Self-Discipline and Weight Loss Habits

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Full Episode Transcript:

Self-Discipline and Weight Loss Habits

Hi there, welcome to the podcast. So, we’re going to jump right into one of my most favorite topics, which is self-discipline. More specifically self-discipline and weight loss habits. Weight loss habits include eating habits, exercise habits, sleep habits, hydration habits, and stress relief habits, or anything you can do for your emotional health to decrease cortisol levels. There are certainly other things that help with weight loss, but these are some big ones.

And if you haven’t watched my weight loss habits free class and done the workbook that goes along with it, do that. I give you some really easy ways to start developing those weight loss habits, and I teach you something about mindset that will really help you to create weight loss results. Weight loss results that last, so that you’re not losing weight, gaining it back, losing it again, gaining it back, you know the cycle.

To creating true change by breaking bad eating habits, losing weight, et cetera, is not just the actions, or the doing or not doing, but also how you’re thinking. Because how you’re thinking affects how you feel and how you feel drives your actions, or it can lead to inaction, and certainly drives those knee jerk reactions.

I’ll put the link to grab that free Weight Loss Habits class plus workbook on the episode page if you’re listening to this right on my website. I’ll also put the link in the episode description if you’re listening directly on a podcast listening app such as apple or Spotify.

Alright, so onto self-discipline. So, I’m going to tell you what self-discipline is, why you need self-discipline for weight loss habits, and how to get much better at self-discipline. All in about 20 minutes or less. Because I am all about efficiency.

Self-discipline is when you follow through on something you intend to do (or avoid doing) regardless of how you feel. This comes from within, meaning your own free will. Discipline is when you do something because there is an external control. Someone else is telling you to do something for example.

So, regarding weight loss habits, I’m talking about self-discipline and not discipline, because self-discipline is what you’re going to have to have to develop the habits and keep them. I would hope that you’re not doing something just because someone else is forcing you to do it. If you are trying to lose weight for your own health, that should come from your desire to lose weight.

Okay, so you probably noticed that I said that self-discipline is when you follow through on something you intend to do or avoid doing regardless of how you feel. Many people think that you need to feel a motivating feeling or emotion in order to do something.

Certainly, it’s easier to do or not do that thing when you’re feeling some sort of emotion such as motivation or something similar. But you don’t need to be to follow through on something. In fact, oftentimes, you won’t be. So, if you only did something when you felt like doing it, that wouldn’t necessarily lead to the results that you’re looking for.

For example, if your goal is to get into shape, and you want to start working out at the gym or go for long walks on most days of the week, there may be many days of the week where you are too tired after a long day at work. So, if you only went to the gym or went for a long walk when you were feeling energized to do so, you’re not likely to get into the shape that you wanted to get into. At least certainly not very quickly, right?

And if the human brain is not really seeing results, it’s going to be more likely to want to give up. The human brain needs to see a little reward sooner rather than later, to keep a behavior going. Think of it like your brain needs momentum. If you’re only doing something once a week because you just don’t feel motivated or you’re tired, it’s going to be hard for you to reap the benefits of any momentum. So, it’s going to be harder for you to keep the behavior going.

Whereas if you commit to going for a long walk three days a week or going to the gym three days a week and you go no matter what, no matter how you’re feeling, you’re going to get into that momentum of getting that walk in or getting that workout in, and your brain is going to be much more likely to want to keep that going.

Also, because your brain needs a little reward sooner rather than later, when you feel good after getting that workout in or getting that long walk in, you do get a little bit of a good feeling afterwards, right? Some people get a very good feeling afterwards. I certainly do. So, the more often you have that positive reward, the better period the more likely that your brain is going to want to continue with that certain action or behavior.

It’s going to remember for next time that it felt good afterward. Whereas, if you only did something occasionally, you’re only getting that reward occasionally, so you won’t get that momentum going.

Another thing that comes up with doing something regardless of how you feel, is that if you got into the habit of not going for that walk, because you were too tired after work, your brain is just going to get into that habit of you saying that you’ll do something and then not following through. You don’t want that. You want to get in the habit of saying you’ll do something and doing it. So not feeling motivated shouldn’t get in the way.

Now certainly, there may be some bigger things that come up, such as an actual health issue, and you may decide that going to the gym is not in your best interest for that day or that week. But that’s at your discretion and that’s different than feeling a lack of motivation or not feeling energized enough.

Alright, so why is it so important to be self-disciplined when forming habits? Because to form a habit, you need to be doing the behavior frequently. Doing something multiple times a day is the best, but oftentimes this isn’t possible or doesn’t necessarily apply well. The next best thing would be doing something daily. The next best thing would be doing something most days of the week. It’s going to be harder to form a habit, and take a lot longer, if you’re just doing something one day a week.

Now there certainly are exceptions, right? Just like anything. And logistically, you may only be able to do something once a week, but that once a week every single week, over a long duration of time, can be enough for it to become the habit. Especially if it’s done in the same context, meaning time, place, or circumstance.

So doing an action or behavior, or not doing an action or behavior if you’re trying to break a habit, multiple times a week, is best to form a habit. Which means, you can’t necessarily just do or not do something based upon how you feel. Because how you feel is not always going to be consistent. You’re not always going to feel motivated and energized. Especially if you’re a career woman and you have a lot going on at work and at home.

