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There's a reason so many diets fail.
By JoLynn Braley — Written on Feb 21, 2018
If you're starting a weight loss journey, you're not alone. Statistics show that one-third of adults in the USA are overweight or obese so yeah, you're definitely not alone in your food and weight challenges!
Additionally, it's very common to be struggling with emotional eating, food addiction, binge eating and unhealthy eating habits and diets in general. These are the super common struggles my weight loss coaching clients come to me to help them fix once and for all.
It's easy to get stuck.
It's easy to get stuck in these patterns of disordered eating and not even realize that it's become your normal mode of daily living. Just check this out: when is the last time you ate food only because you were physically hungry?
The truth is, there's an abundance of tasty food available for anyone to buy and consume 24 hours a day and it's fully legal to indulge in a food addiction.
There is a cost though, which goes far beyond health and medical costs. The heaviest costs impact your self-esteem, self-image, and self-confidence, which then impacts your level of success in every area of your life.
Overweight is only a symptom.
One of the big mistakes most are making is thinking they have a weight problem when they actually have a much bigger problem. The fact is, overweight is only a symptom.
With that being said you're very smart to ask yourself the following list of 15 questions before beginning your weight loss journey. The purpose of asking yourself (and answering!) each of these questions is to set yourself up for the very best chance of weight loss success that actually lasts.
After all, don't you want to finally lose weight, and keep it off? I sure hope you do because the alternative of yo-yo dieting is just so frustrating. I've been there before myself!
Let's get to the 15 questions you need to ask yourself before starting your weight loss journey. I recommend you grab pen and paper, write each question down, and then write your answer down to each question, pen on paper.
There is a connection that occurs between the head the hand and the heart when you write pen on paper and you'll miss out on that connection by only reading the following questions:
1. "Why am I starting a weight loss journey?"
Millions are out there trying to lose weight because they think they should lose weight but they don't necessarily feel excited about it at all.
Overweight folks struggling with out-of-control eating and overweight see images online or in magazines and they instantly compare themselves to the images, while thinking they don't measure up and they should lose weight just to fit in.
Hey, don't get me wrong: if your body is overweight or obese it's just not healthy for your physical body to carry that extra fat around, especially when you remember that when you have fat on the outside of your body, then your body has fat around your internal organs.
But if the only reason you're embarking on a weight loss journey is because you think you should, then it will be a struggle for you to take action and keep taking consistent action.
Inspired action is the easiest action you can ever take, and inspired action comes from within (In Spirit = Inspiration). "Shoulds" are the opposite of inspiration. "Shoulds" contribute to more struggle.
2. "Am I taking action from the space of fear or the space of love?"
While this question might sound similar and share a connection with the first question, it's a deeper subject.
I've had many weight loss coaching clients who, when they first started working with me, were exercising and trying to eat right only because they were afraid they'd gain weight if they didn't.
When you shift your inner self to take healthy action from the space of self-love and healing, then you'll no longer be on "a weight loss journey".
Instead, you'll just be doing fun stuff that makes your body drop fat. That's it!
It's all about shifting the energy of where your actions are flowing forth from. Actions that come from the space of fear only lead to struggle and stress.
Actions that come from the space of love are actions that will be struggle-free and fun to do.
3. "Is my chosen diet healthy and sane?"
Common sense might tell you that you need to be more concerned about the long-term health impact on your body than being mainly concerned about "How fast can I get this fat off?!!".
However, many who are feeling hopeless about the state of their weight are only concerned about instant tricks and magical miracles that never pan out.
Fast fat loss comes at a price and it's probably not a price you want to pay. The price of quickie weight loss is another ding to your overall health and, more importantly, when it doesn't last it's just another "I failed again" that adds up on your pile of disappointments.
When instead you listen to that inner voice that tells you "There is no magic fix for this!" and stay sane and healthy in your diet of choice, then you'll be giving yourself the best chance of long-term health while releasing the excess fat from your body.
4. "Will my chosen diet work for me as a life-long healthy lifestyle?"
Not only do you want to pay attention to your choice of a healthy, sane diet plan but also, note whether or not you're going to be able to keep it up for the rest of your life.
Here's a fact you need to know: Short-term diets do not work.
Well, sometimes they can work, but only for the short term. Those diets always have an end, and what happens at the end?
Maybe you've done this before (many have, you're not alone) — you've gotten to your goal weight, and even faster, you gained it all back, plus an extra 20 pounds or so.
Weight loss is usually not the problem; maintaining it for life without a struggle is though, and it's a bigger problem than most are talking about! But if you choose a healthy lifestyle plan that you can live with, then you'll be setting yourself up for success.
5. "What's my end goal?"
Do I only want to lose weight as fast as possible no matter the long-term health costs or is my goal to lose weight and keep it off?
Permanent weight loss is a good goal to have and you can have it if you go about it from the inside out.
