Is losing weight mostly psychological?

StarvingDiva

For me its probably half. I'm definitely an emotional eater and come from a culture that is food centric. Every celebration is out to dinner, feeding people is showing them how much you love them...etc and so forth. But what can be frustrating is the blanket statements of CICO or eat less move more. That may be true for a lot of people but I feel weight loss is more complex and is different for a lot of people, while I may be an emotional eater, I am super dedicated and my chronic disease that is hormonal works against me. I meticulously tracked every morsel I put in my mouth and did intensive workouts and what might have made others drop seriously lbs had me barely moving the scale, I had to really look into what workouts, what type of things I needed to do that worked for my particular diseases as well as foods it simply wasn't about just calories it was what types of foods in order to make my body work with me. I had a mental block about the size 14. Still don't know what it pertains too, not sure I ever will know why the size 14 freaks me out, but every time I get there I would self sabotage and I knew this, just can't pinpoint why. So this time around, I was determined to make it past. In fact I think I stayed in my size 16s way longer than I needed because I knew that battle would be difficult. Once I couldn't deny that I no longer fit in the 16s because they were practically falling off me, I had to succumb and buy the 14s and really start that process. That started in September. Just two weeks ago at work I noticed my pants in the bum were sagging and I thought well surely I can't be in a 12 I've only lost about 5 lbs in all that time, but for S&G I tried on my 12 pants and then 12 jeans and I was safely and no muffin top in them. I made it by the 14s successfully and now working on getting down to my next size. That whole journey was completely psychological. Still don't know why though darn it!

The more weight I lose though, the more my chronic disorder is getting better, I notice it in other symptoms I possess with it, they have lessened which is really amazing because on top of being overweight all the other symptoms make you feel like a failure as a woman in general.

So for me, I think its just an individual thing. Some people its the food they eat, some people its lack of exercise or both, some people its psychological, I just don't think with the vast differences between people it can be narrowed down into a neat box.

MessyApron

I think mindset is more than important; it's critical. I'd like to recommend my favorite podcast, Half Size Me. It's hosted by a woman who's lost over a hundred pounds and has kept it off. She has guests on all the time who are in different stages of their weight loss journeys, but they all talk about learning to love and accept yourself, ditching restrictive dietary fads, and recognizing the futility of trying to "hate yourself skinny."

daneejela

I don't know if it's mostly psychological, but it any case I would say that it requires serious mental preps.
Two years ago I have quit smoking, and since I have done good mental preps, it was peace of cake to leave serious nicotine addiction.
I think that crucial thing is to have mindset that you are not loosing something (joy, comfort, habit) but gaining something (new joy, health, new habit).
If you thing that you are depriving yourself of something, sooner or latter your willpower will break.

Kimblesnbits13

sgfwinters wrote: »

I think mindset is more than important; it's critical. I'd like to recommend my favorite podcast, Half Size Me. It's hosted by a woman who's lost over a hundred pounds and has kept it off. She has guests on all the time who are in different stages of their weight loss journeys, but they all talk about learning to love and accept yourself, ditching restrictive dietary fads, and recognizing the futility of trying to "hate yourself skinny."

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that podcast. It's probably my favorite out of all the ones I listen to.

YaGigi

Off course it's mindset and phycological addiction.
I've gone to a professional seeking help for my food habits and I've been pretty successful because of his continuous support.

We gain weight because we eat too much and move too little in general. And we tend to eat much more then we actually need for our body to stay healthy and active. We eat when we are not hungry but because we are bored, stressed out, in social situations and etc. We also eat to protect ourselves, to punish ourselves, to celebrate.
Professional phycologist deals with these issues and therefore helps to eliminate overeating.

YaGigi

And I must add that losing extra weight with a help of phycologist is much easier and comfortable. I didn't feel any stress for not having a cake or pasta, it wasn't a diet like it used to be before when you see a cake and cry inside.
He was simply helping me to develop new sets of habits in choosing when to eat and what to eat. My mind wasn't always wondering about food and my body wasn't feeling hungry.

I am very much recommending seeking phycological support during weight loss to everyone.

JeanieWww

I think one needs a firm mindset to go for it, so , yeah, I think a huge part of weightloss is psychological. The mind can build us up or tear us down. We learn to tear ourselves down, believe the worst, and give ourselves a lot of negative talk. We are more mean to ourselves, more often than others are mean to us.
So, get your mind right, first. Gear yourself up. Empower yourself. Start with positive self talk. It might feel weird at first, but after a while, you realize you can be your own best friend and best TRUE friend. You can do anything if you put your mind to it!

Body helps by following along

12Sarah2015

Not for me. Just being strong and saying no to highly processed, high calorie foods worked for me

Gallowmere1984

12Sarah2015 wrote: »

Not for me. Just being strong and saying no to highly processed, high calorie foods worked for me

"Being strong", unless you mean in a physical sense, would imply that it was psychological.

brittyn3

Definitely psychological, it takes effort to do things outside of your routine and comfort zone. Losing weight, takes effort. Picking different foods, takes effort. Eating less, takes effort. Saying, no thank you, to constant offers of treats, takes effort.

Working out takes effort, running takes effort, it's hard to find something in life that doesn't take effort. Besides the obvious physical factors - it's mental. Your brain has to tell your body to do it. TBT being lazy takes effort - at least for me. I start fidgeting and driving everyone around me nuts if I sit still for too long. AKA rest days are not my friend

It takes a LOT of mental effort to push through your lulls. Working out everyday, eating a restricted calorie diet and barely seeing results in the mirror at times - was enough to make me quit/give up many times before.

