3 False Beliefs About Weight Loss Over 40

3 False Beliefs About Weight Loss Over 40

There are a lot of false beliefs about weight loss over 40 that I’d love to clear up for you. False beliefs are just beliefs (thoughts) your brain offers up to you that aren’t the necessarily the truth.

False beliefs are also referred to as self-limiting beliefs or limiting beliefs.

Your brain may THINK they’re the absolute truth, but they’re really not.

False beliefs can deter you from initiating efforts toward your weight loss goals. They can also sabotage your weight loss efforts if you are indeed trying to lose weight after the age of 40.

Because false beliefs are just beliefs and not 100% truth, once you become aware of them, you can decide if you want to continue believing them. You can then decide to question them or just give them up completely. I’ll explain how to do so.

So, here are 3 false beliefs about weight loss over 40 that you get to decide if you want to keep or not.

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False Belief #1 – “Weight loss is harder when you’re over 40.”

This is the most common false belief about weight loss over 40. Here’s why it’s a false belief. It’s not true for everyone.

Weight loss might be harder, but it might not be. We can even pick this one apart and ask if a 39 year-old has an easier time losing weight than a 41 y-old. This number 40, is just that, a number.

Weight loss results depend on many other factors or circumstances, but is also highly impacted by your thoughts, your beliefs. That’s a large area where I help clients with. Your thoughts affect your weight loss results more than you’d ever realize on your own.

So, the age part of it really is a small factor, especially considering that every individual is different and different in MANY ways.

How to Let This False Belief Go:

If you decide you don’t want to keep this belief, you can simply switch it to “Weight loss can be harder when you’re over 40, but it can also be easier.”

Or, you can poke holes at it like a lawyer might in a court room. This can look like, “Is weight loss ALWAYS harder? What about all of the other factors involved, plus differences in each individual person?”

• LISTEN OR READ: Your Level of Belief (Podcast Episode)
• LISTEN OR READ: Thought Habits and Your Results (Podcast Episode)

False Belief #2 – “The days of weighing what I weighed in my 20’s are long gone.”

I’m pretty sure you can identify with this one. You’ve had a similar thought, right?

Let me offer you this? Do you know with 100% certainty you can never weigh a weight that you’ve already weighed before as an adult? Read that one again if you need to and I think you’ll understand better…

If you’ve weighed a certain weight before as a grown adult, isn’t it at least possible you can weigh that again?

It’s kind of like asking someone who got an A on an exam in their 20’s, if they think they could get an A again if they tried. If you’ve done it once, you can do it again.

I’ll even go one claim further and say that even if you’ve NEVER done something, you can STILL do it.

My husband, Paul, has never run a half marathon (he’s 50 years old), but he could still do it, right? Of course he can. Can you argue that it may have been easier for him in his 20’s? Yes, but you could also argue that it might not have been.

He’s a different person now, with different circumstances, thoughts and feelings.

Just like you are a different person. You might be more driven to lose weight or reach any goals now than you were in your 20s. You might have more resources to help you. You might have more of an inspiring or motivating reason now to lose weight or get healthier, right?

How to Let This False Belief Go:

If you want to let this one go, you can simply shift it to something like, “The days of weighing what I weighed in my 20’s are right here, right now.”

Or, you can poke holes and question it. You can ask yourself, “What about me now, can HELP me lose weight, so I can weigh what I did in my 20’s?”

• LISTEN OR READ: 5 Mindset Shifts to Help You Lose Weight (Podcast Episode)
• GET WEEKLY TIPS: Eating Habit and Weight Loss Tips

False Belief #3 – “I have too many bad habits now that I can’t change.”

This is a good one. Habits form to make it easier for your brain to keep you alive. It’s highly motivated by these 3 things: pleasure, avoidance of pain/discomfort, and conservation of energy (the motivational triad).

So, once you understand what is underneath each “bad” habit, it’s easier to break it apart. It’s easier to weaken the habit cycle. That’s key to breaking any bad eating habit that might be making weight loss difficult. Or any other habits that affect weight.

And yes, the more you’ve repeated something, the more likely it has become a habit. BUT, you can just as easily form new habits to replace old ones and you can also weaken that habit cycle to break the old habits that aren’t serving you.

This is my largest area of expertise, so if you need help with your eating habits, we can talk. You can click here to set up a time to talk about how I can help you.

How to Let This False Belief Go:

To let this one go, you can shift it to something like, “I can just as easily form new healthier habits.” (Especially true if you have help!)

Or, you can poke holes at it and ask yourself, “What bad habit have I ALREADY changed in my life?”

I can guarantee you, you can think of at least one. There are probably several. And breaking that habit may have been completely on your own, without any help.

• LISTEN OR READ: 5 Crucial Weight Loss Habits (Podcast Episode)
• LISTEN OR READ: Why Weight Loss Feels Hard (Podcast Episode)

Final Notes (& More Help)

There are certainly more false beliefs about weight loss over 40, but these are very common ones that many women have.

I mainly wanted to give you some examples on how to question your own thoughts about weight loss over 40. Your brain may think they’re 100% true, but if you just take a moment to question them, you’ll find they’re not. You’ll catch onto your brain.

Then, when those thoughts pop up again, you can think to yourself, “hey brain, that’s not necessarily true.” And instead, come up with a thought that can be equally as true (if not more!) that will better serve you.

Meaning, a thought that will actually help you work toward and reach your weight loss goals.

P.S. I can help you change your eating habits for life and naturally lose weight in the process.

If you’d like more help, I invite you to set up a free consult here.