Achieving a Healthy Mindset for Maintenance
Dr Paula Watson
Liverpool John Moores University
Paula delivering her talk to our Accrington Be Strong group on Wed 26th June 2019
Introduction
When Rick asked me to prepare something for the Be Strong group on the “importance of mindset in achieving your aspirations”, I was initially a little uncomfortable about this. And when I took some time to reflect, I realised why. Be Strongers (i.e. you!) have achieved so much in terms of lifestyle change and weight loss, I always feel quite humbled when I visit the group. I really felt there wasn’t anything I could tell you about mindset that you didn’t already know (as you don’t lose multiple stones in weight or go from couch to marathon without having the right mindset!).
But then I thought about mindset itself. Often we’re told it’s about “positive mental attitude”, to “stop worrying and just do it” or to “replace negative thoughts with positive”. But if things are getting on top of you, you’re lacking motivation or struggling to resist temptation, how easy is it to simply “snap out of it” and be positive? The reality is it can be incredibly difficult.
So I asked Be Strongers what the situations are when you find it challenging to stay motivated. I received several responses, thank you, and I drew on these responses to inform the talk I gave at the Accrington Be Strong group on 26th June. As not everyone was able to attend the talk (and as I probably waffled and missed some of the points I meant to make!) I have prepared this article to summarise three key points that will help you achieve a healthy mindset for long-term weight management.
Each of the three points starts with some questions for you to reflect on personally. I would encourage you to take some time to do this and to be honest with yourself. Self-awareness is an important step in moving forward, and if you are currently “in a rut” or lacking motivation, reflecting on these questions might help you identify some of the areas you could change. If it helps – you could even write down your feelings, or perhaps meet with a friend to go through this article together.
About Me
I’m a registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council, and a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society. Since 2012, I’ve worked at Liverpool John Moores University as a Lecturer in Exercise and Health Psychology, where I supervise the MSc and doctorate students you may have met on their Be Strong placements (Laura, Joe, Chiara). My current research is focussed on understanding how we can help people become and stay physically active for life, so I do a lot of work with GP exercise referral schemes and training health professionals to support behaviour change. Before that (from 2005 to 2013), I developed and led a health behaviour change programme called GOALS!, which was for families with children who were overweight and covered nutrition, physical activity and psychology.
On a personal level, I love being active! I actually wasn’t sporty at school – in fact I was the worst at sport in many aspects of my school life. I had to wear a “red cap” in swimming because I was the only one who couldn’t swim a length (secondary school) and I distinctly remember coming last in a cross-country race in primary school. My eye-hand coordination isn’t great so 10-pin bowling is a no-go and summer get togethers with rounders, cricket etc. are my ultimate dread!
BUT…I have always enjoyed moving and been encouraged to be active by my family. Running and cycling (leisurely) have been constants through my life plus I spent many years playing women’s football (my eye-foot coordination is slightly better than my hands!) and my new-found passion is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I went for a 10k run this morning and I can honestly say running makes me smile! I love the “feeling” of movement and I feel very lucky to be able to experience this.
I recognise running will not be the answer for everyone, but whatever you struggle with, or whatever you want to change, I hope the following points will help you achieve a healthy mindset that supports lifelong weight maintenance (and might even help you experience the same “buzz” from exercise I get!). And if you’re in a good place now, reflect on these points and use them to reinforce what you’re doing and motivate you to keep going.
Thank you for reading!
Point 1: It’s a way of life not a short-term fix
Questions to reflect on (honestly):
- Do you view your current diet and physical activity as temporary or permanent in your life?
- If you are currently “losing”, how do you feel things are going to be different when you reach your target weight? (i.e. your diet, your physical activity, your mindset)
- If you are currently “maintaining”, how do you feel things have changed since before you met your target weight? (i.e. your diet, your physical activity, your mindset)
At Be Strong, you may view your journey in two separate “zones”: the “losing” zone and the “maintenance” zone. You may have been in the losing zone for some time, you may have lost some weight but feel you still have some way to go before reaching your target weight (even if just a few pounds). You may even “like” the idea of staying in the losing zone, as you know how to manage that, it’s what you’re used to, and you feel like you have a clear goal to work towards.
But the dangers of this mindset are:
- a) your focus is always on changing how things are rather than enjoying your current way of life; and
- b) it can be challenging to cope psychologically when you do reach the “maintenance” zone – you relax, old habits creep in and re-gain becomes more likely.
A more healthy way to view your lifestyle change is that everything you do now needs to be something you can, and plan to, keep up forever. Whether it is counting calories, planning your weekly physical activity, or cutting down on a certain food. So if you are introducing a daily walk now, ask yourself – can I do this forever? And if the answer is no, change your question – how could I introduce walking into my life in a way that is sustainable? You will have far more chances of success if you make fewer, small changes that become permanent in your life, than if you change everything for a year, then go back to your old habits.
So if you currently view your lifestyle as temporary, try and reflect on this idea and work on shifting your mindset to a more permanent focus. Focus on enjoying what you are doing now and making it sustainable. This might require patience, it might require doing things a bit less “drastically”, but it will pay off in the end.