Weeeeeek 40! I was ALMOST late with today’s post, but it’s still before midnight Pacific coast time, so I feel like it still counts. Today I’m fired up from a book I read last week called Atomic Habits [affiliate link] by James Clear. There were several parts that I liked and found relevant. For example, it talks about how when we try to achieve goals, many times we don’t consider how achieving our goals will mean a shift in our identities. If we’re not aware of this, then we will operate in the same way after achieving our goals as we did beforehand. Why this is important for weight loss is because if we can’t internalize the fact that we are becoming healthier people – not just fat or unhealthy people losing weight – then the habits we’re trying to implement in order to achieve our goal won’t stick. So today I’m talking about “thinking thin” and changing your mindset!

Pounds lost: 58

% to super goal: 46%

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A Shift In Identity

Atomic Habits talks about developing goals that are identity-based, not outcome-based. So where I’ve been focused on my goal and all the reasons for it, I learned that I really need to reframe it. So, I’ve changed how I think about my goal. Now I think, rather than losing weight, my goal is to become a healthy person. To become someone that can maintain a healthy weight. When I say “I’m trying to lose weight”, it means I still think of myself as a fat or unhealthy person trying to lose weight. When I lose the weight, I’ll still think of myself as a fat or unhealthy person, unless I change that mindset and view of myself.

If I think of myself who is becoming more healthy, then I am telling a different story about myself. When we tell stories about ourselves that we associate with who we are – for instance, “I’m terrible at dieting”, or “I’ve never been able to exercise”, or “I’ve never been able to lose weight” – we are reinforcing that as “normal” for ourselves. The “norm” for our identity. The shift is to instead tell the story, “I’m becoming the kind of person that can maintain a healthy weight”. Even if it feels untrue at first, it will eventually become part of our identity. If we can shift to someone that can maintain a healthy weight, then that is someone that can keep the weight off once it’s gone.

Thinking “Thin”

I’m not sure I fully resonate with the phrase “thinking thin”. However, I do believe in the need to change my mindset. From what I can gather, thinking thin means thinking of yourself as someone who has already achieved their weight loss goals. Putting yourself in that frame of mind helps you make better decisions – for example, “what would a skinny person do? Would they eat a salad or have a hamburger?”.

Another thing I thought was interesting was how many times I saw references to the fact that overweight people may have a problem differentiating between true hunger, cravings, just a desire to eat. Because we can’t necessarily tell the difference, we may be feeding ourselves when we don’t need to. So in that respect, thinking like a thin person is also about learning the difference between when you’re just craving a bowl of potato chips, and when you’re actually hungry. And then feeding yourself the right amount to fuel your body – and no more.

And Back to Habits

So where does this tie back to habits? Well, if I’m going to be successful, long term, in keeping off the weight I’ve worked so hard to lose, I need to start thinking of myself as someone that is becoming a healthy person. Someone who makes good food choices, knows her body, and is able to maintain a healthy weight. The habits and systems that I build and maintain need to support that person that I am becoming. It can’t be a crash-diet mentality, where I think “I’ll just do this until I lose the weight”. Because once I lose the weight, I won’t have any habits to fall back on that help me stay healthy. All I will know is how to lose weight, and not have habits to sustain it. So the first step is changing my view of myself! I think I’m going to have to re-think, re-energize, and re-introduce my monthly goal report!

It’s okay that it’s a work-in-progress. When my body settles at its ultimate weight, I am starting to feel more confident that not only will I be able to keep it off, but that my new self will feel more at home in my new body. And the best part is, I can get started putting myself in that frame of mind today!

What do you think about “thinking thin”? What are some habits you’re cultivating that will help you even after you’ve attained your goals?

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