If you're only seeking to lose weight as fast as possible though, then you can use willpower for a specific amount of time, but have you ever noticed this: you force yourself with willpower for X number of days or weeks, but eventually the rubber band can only stretch so far, and when it reaches its limit, it snaps back faster than the eye can see.
And then once your willpower has crashed, well, you know where you end up then.
Hey, I'm not trying to be all morose and depressing in this article. Instead, if you're willing to get real with yourself before starting your next weight loss journey, you could make this be your last weight loss journey. You just need to go about it in the right way and make sure that you're doing it from the inside out.
Let's take a look at one aspect of losing weight from the inside out next!
6. "Have I healed the root of what made my body fat?"
Healing the root of what has gotten you the results you've got is critical to your weight loss success if you want to lose weight and keep it off for life. What is the root of your food and weight struggles?
I don't know unless I speak with you and work with you to unravel it. What I do know is that food is not the problem, and this is why eventually willpower will fail when trying to force yourself to diet.
However, when the root of what drives your out-of-control eating is healed, then you will be free. Then you will be able to live a healthy lifestyle without a fight, and it just won't be a big deal anymore.
Heal the root of the problem and your emotional eating will end, your binge eating will disappear, and you'll be able to release the fat and keep it off. But ya gotta go to the root of the problem, instead of trying to paste a band aid on the symptoms.
7. "Do I have a weight loss mindset?"
Here's another critical question to get clear on with yourself. The fact is that mindset is 92.8 percent of the puzzle of achieving full success on your weight loss journey.
A weight loss mindset will make it struggle-free for you to do all of the things you need to do to succeed physically in your weight loss journey. Things like planning out your meals, portioning out in advance, getting your work outs in without fail, and all of the other practical weight loss action steps that are part of a living a healthy lifestyle.
8. "Who's my coach in my corner?"
The fastest and easiest way to unravel, heal, and release your ongoing food and weight struggles is to get coaching to get it done. Just make sure you get coaching with the right coach, one who specializes in healing the root of the problem so that you can finally achieve freedom from the struggle.
When you work with the right coach, they will be able to spot your blind spots that you are not able to see, because they are blind spots.
Those hidden blind spots will hold you back indefinitely, however once they are exposed and unraveled, then you'll be able to live healthy and fit without a fight, and just allow the fat to drop off and stay off. Just imagine what like would be like for you then!
On the other hand, without the right coach in your corner to help you uncover and unravel all that's standing in your way of achieving the body you desire and deserve, you might be able to figure out a couple of the puzzle pieces on your own but at the cost of years of extra time and struggle.
Only because coaching with the right coach speeds up the process 10X while shedding light and clarity on what really matters, all for the purpose of achieving permanent weight loss.
9. "Can I clearly see my healthy weight loss end goal?"
I've spoken with numerous women who when I asked them what they saw for their future at their ideal weight, their answer was "I don't know, I've never been there".
While this might sound normal because many mistakenly think "I gotta see it before I believe it", this is a major problem if you're truly serious about succeeding on your weight loss journey and maintaining it for life.
The fact is that you cannot achieve a goal that you cannot see. It does not matter that you're not there yet, you must be able to envision your outcome in your mind's eye.
When you can envision your goal, feel great about it, know that you can achieve it, and move forward with consistent healthy action meal after meal, then you will surely get there. The trick is to get your inner self on the right track, make sure you can clearly see where you are headed, and include all of the other inner self steps as well!
10. "What are all of the things that could stand in my way, stop me, or slow me down?"
Grab pen and paper, do not try to do this in your head because it won't work. Write pen on paper and you'll get the connection that occurs to sync up your mind, your hand, and your heart.
List out anything and everything that could possibly stand in your way, stop you, or slow you down along your weight loss journey.
Don't worry that you'll miss some things, that's only because you cannot see your own blind spots (no one can!). Just write down everything you are able to and list it all out.
The purpose of doing this is to get it out of your head and down on paper. After you complete your list, your next step is to take action to solve and dissolve each of the roadblocks you've written down. After all, ignoring them won't make them go away!
Note: if you write down any people that you've thought could stand in your way, remember that your job is never to change another person, you can only change yourself. The real "magic" occurs when you do the steps to heal your inner self, which is the work I do with my weight loss coaching clients in The Inner Self Diet.
11. "Am I taking full personal responsibility for my actions and my outcomes?"
Many who are struggling with food and their weight do not like to hear this but it is a fact: permanent success on your weight loss journey cannot be achieved without taking full personal responsibility for your life, your body, your behaviors, and your results.
While it's not your fault you ended up where you are (the mainstream diet industry is to blame for that!), it is your responsibility now to make the required changes in order to fully release your food and weight struggles.
If however, you blame other people, or blame the fast food industry, or blame your mom, your boyfriend, your husband or your boss (or anyone else!) then you have zero power to change.
