The Anxiety You Didn't Expect With Weight Loss

Hello!

I hope you're having a great start to your week so far! I'm writing this on Monday morning, so by the time you're reading this, I hope the Canucks won game 7 against the Edmonton Oilers (I'm on the bandwagon!!!)

Anyway, let's dive into today's topic...
 

Something that's been on my mind lately is feeling anxious about weight loss.

Now, if you're feeling this way, you're not alone, but there are things you can do to make sure the next time you attempt to lose weight (or even better--lose fat and gain muscle), you don't feel anxious about keeping the weight off.

The anxiety around weight loss is usually associated with, "okay, great, I lost the weight, now how the hell do I maintain this?!"

If you've ever dieted and then stopped dieting (99.9% of women), then you've probably experienced weight loss followed by rebound weight gain.

And that's where your stored memories about the post-diet weight gain evoke feelings of anxiety around potential weight loss or newfound weight loss.

So, my goal with these tips is to ensure that IF you choose to start a fat loss phase, OR if you've recently lost weight, you can feel at ease and calm about maintaining your results!

Because it shouldn't feel stressful, extreme, or super rigid.

Weight loss can be done in a respectful and easeful approach, if it's done right!
 

Here is a list of reasons WHY you're experiencing anxiety around weight loss:

• Extreme Methods: Your weight loss approach was too extreme, causing stress and anxiety. You're thinking, "F*ck, how the hell am I going to keep eating 1200 calories and no carbs for the rest of my life?!"

• Lack of Foundation: You didn't have a solid foundation of healthy habits before starting. This is KEY. Healthy habits first, then fat loss (if you want).

• Neglecting Values: You neglected your own values and preferences, blindly following a diet. For example, you never allowed yourself to eat out during your weight loss, so now you're unsure how to handle that.

• Fear of Rebound: Anxiety from past experiences of regaining weight after losing it. You have "PTSD" from rebounding in the past.

• Unsustainable Practices: Following unsustainable practices that aren't feasible long-term, like following a meal plan that you can't follow forever because you're human, doing 2+ hours of cardio a day, or fasting until dinner.

• Fear of Judgment: Worry about being judged for either losing or not losing weight.

• Poor Relationship with Food: Emotional attachment to food or binge eating behaviours weren't addressed first. Dieting will make a poor relationship with food even worse.

• Overemphasis on Scale: Focusing too much on the number on the scale rather than overall health. I wish I could tell every woman this: if you're in the gym and you're lifting heavy, you will gain muscle, which won't always reflect a lower number on the scale, but you will look so DAMN GOOD.

• Identity Crisis: Struggling with a sense of identity after significant weight changes. Many women still see themselves in their pre-weight loss body, or they used excess weight as a safety blanket.

• Perfectionism: Anxiety stemming from perfectionist tendencies and fear of failure. "What if I gain it all back? Will I be unlovable? Unattractive? Will I get less attention? Will people talk about me?"

• Loss of Control: Feeling a loss of control over food and lifestyle choices. You white-knuckled your way to weight loss, so you're clinging to control while feeling the most out of control around food.

• Unrealistic Goals: Setting and failing to meet unrealistic weight loss goals can lead to feelings of anxiety around weight loss.

• Body Image Issues: Persistent body image issues despite weight loss. Maybe it has nothing to do with the above, and everything to do with your relationship with your body.

If any of those resonated with you, here are 3 tips for you!

If you want more tips and support, please apply for 1-1 Health and Nutrition coaching HERE.

How to change your body (lose fat and gain muscle) without feeling anxious about how you're going to maintain your results:

1. ✔️ Healthy Foundation: Before you attempt fat loss, make sure you're doing things like moving daily, eating protein with every meal, sleeping a minimum of 7 hours a night, and eating fruits and veggies with most of your meals.

2. ✔️ Have a Plan: Before you attempt fat loss, do you have a plan? Do you even know how much food you need to maintain your current weight? Do you know how long you'd ideally like to be in a fat loss phase? What about things like vacations and weekends? How will you navigate those?

3. ✔️ Healthy Relationship with Food: Dieting won't fix a poor relationship with food; in fact, it'll probably make it much worse. What does a healthy relationship with food look like? Well, it's things like: Eating regularly throughout the day, being able to eat a treat and then moving on with your day, being able to keep most foods in the house without fixating on them, being able to have 1-2 cookies and stop, and not moralizing foods.
   
   I hope these were helpful!
   
   
   If you'd like to have a plan that's tailored to you, with support, accountability, and tools to reach your goals—without feeling anxious about maintaining results—APPLY HERE!!
   
   Sending strength, encouragement, and respectful approaches to fat loss,
   
   Alicia