Over the next 10 videos, I am going to share with you the 10 Sabotaging Thoughts (or internal conversations within your head) that will set you up for failure if you don’t establish, right now, a way to guard against them. Succeeding with weight loss and wellness goals is very much dependant on the inner conversations you have in your own head every day. There is no question, that no matter how much you want to succeed, your mind can easily set you up for failure if you don’t guard against these 10 sabotaging thoughts. So let’s get at it.

Sabotage Thought Number One is: “I earned a major indulgence because I’ve been so good”. Here’s an example: “I exercised today, so I earned a piece of cheesecake. The truth is that most exercise routines burn somewhere between 250-400 calories. A plain, commercially prepared piece of cheesecake weighs 125 grams and has 401 calories, and many of those calories are from saturated fat. The truth is that exercise alone won’t keep your weight down, prevent high cholesterol from developing, or prevent colon, breast or prostate cancer by itself. The same holds true for eating potato chips, French fries, other deep fried foods, or creamy sauces or dressings. Or having 3-4 beers or glasses of wine. These kinds of indulgences or rewards will cripple your weight loss and wellness results.

Over the years I have watched many people who exercise regularly actually gain weight and develop a myriad of health problems as a result. Eating the wrong foods can easily counter and defeat the exercise effort you put in. It’s that simple. Just because you’ve been good, doesn’t mean telling yourself that you earned a big indulgence as a reward. Instead, let your investment in exercise reinforce in your mind that you are taking important strides to improve your health and your body, and parlay your effort by making healthy food choices to further enhance your success. That is the mindset that gets real results – and fast.

By the same token, some people play an even more clever trick on themselves by rewarding themselves in advance of their exercise effort. The inner conversation sounds something like this, “I earned this reward because I’m planning to be good tomorrow. So you start rewarding yourself in advance. Be careful with these inner conversations. Catch yourself when you hear these thoughts rolling around in your head and instead say, “Oh Dr. Meschino wouldn’t like this idea”, then switch to the healthier thought and act on that choice. As I’ve explained, we all have small indulgences that are within the boundaries of a wellness lifestyle. Focus on those choices so you don’t feel deprived. But you really have to make sure you don’t get caught in the mindset of saying to yourself or others, “I earned this major indulgence because I have been so good, or I’m exercising now so I can eat a big piece of cheesecake or a party size pizza later”. Unless you’re eating really, really, small portions, it’s not going to work out too well. And very few people can keep those portions really, really small.

So, that is sabotage thought number one that causes many people to fail and lose hope when they don’t see results from exercise. Be on the lookout for those thoughts, catch yourself in the moment, and choose a new direction that will parlay your exercise effort into the results you are looking for and deserve to experience. I guarantee you will be happier with yourself if you do.

In the next video, I will explain sabotage thought Number Two, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, I encourage you to eat smart, live well and I know you’re going to look and feel great as a result.

Dr. James Meschino
DC,MS, ROHP