Are You Ready To Lose Weight?

So are you ready to lose weight? Many people want to lose weight but they never actually ask themselves if they are ready to let go of unwanted pounds. They just jump into the latest fad diet and then wonder why it didn't work.

If you've decided to lose weight - especially if you're tackling emotional eating - there may be a lot of changes involved.

It's going to take time, commitment and extra energy on your part - especially at the beginning.

Change always feels a bit weird at first - so you have to be prepared. By taking some time before you start your weight loss plan and making sure you're ready, you'll increase your chances for success.

With that in mind, here are 3 questions to ask yourself that will help you prepare for successful weight loss:

1) Are the extra pounds are serving some purpose in my life?

This is a big one. So many times people wish they were lighter consciously - but there are underlying reasons why they won't lose the weight.

Maybe the extra weight is a safety cushion between them and the world. Maybe it's a way to put off living ("I'll do that when I'm thin".)

It could even be a way of punishing someone else in your life ("You want to control me? I'll be fat and disappoint you - maybe then you'll lay off")

The reasons people hold onto pounds are varied and only you can answer this question for yourself.

If there is a reason for keeping the pounds on, address it - either with a therapist, journaling or self introspection. You'll never permanently lose weight if staying heavy is helping you in some way.

2) Am I prepared to devote extra time and attention to my goal?

Change always requires extra time and attention - especially at first.

Changing what you eat, adding in exercise or deciding to address emotions instead of eating them are all major changes. And they're going to take time and extra energy to sustain them.

Experts tell us it takes 3 weeks of repeating a behavior before it becomes a habit.

Make sure you're ready to devote extra energy to this change - whether that means clearing your schedule so you can exercise or turning off the TV so you won't be tempted to snack.

Whatever you have to do - be prepared to step out of your comfort zone and change a few habits for lifelong weight loss.

3) Can I picture myself at my goal size for the rest of my life?

I once heard a motivational speaker say "You'll never live above the image you have of yourself".

If you see yourself as overweight and doomed to be that way for the rest of your life - you'll live up to that image.

You may lose weight in the short term - but it will always come back on. Because you will revert to acting in accordance with your self-image.

Be prepared to change your self-image to a new, slim healthy self. Try feeding your mind thoughts and images of a new thin you for several weeks before starting your weight loss.

See yourself maintaining that goal weight for the rest of your life. Eventually you'll really start to believe that you were meant to be a thin person.

So those are 3 questions to ask yourself that will help prepare you for weight loss success.

If you're having trouble believing that you can lose weight or if dieting hasn't worked for you in the past, ask yourself if you may be an emotional eater.

Many people struggle with emotional eating - which is why diets don't work for them - they don't address the root of the problem.

If you want to address the root of your overeating and lose weight once and for all, we recommend the Shrink Yourself program.

It's an online program designed by a therapist to help stop emotional overeating and end yo-yo dieting once and for all.

Plus you can even try a free online session to uncover the roots of your particular emotional eating triggers.

Click here for more on the Shrink Yourself program

Was this information useful? This article on Are You Ready To Lose Weight is one of several articles found in our Emotional Eating information section.