Wondering how to lose 100 pounds or more? You’ve come to the right place. I’ll be frank, I’m not going to bore you with superfood, macronutrient, or calorie education. Although these elements are important to your success, believe it or not, they are more secondary when it comes to LONG-TERM success. I’m also not going to sell you some nonsensical way to lose 100 pounds fast. Anyone that is encouraging you to do so – RUN. Dieting (voluntary self-imposed famine) will NEVER work!
Anyone can “eat better” and lose a bunch of weight, but what KEEPS the weight off comes from an internal, deeper place. If you can learn to master these inner shifts up front, there is NOTHING that can stop you from not only reaching your weight loss goal but from changing how you see yourself and how you show up in this world every single day.
How To Lose a 100 Pounds
#1 Identify Your WHY
One of the MOST IMPORTANT factors in your success to transform your relationship with food and lifestyle is your WHY.
Meaning, WHY do you want to transform?
Your why must be more than just weight loss. The weight loss is just what I call a “surface level” why. It’s got to go DEEPER. For most, when clients hit their WHY – they cry. That’s when you know you’ve hit the bullseye.
To go deep, you ask “WHY?” or “WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO ME?” 5-7 times to help peel the layers down to the WHY that makes you cry.
I’ll give you an example:
Initial Why: “I want to lose weight!”
#1 Why do you want to lose weight?
“Because I feel tired all the time, my body aches, my clothes don’t fit, and I don’t feel confident”
#2 Why is this important to you?
“Because honestly I want to date again but I feel who I am right now no one will love me”
#3 Why is dating and finding a significant other important to you?”
You get the point. This isn’t always an easy exercise, but if you really want to lose the weight and keep it off and begin to make the non-negotiable inner shifts, you MUST do this exercise. Once you get it, put your WHY everywhere you can so you are constantly reminded why you must NEVER give up.
#2 Master Your Mindset
The mind is a tool and You MUST learn to use it effectively otherwise by nature it runs on autopilot and thoughts will overrun you and drive your urges to quit, binge, overeat, and self sabotage.
Common thought patterns such as “I don’t deserve to be happy”, “I can’t do this”, “Screw this I’ll start on Monday”, “Nobody will love me until I lose the weight” are just a few of millions of examples I could give you about how powerful the mind can be when it comes to our behaviors and actions.
Science shows us our thoughts create a neurological trigger and chain reaction to your feelings and the actions or habits that follow. Unhealthy, unproductive thinking patterns get created because neurons in your brain that fire together wire together.
To start breaking thinking patterns that don’t serve you, you must constantly bring awareness to them. Pay attention to the conversations coming out of your head and EVERY time you catch what I call an “Old thinking pattern” that doesn’t serve you,, you must practice reframing it into a “New thinking pattern”. What would the best version of yourself do or say in that situation? Step into that, again and again and again. When you dis-engage in destructive circuits of thinking using mindfulness shift you biologically weaken them, helping you to naturally break the unhealthy allegiance to how you think, feel, and act around food.
This isn’t a quick fix but it’s one if not THE most important step to your transformation. Lean into self development books and audibles on the subject of your brain and mindset and you’ll be blown away by how much that will help you not only in your mission to lose 100 pounds (or whatever the goal is for you) but in all aspects of your life.
#3 Raise Your Standards
Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is raise your standards. Guru Tony Robbins states that you raise your standards when your “shoulds” turn into “musts”. What change are you demanding of yourself? Write down all the things you will no longer accept in your life, all the things you will no longer tolerate, and all the things you aspire to become.
Most people, if they really look at how they’re living their life today, it’s based on a set of standards, a set of beliefs they made choices about 10, 20, 30, or more years ago. Very often we make decisions in our youth or very young about what to believe about what we were capable of, about who we are as a person and with that comes a glass ceiling that controls us.
If you’ve always been stuck in the identity of “ I’m overweight.” “I’ve always been overweight.” “I’m big boned.”, that’s the story and standards you’ve got, and you’re going to always find a way to get back there. That’s your settling point. That’s your identity.
Think about if you shifted your standards to be a champion, a survivor, or a healthy and fit person. How would your actions change? It all comes down to the inner game. Learn the dynamics of what shapes you. Identity is one of those simple, clear, fundamental basics that if you start to shift it, everything else will shift in your life as well.
#4 Surround Yourself With The Right People
You are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with. If your inner circle is compiled of people who are complacent, aren’t striving to better themselves, and habitually complain, you will naturally find yourself acting in a similar way. It doesn’t mean these individuals don’t care about you or that you shouldn’t have relationships with them, I simply mean that they aren’t going to be the people who will stretch you, pull you out of your comfort zone, and move you forward towards your transformation of losing 100 pounds.
This is when you need to hire a coach or mentor. Hiring a coach or mentor will fast forward your success and ensure you stay on path. If that isn’t an option for you right now, start with personal development books, audibles, or podcasts. You cannot only rely on yourself because right now without ANY higher l level learning or intervention because you ARE your number one problem. The good news, you’re also your number one SOLUTION. To become the solution, you must constantly be engaged and learning from others that are on the level you are trying to achieve and can pave the way to your success.
If you know there’s something personally deeper going on to which you’re using food such as anger, grief, or unhealed trauma, get a counselor or therapist added to your inner circle. There is no shame in getting a counselor. In fact, I feel EVERYONE would benefit greatly by keeping a counselor or therapist in their inner circle at all times!
#5 Lean Into Intuitive Eating
If you’re looking to lose 100lbs or more, there’s a disconnect between you and your body. There’s an unhealthy relationship with food that needs to be attuned, repaired, or reconstructed. The good news is, your body and brain are gasping to reconnect again because our mind and body are wired to work as a team.
There’s a reason why 50% of Americans struggle with their relationship with food and it is NOT due to lack of nutrition information available. It’s the lack of understanding how the psychophysiology of our cravings, metabolism, binge eating, overeating, and weight are literally and scientifically impacted NOT by lack of willpower, but by our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, stress, relaxation, pleasure, and nourishment. Not understanding how our challenges with our eating, weight, and health are intimately connected to other primary life dimensions – relationship, family, work, intimacy, stress, perhaps our search for meaning and fulfillment, and so much more.
Learning more about mindful eating and intuitive eating will be a great start for you to re-learn how to eat. Sounds weird, but food is playing a role outside of only nourishing and fueling your body so it’s easy to find it challenging to find our way back to the simplicity of eating. This is what we do best. We offer fantastic programs to help you with this and take pride in being part of many people’s inner circle supporting them in their transformation.
