesome if you could take a few moments and write a review on iTunes. Thanks! And we'll see you in Journey Beyond Weight Loss.
Dr. Angela
This episode was produced and marketed by the Get Known Service
