Did you ever notice that the people who tend to succeed in your office have a completely different mindset and personality from everybody else? When you look at a group of sales persons, for example, you could see that the sales persons who tend to produce the most sales have a different perspective and tend to have a different personality. The same applies for cancer patients. In study after study, inquiries into the mental state of patients tend to lead to the conclusion that people who have a very positive mental outlook tend to have higher recovery rates. Make no mistake about it.
Your mental state impacts your body’s overall health. This should not be a surprise, after all, the body is really just a data collection device. It is the mind that access the central operating software that makes sense of all these data and sends the feedback back to the body, the body then responds according to the feedback. In a very real way, out lives are the product of an intricate dance between our minds and our bodies.
Mental State Impacts How You Process External Stimuli
As mentioned above, your mind actually creates meaning out of the data that you collect with your senses. This is all well and good. However, your mental state also impacts how you collect that data. In many cases, you can train yourself unconsciously to look only for certain external stimuli and ignore everything else. This is why there are many people that are quite blind to positive news.
Why? This is because they are pessimists. Similarly, very optimistic and positive people tend to block out negative stimuli and focus only on the positive. That is how powerful the human mind is. Your mental state impacts how you filter and process external stimuli. The external stimuli that you choose to process then impacts your body’s performance as well. This is specially important when it comes to weight loss.
If you have the wrong mental state, you have a tough time dealing with high calorie food. The temptation is just too great. Similarly, depending on your mental state, you have a tough time exercising everyday, or doing activities that have a high calorie burn rate. Understanding how your mental state impacts how you respond to external stimuli has a profound effect on whether you will be successful with your weight loss plans or not.
This Impacts the Feedback Your Mind Sends Back To Your Body
Since your mind has unconscious filters in which it processes external stimuli, this necessarily impacts the feedback your mind sends to your body. Think about it. If you are only processing part of the information, then whatever feedback you generate from that information is basically flawed. It is wrong, because you only have half the picture. Unfortunately, most people do not get this, they do not understand this. If you are serious about your weight loss plans, then you might want to look into how this can impact your ability to lose weight.
One obvious way this process impacts your weight loss plans is that, your mental state can help you process external stimuli in such a way that it boosts your energy levels. When you respond to external stimuli this way, this increases the rate at which your body burns calories. The more calories you burn, and assuming that you eat the same level of calories, the higher the likelihood that you will lose weight.
A Positive Mental State Produces Energy
Positive people have a distinct advantage when it comes to weight loss, because they can consciously influence how they process external stimuli in such a way that they are driven physically. Instead of feeling tired, you are inspired to be more energetic. It all begins with your mental state. Your mental state is like the windows of your mind. If you open the windows, more external stimuli can come in, you can then can control these external stimuli and this can all lead to a higher energy level.
Positive Mental States Manage Energy for Optimal Results
The big difference between a person that is able to lose weight and a person who is unable to lose weight is one of focus. When you have a positive mental state, you can remain focused for a much longer time. You have to remember, losing weight is a marathon, it is not a sprint, it does not happen overnight. In many cases, you have to go through several rough patches and it can take much longer than you originally anticipated. This requires sustainability, this requires being able to stick to your weight loss plan over an extended period of time.
This is why positive mental states are so crucial. When you perceive the world in a positive way, this impacts the signals your mind sends to your body. Instead of feeling tired and defeated, so you would want to quit, your mind keeps sending positive messages to your body that you get less tired as a result and you move around more, you eat less, and all these leads to a higher likelihood of sustainable weight loss. It all starts with your mind.
If you think from the beginning that weight loss is an impossibility, guess what, your mind is sending the wrong signals to your body, and your body will continue to do what it was doing before. Instead of getting up early in the morning to work out, or eating less, you just continue in the same patterns that you had before. When you continue with previous patterns, you get the previous results. It really is that simple.
