Losing weight is not only physically difficult, but it can be mentally taxing as well. It's hard to stay happy when it feels like you're punishing yourself for putting on that weight in the first place by forcing yourself to eat healthier foods and exercise. It doesn't have to be this way, and there are a few mindset changes you can make to stay happier while losing weight.
Instill Habits that Make You Feel Better About Yourself
While losing weight, you can also look into other habits that can make you feel better during the process. A great option is self care hobbies, such as keeping up with personal grooming or reading self help books. These hobbies give you something else to focus on, and will make you feel like you're making progress in not only weight loss but also other aspects of your life.
Enjoy the Food You Do Have
A major part of losing weight is usually eating less, which can create a negative atmosphere around food. It's important to enjoy and appreciate the food you do have and keep your relationship with food healthy. One option is learning to cook and cooking your own meals if you can, as this gets you excited about what you're going to be eating on any given day. Choosing tasty foods in moderation is essential to keeping yourself on track with weight loss.
Don't Get Down Over a Setback
Almost everyone losing weight experiences a plateau or setback at some point in their weight loss journey. Setbacks happen, and they don't invalidate all the progress you've made so far in your weight loss journey. Even if your weight went back up, you have the experience of losing that weight in the first place to show that you absolutely can do it again, and you will!
Goals and Rewards
A great way to stay happy while losing weight is to set goals and reward yourself for achieving those goals. These goals can be as small as an extra snack for not going over your calorie goals all week, to as large as promising yourself a vacation or shopping spree at the end of it all. The important thing is that these goals should be quantifiable. Goals should be trackable for the best chances of sticking with them, and treating your goals this way gives you a definitive line for when you can reward yourself.
Focus On Something Else
One of the best ways to lose weight is to get to the point where you don't have to think about it as much anymore. After you set up your good eating and lifestyle habits, you'll be able to focus on other things while continuing your good habits in the background. Contrary to what you might think, it's easier to lose weight while not thinking about weight loss all of the time since it's such a slow process. You're much less likely to give up on weight loss when it's not in the forefront of your mind causing stress constantly.
Weight loss is a difficult journey, but you don't have to be fixated on it constantly. The best thing you can do to stay happy while losing weight is to stay positive and see it as a method of creating a better you. Even through setbacks, you're making it a point to improve this part of yourself, which is commendable and something you should be proud of yourself for.