REFRAME-

The amount of times I used to say to myself- ‘just one more blow out then I’ll be good’, when I was giving weight loss another try was unbelievable.

In fact, ‘one more blow out’ occurred every single time I decided to try again and it always came with the same pattern of deciding I’d start my weight loss jouney again on a Monday, and so from around Friday the weekend before (and sometimes even earlier) I’d decide to have that final period of freedom before I was really good.

And there were multiple issues with this-

One being that I was justifying a binge session which reinforced that behaviour loop by engaging in a process of self-justification and rationalisation that helped reduce the mental discomfort (cognitive dissonance) I was experiencing, strengthening the underlying neural pathways associated with that bad habit, making it more automatic and harder to change. 

And two- I was bingeing on an even bigger scale than usual which had a consequential impact on my energy and focus come Monday, and that was because the highly processed fatty and sugary foods I was consuming ALWAYS have a physical and mental ”come down”.

Physical in that they caused a dopamine spike and drop, blood sugar crash and hormonal and inflammatory responses which caused low moods, fatigue and irritability as my body and brain attempted to rebalance,  and mentally because of the feelings of guilt and regret that ensued a binge.

So then come Monday I would experience heightened food noise and cravings (as a chemical reaction to the over-consumption of those foods), and when that was combined with all of the above factors it categorically did not make for a motivated, focused and energised state, which meant I was doomed before I even began.

I learnt to recognise that there was a more beneficial way to prime for my weight loss journey, and made the decision to instead take the time to plan meals, create a shopping list and use practices like hypnosis to rewire my brain, but to also disrupt the pattern by changing the day I started my journey from a Monday to a Sunday (which created new neural pathways as a direct result), meaning the last time I “started again” was the last time because I actually succeeded. 

I broke a pattern, altered my brain chemistry and started my journey from a far more focused, energised and motivated place, just from those small shifts in habits.