When I work with clients to help them change their eating habits and help them with weight loss habits, they are increasing their self-discipline along the way, because there is such a link between self-discipline and habits. So, if you feel like you are not self-disciplined or that you need more self-discipline, don’t worry, because that is a skill you strengthen along the way.

Okay, so like I said you’re not always going to feel motivated and energized, especially as a busy woman.

You might feel too tired to make that healthy dinner, but if you want to have healthier dinners at home, you’re going to have to push through some of that fatigue and do it anyway. I used to come home from the OR exhausted, and oftentimes later in the evening, and would not feel like making myself a healthier meal. So, I’d eat a few bowls of cereal, which led to some weight gain.

When I started just making a simple shift and making salads for dinner with chicken, fish, or steak on top, it didn’t add much time at all, and I started feeling more energized and losing weight. So, of course the bowl of cereal would have been easier after her 12 hours in the OR but taking that 10 minutes to make a healthier more nutritious dinner, made such a difference.

It also helped me to better understand that with a small change that didn’t take very much time, I could change my eating habits little by little. And it paid off big time. So, setting an intention and following through multiple times is very important in forming or breaking a habit. And what helps with following through is doing something regardless of how you feel. Self-discipline.

And then you’ll almost always feel better afterwards. I could probably go so far as to say you will always feel better afterwards. If you intended to go for a long walk, but we’re feeling a little bit tired, if you did it anyway, you’re most likely going to feel good afterwards. At least you’ll feel accomplished, right?

If you intended to bring your lunch to work every day of the week, but you had a busier week than usual, so could easily find the excuse of not having the time, but ended up doing it anyway, you’re going to feel better. At the very least, you won’t be disappointed in yourself for not following through.

If you intended to go to bed at 9:00pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday instead of 11:00pm, and you really felt like watching the rest of that movie on Friday night, but it wasn’t going to be over until 10:00, but you had the self-discipline to stop the movie, and still go to bed at 9:00, you’re going to feel better about that. You’re at least going to feel more well rested come Saturday morning, right?

If you intended to meditate or do yoga for 10 minutes, but felt like scrolling social media instead, but then decided to have that self-commitment and do the 10 minutes of meditation, you’re most likely going to be glad that you did the meditation, right? You’ll feel more relaxed and centered, and this will be more of a true relaxation, instead of what your brain thinks you’re getting when you’re scrolling social media.

So how exactly do you improve your self-discipline? It’s a skill that you can strengthen. You may feel like you don’t have any self-discipline, but I’m guessing that there are certain things in your life that you do have self-discipline about, if you really thought about it.

How to improve self-discipline is to make the behavior that you intend to do as easy as possible to do it. Like as easy as possible to physically do it. And also, you want to remember to actually do the thing you intended to do. So, setting an alert, or having some sort of visual cue is very helpful.

Oftentimes, you can accomplish both things by getting things out ahead of time that you’ll need, so when you’re in a rush or not feeling like doing something, part of it is already done for you. And seeing those things serves as a visual cue or a visual reminder to do the thing.

Therefore, having a reminder and making something as physically easy as possible are key things for improving self-discipline around weight loss habits.

You’re also going to want to think of the reward that you’ll receive in the short term and the long term. Doing so will again make it easier to do the behavior.

And of course, when the time comes for you to do the things that you intended to do, or not do, and you don’t feel like it, or something else is making you want to do something differently, push through that. This may take a little bit of effort, but here’s where thinking of that short term reward can be very beneficial.

Thinking about the long-term reward is beneficial too, however in the moment where your brain just wants that instant gratification of doing the easier thing, you’re going to want that short term reward. You’re going to want to remind your brain that if you do the thing, you will feel better afterwards. And the more specific, the better.

Maybe you’ll feel accomplished afterwards. Maybe you’ll feel energized afterwards. Maybe you’ll feel relaxed afterwards. So, think about how you’ll feel afterward. Think about the benefit to you afterward.

So practice self-discipline as often as you can, to get better at this skill. In doing so, you’ll also increase the likelihood that you’ll form the habit you want to form or break the habit you want to break. You’ll no longer be someone who has minimal self-discipline. You’ll be someone who is self-disciplined and prides herself in her self-discipline. And weight loss will become so much easier because you’ll have established weight loss habits to help you lose that weight and keep it off.

No more of this cycle of losing weight and gaining it back. Let’s do it the right way and form the habits that will create the weight loss results you want and help you keep those weight loss results. We’ll also break the habits that were making weight loss difficult for you.

And to do this in the most efficient way possible and start noticing results along the way sooner, I can help you whether it be with just a free consultation to get clarity and direction, or by working together in a coach-client relationship. So, your next step would be to book a free 60-minute consultation with me, and get that clarity and direction and then you can also get more information on how exactly I can help you with coaching.

You can book that free consult right on my website, https://katemjohnston.com. If you’re listening to this episode via the episode page on my website, you’ll see the button to click to book the free consult.

Alright my lovelies, take care and I’ll talk with you next week.