When you take total and complete responsibility for yourself then you are truly setting yourself up for success!
12. "How do I feel about the weight loss journey I'm about to start?"
Pay very close attention to how you feel emotionally when you imagine yourself starting and sticking with your weight loss journey long term. This is not about what you think, it's about how you feel emotionally.
Tap into your emotions, drop out of your head and into your gut. Do you feel excited and happy about your weight loss journey? Look long term because anyone can get excited for a day or two and then drop the ball as soon as the rubber band snaps back.
When you see yourself long-term in your day-to-day life doing the things that make up a healthy and fit lifestyle, do you feel happy about it?
Or do you dread every step of your weight loss journey while you tell yourself "I just gotta be strong and DO it!" until you see that number on the scale. But what happens after that?
Here's a fact none of us can change, it's actually Universal Law: You cannot enjoy the outcome of a journey you despise.
What this means is if you hate what you're doing to lose weight, you're not going to be able to enjoy the end of the rainbow, if you end up getting there!
Just imagine how much easier the whole weight loss journey could be if you were truly having fun each step of the way! That's the way of struggle-free weight loss.
13. "What is my daily practice for feeding my mind before feeding my body?"
Remember: Mindset is 92.8 percent of winning with your weight or your mindset is 92.8 percent of what will hold you back forever (ack!).
Since your mind is so critical to your success on your weight loss journey, doesn't it make sense that you're going to want to address the feeding of your mind daily? If you say Yes then you're right on track!
Feed your mind daily with the positive, the healthy, the empowering messages, emotions, and visions that are in alignment with your weight loss and fitness goals. Do not neglect this daily action step because the average person's mind is receiving up to 5,000 advertisements per day and that was back in 2006!
Just imagine what that number is up to today.
Guess what all of those ads are designed to do? They are meant to influence you. Therefore, if you are not taking deliberate, daily action to influence your own mind, to maintain the right mindset, then you are standing in the way of your own weight loss success. Make sense?
14. "Is food my number one fun?"
This can be a super tough question to get totally honest with yourself about but here's the thing: If food is your fun in life, then does it make sense that you're not going to be able to stick with your weight loss journey?
However, if you replace your food fun with healthy, fit, and empowering fun, that could work! So, a great question to ask yourself might be, "What do I really enjoy doing in life that does not involve eating?" and then start finding ways to do more of that!
Life is supposed to be good for you, you're supposed to be having fun, but when food is your only fun you end up suffering the consequences in overweight and all of the negative emotions that come with it. Which means that overall, life isn't all that fun, and that's when weight loss is super, super hard, if not impossible.
Bring the feel-good-without-food fun back into your life and see how much easier your weight loss journey becomes!
15. "What specifically am I doing to heal and release my emotional eating and any other unhealthy eating behaviors?"
OK, now the biggest question of all: have you healed and released any disordered eating behaviors?
Has your emotional eating been healed and released? What about any food addictions? Or binge eating? Compulsive night time eating? What about just plain turning to food to avoid life?
Whatever your unhealthy eating behaviors are, have you done the work to heal them, unravel them, and release them?
Have they been replaced with healthy eating behaviors?
If you have then you're home free! It really shouldn't be any big deal for you to succeed on your weight loss journey, and beyond. After all, with your unhealthy eating behaviors released and replaced with healthy behaviors that support your ideal weight, then what could stand in your way of getting all the way to your ideal weight and staying there.
Make sense?
On the other hand, if you're still struggling with unhealthy eating behaviors and/or unhealthy exercise avoidance behaviors, you'll want to heal those as soon as possible so that your weight loss journey will be struggle-free and fun.
You really can lose weight and keep it off. You really can stop binge eating, stop emotional eating, and stop struggling with overeating and overweight.
You can release the shame, frustration, anger, and depression of years of failure and finally succeed once and for all. But there is a specific way to go about this, and ya wanna make sure you're losing weight from the inside out.
This means that you have to make sure you've healed the root of the unhealthy eating behaviors so you set yourself free. Otherwise, the willpower to diet can only last so long.
Maybe you've experienced the rubber band snapping back before and all of the weight coming back quickly with a vengeance. If you've ever experienced that you're not alone! It's just a result of attacking a symptom instead of the problem.
The above 15 questions to ask yourself before starting your weight loss journey will give you great insight into where you stand currently and what you need to do to set yourself up for the very best chance of succeeding with your weight, finally, once and for all. To be able to release the excess fat, and keep it off.
If you haven't already followed through pen on paper with my 15 questions then why not do that now? You have everything to gain when you achieve clarity on where you stand now and where you're headed next.
JoLynn Braley is a permanent weight loss coach since 2009. You really can break free of your never-ending food and weight struggles, you just gotta follow the right steps to do it. Start now by grabbing her 3 free tips that can help — they're not your typical food or exercise tips you already have. Visit Easy Fun Weight Loss to get started now!