• Why is it so hard to eat healthy when we know we should?  
• What is our mindset toward food?
• Why do we resist positive mindset changes towards food?
• How do we change our mindset towards food?
• What questions do we need to ask?
• Going further than simply losing a few pounds

Why is it so hard to eat healthy when we know we should?  

While there are most likely a multitude of factors involved, a big part of the problem lies with our mindset towards food.  

What is our mindset toward food?

What is food to you?  While all of us know that food is required to maintain the health of our bodies, we tend to place more on food than what it can offer.  We often treat food as a source of fulfillment and completion instead of as a source of fuel and enjoyment.  

Food is certainly more than just nutrition for our bodies. There is a sensual element to food; things like, the smell of freshly baked bread, a beautifully arranged table full of holiday foods, and the combination of different tastes and textures.  All these elements combine to make many of our mealtimes a rich experience.  

It is tempting, however, to take our enjoyment of food a step further than we should. It is way too easy to look to food to bring us a level of fulfillment that only deep relationships can offer.

If we truly want to pursue optimal physical health, we must change how we relate to food.  And that change in relationship is one that we resist. This resistance is the core of why it’s so hard to eat healthy foods when we know we should.

Why do we resist positive mindset changes towards food?

We resist it because our unhealthy relationship with fat and sugar-laden foods, while harmful to us over the long haul, helps us to some degree.  As a result, we resist giving up the role that food is playing in our lives. 

Food comforts us, provides emotional support, reduces stress, and numbs our anxiety.  And we need comfort, support, and things that can reduce stress in our lives.  It’s not wrong to want and need these things. These are legitimate needs that food seems to address. This is why it is so hard to give up this role that unhealthy food plays in our lives.

Rich desserts and buffets of food promise so much, but ultimately offer so little (yes, they are called, “empty calories,” for a reason).  While food is great for nourishment, it is a poor source of fulfillment.  We place legitimate needs and demands upon food that it simply cannot meet.

If you truly want to eat healthy, you have to be willing to ask yourself if you are ready to change the terms of your relationship with food.  And changing that relationship won’t come easy.

How do we change our mindset towards food?

Changing what “almost works” as one addiction specialist writes, is not easy.  My ongoing conversations with my clients are almost never about food or calorie intake or just body fat percentage.  Dialing in their nutrition is easy compared to addressing the deeper issues of their relationship with food. 

We talk about their mindset. This includes things like the stress in their lives, their relationships, and how they are using food to quell anxiety and numb their emotions. It’s these elements of their lives that make the biggest impact on what they eat. This sets them up for healthier eating habits and sustainable weight loss rather than just rapid weight loss due to a low-calorie diet that is unsustainable.

So if you want to lose weight and also get and stay healthy, ask yourself a different set of questions.  

What questions do we need to ask?

We typically ask “What?” when we need to ask “Who and Why?” Instead of questions like, “What should I put in my refrigerator and pantry? What should I eat?”, ask yourself questions such as,

• Who can support me on my journey to better health? 
• Who might want to get healthy with me? 
• Who can help hold me accountable? 
• Why do I want to get healthy? 
• Why do I have an unhealthy relationship with food? 

Going further than simply losing a few pounds

Taking the time to act on your answers to these questions will provide you with the support, accountability, and cognitive retraining you need to create lasting good health. This will take you a lot further than simply following a diet plan to lose a few pounds or exercise weight management. It will instead set you up for steady weight loss and will help you create a level of health that you may have thought was no longer possible.

If this approach makes sense to you but you’re unsure who might walk alongside you in this, I invite you to reach out for an exploratory conversation. I’m more than happy to discuss your goals and find the best way we can help. Alternatively, feel free to drop by Zion and talk to one of Zion’s experts in person. We would love the chance to show you what we can do for your health and weight loss goals!

—

Author Bio

Brian Owen is a health and wellness coach in Katy, TX. Prior to becoming a health coach, he served for 12 years as a pastor in Katy, TX, and 20 years as a chaplain to university students.  He brings his life-long passion for transformation into the lives of his clients, helping them not only lose weight but become the best version of themselves. He saw his own health significantly improve after losing 30 lbs and learning how to maintain a healthy weight.

If you’d like to learn more about his health program, click here to fill out his intake form and set up a free health assessment. You can also email him with questions at gethealthy@coachbrianowen.com or reach him by phone at 281-638-1821.