Negative or Confused Mental States Reduce Energy
On the other end of the equation are negative or confused mental states. If you are unclear regarding your weight loss plans, or your level of control over your ability to lose weight, your mind is confused or in a negative state. As a result, your mind would send different messages to your body and this leads to lower metabolism, lower calorie burn and increases the likelihood that you will eat emotionally.
When you engage in emotional eating, there’s emotional payoff that comes from the food that you eat. This can lead to a downward spiral where you feel bad because you gained weight, but you feel better when you eat more food, which makes you feel worse, and to deal with these bad feelings you eat more. So, it is easy to get trapped into this downward spiral, and as a result you are unable to lose weight.
The good news is that, you do not have to stay in a downward spiral. The good news is that, your current weight is not your destiny. By simply changing your mental state, you can achieve the weight loss results that you always dreamed of. The most important step is to decide.
I’ve always tried to have a positive attitude and surround myself with people that were like minded. But, I never thought about the effects that a positive attitude could have on weight loss.
Thanks for the reminder that losing weight is a marathon, not a sprint. That helps me focus on my goals and not be disappointed by the occasional setbacks that everyone has.
Yes it is true that if you think about weight loss in a negative way you will feel like you have failed. Changing your thinking and putting a positive spin on weight loss can go a long way in helping you achieve your goal. Also if food is all that you think about it may be time to think about something else. I ask some one once how she lost the weight and she responded that she changed how she viewed food and its purpose. It was for nutrition and energy and she ate to achieve the nutrition requirements she needed. She only focused on what the food could do for her and not what she was missing out on.
This is such an awesome article that I wouldn’t have considered before! I’ve definitely noticed this in my own life. Months when I feel productive but not too stressed have always been best for diet and fitness for me, and I used to assume it was just the result of me feeling good and motivated enough to get more done and to get out more often. That just never seemed to explain it all for me though, you know?
It also feels like it’s a cycle: A good mood and healthy state of mind leads to better living, which leads to a better state of mind. Any additional tips for “breaking in” to that cycle when someone’s down and unmotivated to begin with?
I thoroughly agree that the state our minds are in can have an effect on the way our bodies work. To ensure our body is sending all the right messages concerning weight loss, we need to stay positive and focused.
There is no need to write off a diet if you give in to temptation. It does not mean that your diet has failed at all. It just means you need to continue, that’s all.
This an interesting. I do find that times I am happiest in my life I am also the thinest, and times I am down and going through rough patches I am at my heaviest. I wonder which causes what, or if they just go together. Like if first your mindset changes, the weight follows, or the weight changes first and the mind set alters. It is interesting to contemplate.
Great article! I often tell/remind my friends starting or struggling in their fitness goals you have to have a positive attitude. You have to surround yourself with people and things that uplift you thus your mood. Your body does what your mind tells it therefore you must have a can do/will do state of mind to achieve any fitness goal. One cannot look at working out or eating healthier in a negative way and expect good results.
A happy mindset leads to a healthy mind and body.
I have always been a firm believer in a strong mind equals a strong body. Also, I think getting outside and enough sunshine can positively impact a persons mindset and well being. I much rather prefer to get outside and do physical activity rather than indoors. It seems to make me happier which also means a better work out. You have to take care of your mind just as much as your body.
The mind is such a powerful tool that even in weight loss it can help you. If you change your way of thinking and begin being positive, it will be easier to exercise and eat healthy. The negative ones are the people who does not want to change.
Being positive benefits your outlook in life and your physical health. When you think that you can do it, then you sure do it. Losing weight starts with thinking about it then doing it!
Though my level of fitness has had some ups and downs in my life, I really have noticed that when my mood or outlook on life isn’t great, my attitude about a healthy lifestyle doesn’t do as well. I have found that when I feel good, I take better care of myself, and then I end up feeling even better.
It’s really true what this article says about having to decide. Once you make that decision to break a downward spiral, everything else gets a little bit easier.