How often do you find yourself lying about the reasons you can’t lose weight? 

Do you often justify your actions by saying it’s because you have a slow metabolism… after all, you HARDLY eat all day, you never eat candy or potato chips, but you still can’t lose weight? 

Besides you might add,  it RUNS in the family…I am doomed.

Okay. You’re not actualy lying,  just stretching the truth a bit.

Maybe you don’t eat much during the day, but you eat huge portions of food at dinner time?… 

…Maybe you don’t eat candy or potato chips, but you can easily finish off a half gallon of ice cream in an evening? :)

But wait…It’s NOT about guilt. It’s more about self-deception (Your brain’s fault)

We rationalize everything.

We are capable of justifying the most ilogical, irrational behavior to suit our needs because we’re programmed that way.

It’s called avoiding Cognitive Dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance happens when we believe or value certain things but we ACT in ways opposite to those beliefs.

See, the brain likes to keep things simple and in an attempt to avoid discomfort it creates a reason for the opposite behavior, ( You did xy because of z)in your case the numerous justifications for not being able to change your eating habits.  

When you catch yourself lying like that (to others or just to yourself)  it’s probably because you’re not ready to make the changes you need to make in order to reach your goals. 

You justify your lack of progress by coming up with an excuse, or many excuses.  Soon the guilt piles up and negative, self limiting beliefs undermine your future efforts.

Now that you know why you lie to yourself sometimes, here’s how to keep yourself in check:

Do a quick, self-lie detector test

Write down what you THINK is true about your weight.

 Example:

 - I don’t have time to eat healthy.

- I eat only one small meal a day.

- I don’t have time to exercise.

- I don’t eat a lot of sugar.

- I eat pretty healthy most of the time.

 Now look at your list, which items are not really true? 

It may take you some time,  months or even years before you’ll be ready to take action for change, but being honest with yourself is enough to make you start taking different actions, even if it’s in small ways.

If you’re still lying about why you can’t lose weight, understanding your brain’s sneaky influence on your behavior might help you stay focused on your goals.

To your health!

LL

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Tags: goal setting, Healthy Eating Habits, Losing Weight

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