Q: First of all, why do so many people fail at their New Year’s resolution to lose weight?

Most people start with good intentions about getting healthy in the new year and losing weight, but they often rely solely on willpower. Willpower is not enough to create long-lasting behavioral change around weight management. 

Willpower is great when it works.  Your willpower enabled you to get your homework done in school and as an adult, it gets you out of bed in the morning for work, but it’s a limited power source for change. It doesn’t stand a chance against something as significant as changing your eating habits.

Issues around unhealthy eating are usually tied to something deeper than simply saying “no” to a second helping. You simply can’t white-knuckle your way to a healthier relationship with food. 

You need more tools than just your willpower. You need a holistic approach beyond relying solely on a healthy eating plan.

You need things like:

•  a supportive community for accountability and encouragement,
• a guide or a coach, and
• educational tools to enable you to shift your mindset and habits around food and motion.  

This more robust model that I’m suggesting here is similar to what is offered in 12-step groups or therapeutic environments.  Successful long-lasting changes to your eating habits (e.g., healthy foods, healthy fats, lean protein, mindful eating, etc.) and your health flows from more than just following a diet plan.

Q: How important is exercise for losing weight?

Exercise is great for stress management, strengthening muscles, and building endurance, but it’s not the most important factor in healthy weight loss. And yet every January, our gyms are full of people who think exercise is the most important component for weight loss and long-term health.

While many would tell you that 80% of weight loss is related to nutrition (e.g., fewer calories, eating adequate protein, eat healthy food, etc.) and 20% is related to exercise (e.g., burn excess calories, build muscle mass, etc.), I think this ratio leaves out the most important factor for getting healthy:  your mindset. 

I firmly believe that a change in mindset is THE most important variable when it comes to getting healthy, followed by good nutrition, and then exercise. 

Without a shift in mindset and the tools to change your thinking and your habits, it is difficult to maintain a healthy weight over a lifetime.

Q: Why is yoyo dieting so common?

Many of my clients come to me with a conflict-driven motivation to lose weight.  Maybe they had a health scare, or their doctor warned them that their cholesterol or blood pressure was too high, or they’ve learned that they’re pre-diabetic.  Whatever the issue, these clients come with a sense of urgency and a desire to solve their health problems.

And while these problems need to be solved, there’s a catch. Once they start getting healthier and the problem begins to go away, so does their motivation to complete their weight loss goal.

This is the reason why so many people yo-yo diet.  Their motivation is tied to the urgency of the problem.

They have a health problem that begins to disappear with the unwanted pounds, and the motivation to pursue optimal health begins to dissipate as well.  They experience weight loss and then weight gain again and again. This cycle repeats itself as the weight and its related problems return.

The solution to yo-yo dieting is to focus less on solving a health problem and more on creating a healthy life.

Ask yourself questions like:

• What kind of life do I want to live?
• Where do I want to be with my health at this same time next year? How do I want to look and feel?
• What do I want to be doing that I can’t do now?
• What do I want to be different about the quality of my life?
  

Getting clear on your answers to these kinds of questions allows you to tap into the power of a compelling vision for your life. This will free you from the endless cycle of yo-yo dieting and propel you forward to achieve your health goals (and help you lose weight) and set you up for a lifetime of optimal health and wellness.

Q: What should I look for when considering a health program?

When considering your options for getting healthy, look for a program that meets these five criteria:

1.  IS IT SIMPLE?
   Is it something you can do on a hard day or a hectic day? Is it something you can do when motivation is low and time is short? Does it involve a lot of prep time or math?
   
   
2. IS IT SUSTAINABLE?  
   Is it setting up something you can actually do for the rest of your life?
   
   
3. DOES IT PRODUCE LASTING RESULTS?
   In other words, it not only helps you achieve your health goals but gives you the tools to move to better health and well being. Does it enable you to build healthy habits?
   
   
4. IS IT SCIENCE-BASED?
   Investigate the real story and people behind the “products” or system. Is there a medical review board? It is written up in peer-reviewed medical journals? Do physicians recommend it?
   
   
5. DOES IT HAVE A PROVEN TRACK RECORD?
   Years of testimonies and multitudes of lives affected should be something that influences your decision.

If you look for a health program that meets the criteria above or stop by Zion to get a weight management workup, you’ll have a much better chance of not just experiencing a temporary weight loss but of starting a new healthier, and sustainable weight loss and lifestyle.

Author Bio