GaleHawkins

Well I think all that come here know to eat less and move more or CICO is factual but the how to is the mental part I found in my case.

I had to want quality of life over quantity of sweet stuff in my case.

janejellyroll

GaleHawkins wrote: »

Well I think all that come here know to eat less and move more or CICO is factual but the how to is the mental part I found in my case.

I had to want quality of life over quantity of sweet stuff in my case.

I see posts here daily from people who are absolutely clueless about how to lose weight (and that's not a dig, we live in a culture that can make it hard to figure out how to do it). I don't think everyone understands how simple it is to lose weight or we wouldn't see posts with questions like "Am I eating too many carbohydrates to lose weight?" or "What is a calorie deficit?" or "Do I have to burn off every calorie I eat through exercise?" or "I can't cook, how can I lose weight?" or "Help, I need to lose weight but how can I quit drinking coffee?" These, and questions just like these, we see at least once a day from people who have no idea how to lose weight.

I think once people understand, that is when the mental work can begin. But so many people are spinning their wheels and wasting their energy on things that aren't going to actually help them lose weight. I spent years thinking that I had to completely eliminate certain foods or that I had to exercise hard daily. I had tricked myself thinking that weight loss couldn't be sustained unless the stars were perfectly aligned. I had beaten myself before I even had a chance to start.

Gallowmere1984

janejellyroll wrote: »

GaleHawkins wrote: »

Well I think all that come here know to eat less and move more or CICO is factual but the how to is the mental part I found in my case.

I had to want quality of life over quantity of sweet stuff in my case.

I see posts here daily from people who are absolutely clueless about how to lose weight (and that's not a dig, we live in a culture that can make it hard to figure out how to do it). I don't think everyone understands how simple it is to lose weight or we wouldn't see posts with questions like "Am I eating too many carbohydrates to lose weight?" or "What is a calorie deficit?" or "Do I have to burn off every calorie I eat through exercise?" or "I can't cook, how can I lose weight?" or "Help, I need to lose weight but how can I quit drinking coffee?" These, and questions just like these, we see at least once a day from people who have no idea how to lose weight.

I think once people understand, that is when the mental work can begin. But so many people are spinning their wheels and wasting their energy on things that aren't going to actually help them lose weight. I spent years thinking that I had to completely eliminate certain foods or that I had to exercise hard daily. I had tricked myself thinking that weight loss couldn't be sustained unless the stars were perfectly aligned. I had beaten myself before I even had a chance to start.

As with most things in life, the "how I do this?" is so much easier than the actual doing. Unfortunately, because effort is hard or something, we have an entire industry dedicated to preying upon, and usually exacerbating ignorance; hell, in the case of hucksters like Oz, they're actually propogating it where it wouldn't have existed otherwise.

ccsernica

janejellyroll wrote: »

GaleHawkins wrote: »

Well I think all that come here know to eat less and move more or CICO is factual but the how to is the mental part I found in my case.

I had to want quality of life over quantity of sweet stuff in my case.

I see posts here daily from people who are absolutely clueless about how to lose weight (and that's not a dig, we live in a culture that can make it hard to figure out how to do it). I don't think everyone understands how simple it is to lose weight or we wouldn't see posts with questions like "Am I eating too many carbohydrates to lose weight?" or "What is a calorie deficit?" or "Do I have to burn off every calorie I eat through exercise?" or "I can't cook, how can I lose weight?" or "Help, I need to lose weight but how can I quit drinking coffee?" These, and questions just like these, we see at least once a day from people who have no idea how to lose weight.

I think once people understand, that is when the mental work can begin. But so many people are spinning their wheels and wasting their energy on things that aren't going to actually help them lose weight. I spent years thinking that I had to completely eliminate certain foods or that I had to exercise hard daily. I had tricked myself thinking that weight loss couldn't be sustained unless the stars were perfectly aligned. I had beaten myself before I even had a chance to start.

And it's this kind of experience, I think, that evokes snarky responses from regulars hereabouts, when beginners come to the forums looking for guidance and are inundated with advice to cut this or that specific food, or macro, or to get on some draconian program like keto, etc. It doesn't help that eating can be totally bound up with someone's emotions or coping mechanisms, such that deviations from a fixed diet plan can actually evoke feelings of guilt. (That kind of thing is foreign to me, so I only grasp it in theory, but I've heard it enough that I have to think it's real.) No one struggling with weight loss needs more reasons to feel miserable about it.

ekim2016

for me definitely mind set. I had to finally acknowledge and tell myself STOP and CHANGE... I totally had to rewire my brain and outlook.

LucasLean

Yes, I agree.

I noticed I have to remain aware of how much I'm eating once I'm lean during the summer, otherwise, like most people, I'll gain too much fat in the fall/winter. But this year I'll try to be somewhat lean in the winter so I don't have to go through with losing a lot of weight to get to what I 'normally' look like.

It's the same with losing weight. The person has to want to lose weight, then, once they get past that, then they'll start watching what they eat/exercise.

Flaming25

I think I will be going along with the general thought and say yes. I've always had a love hate with food and find that certain trigger to want to lose weight and after time lose that focus and thus the whole cycle repeats itself again. Having the same thought as the OP I decided to go and see a hypnotherapist for a course of sessions. After which I have set realistic goals and tweaked my diet bits at a time and decided to lose between 0.5 and 1lb a week so is a sustainable life change not just an 8 week wonder.

The issue is that we as humans need food to live and its then down to us humans to chose correctly what we consume and with the large amounts of advertising and so called experts pushing their 'healthy' food, which may be low calories but is full of artificial stuff which is equally if not worse for you.

So yes I think it is psychological