5 Things That Can Stop You Reaching Your Health Goals

No one on this PLANET wants to fail their goals. We set goals because we want to change – things about ourselves, our lives, our jobs… But you would be surprised (or maybe not!) at how you may actually be setting yourself up for failure, instead of setting yourself up for success.

Weight loss can be a challenging journey no matter who you are, both physically and mentally. Sometimes we forget the impact that the mind has on our physical body. You can’t have a healthy body without a healthy mind – not fully. Setting goals allows us to see the bigger picture, while focussing on each day at a time.

It’s totally normal to feel the struggle throughout your journey. But if you are consistently not reaching your goals or desired results, then perhaps there are some factors that you haven’t taken into consideration – or that you haven’t considered as heavily as you should.

1. Acknowledge & Discard Limiting Beliefs

A key component can be to simply (well, not SO simple in practice!) master your own mind. A limiting belief is an idea or notion that doesn’t serve you and does not help you achieve your goals. Instead of empowering you, these ideas and beliefs can hold you back from achieving your goals.Addressing limiting beliefs and stories that we tell ourselves to justify what we are doing is really the first thing to consider. Once you have ‘taken inventory’ of your mind and the reality you have created, to determine if it is actually helping or hindering you, you can then acknowledge what limiting beliefs you may have and begin to change them.

For example, if you regularly think to yourself “losing weight is SO hard and I’ll never get to where I want to be” – what reality have you created in your own mind? With that belief, you search for evidence to support it and create this negative circular way of thinking. What would happen if you changed how you thought? Instead of thinking “losing weight is SO hard and I’ll never get to where I want to be” what if you made that into “losing weight is easy and I’m well on my way to where I want to be, because I’m working on it!” I will tell you what happens; You will begin to invite positivity and evidence to support your new mentality into your life! Change your stories, prove them wrong and you will conquer some of those limitations you have set upon yourself.

2. Underestimating Your Input & Overestimating Output

Now this is a big one, and a lot of people struggle with this. Another reason you may not be reaching your weight loss goals is that you are overestimating your output (exercise) and underestimating your input (caloric intake). The trap we fall into is “forgetting” snacks, condiments, beverages, coffees etc when really, these could all add up to a significant portion of your daily intake. Looking at how many coffees you have a day and if you have milk and sugar, or juices, snacks or sauces could make a huge impact on your weight loss goals!

Overestimating exercise is easy to do as well. The calories burned during exercise are extremely individualised and it’s not very accurate to make assumptions based on what you see online. Height, weight, gender, and age all play a huge part in determining how many calories you burn – not to mention how hard you are working versus how hard you THINK you are working.

Now, I’m definitely not one for long-term calorie-counting, as it is not a sustainable way to go about losing weight. You don’t want to count calories forever do you?! However, they do play a role in weight loss and tracking for a small period of time of a couple of weeks may educate you on what you’re really eating. Another easier way is looking at adjusting portion sizes and adding proper protein and green vegetables into your meals to help keep you fuller for longer, especially when you may be reducing your intake.

3. Your Strategies Need To Change

There’s an awful old saying that goes “don’t beat a dead horse” – and this applies here because sometimes that things that we are doing, that we believe SHOULD be working, just aren’t. And there therefore become pointless and do not yield results – resulting in FRUSTRATION! But instead of getting frustrated that your weight loss plan or strategy isn’t working or is no LONGER working, maybe you need to start considering other strategies. For example, if I tried to go on a low carb diet, I would be setting myself up for failure – I love carbs! And they absolutely have a place in everyday diets. Instead of restricting and denying, I control the portions. See how one strategy would work for me and one absolutely would not?

Different people have vastly different bodies that need different things! Also, everyone responds to things differently, so what may work for your sister or your friends may not work for you – and that’s totally okay! But when you take a look at what you are doing and see that it’s not working, you need to firstly acknowledge that, and secondly, start researching a new strategy – or talk to your physician about it.

4. Small Steps Pave the Way

You know I love to say it! Small steps to big change. But what does it mean? And why is it important? Taking small steps everyday to change your life helps you stay focused on both the present AND the future. Making huge, empty declarations or goals that are unrealistic or unattainable sets you up immediately for failure. But creating tangible goals, and breaking it down into little steps, like we have been doing all year in our Tribe, will help you create a roadmap to success. You don’t want to struggle with the journey any more than you have to, do you?!

What I do, and what I advocate, is eating a little bit of everything. I don’t believe in restricting – in fact, I feel that severe restriction usually ends up in a blowout binge or you reach your goal and then stop! Your weight then begins to fluctuate and you’re back to square one, sound familiar? Instead, if you look at the portions of everything that you are eating, and make sure that you are following the 80/20 rule (80 percent whole foods and 20 percent FUN foods!) then you are not only setting yourself up for success on your weight loss journey, but you are also creating healthy, sustainable habits.

5. Believing in Yourself Goes a Loooong Way

This is absolutely key in every aspect of life – if you believe that you can, TRULY believe it, you will be able to get there. Kind of going along with limiting beliefs but this also has to do well self-confidence and also how you treat yourself. Be kind. Be your own best friend, your own cheerleader. Believe that you can do it, nurture your confidence through self-love and compassion. Make time for yourself and for the little things that make your heart sing. And repeat after me – “I CAN do this. I GOT this”!