Is Negative Thinking Keeping You Fat

I caught myself doing this the other day while running in my neighborhood. Now, I have a set route that I run. It‘s a standard 5k distance but I can extend it to 7, 9, 10 or 12K by making a few small changes.

I was out for a 7k run and wanted to beat my previous best at that distance. Which was 34 minutes and 35 seconds. As I was half way into the run I starting thinking to myself, “your not in good enough shape to break 34 minutes” and “slow down and take it easy”.

At the 2k mark, I stopped running and started to walk. Thinking that I would feel better, but I actually felt worse. The negative talk just kept coming “Why are you even running?” and “you’re just going to give up on this like you’ve done with everything else”

Just as I was ready to turn and walk back home, I had one of those moments of clarity. Those moments that changes your life and allows you to see where things have gone wrong.

The Turning Point

Why did I stop moving towards my goal? My body felt good and I was making great time. I stopped because I let those negative thoughts take root in my mind. That first seed was planted and instead of squashing it, I fed it by believing it and by giving it more negative thoughts to consume. Eventually it grew so large that I couldn’t move it or get past it.

This was the reason that I have failed so many times in the past. Not only in my attempts to lose weight but in every area of my life. I’ve allowed myself to be talked out of my dreams and to be held back from achieving my goals.

Changing My Thoughts

I decided to keep walking until I got to the 3k mark and run the 7K loop back to my house. As I walked that very long 1k, I kept thinking about the positive changes that I have made in my life. Dropping 40lbs, running my first 5 and 10k races, cleaning up my diet and starting this website from scratch. I started thinking about how good it will feel when I break that personal best time.

When I got to that 3K marker (it’s actually a fire hydrant) I was pumped up and excited to start running. I reset my watch and took off. After 2k I was tired and at almost the exact same point into the run as I was before, but wouldn’t let anything negative enter my mind. I used my positive self talk to keep me pushing forward and focused on the proper things, my time, the distance covered and how well my form was holding up.

My Big Finish

With about half a Kilometer until the end I looked at my watch, did some math and figured that I could beat the 34:35 finish time if I hustled. Boy did I hustle. I hit my driveway, stopped my watch at 34:34. I beat it by one second. I let out a Whoooo, it was 10:30pm and I was completely alone (except for the barking dogs that I set off) covered in sweat, out of breath and I felt incredible.

Now taking one second off might not seem like much but knowing all the mental and physical effort that went into it, made it feel like an hour.

What’s the point?

I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here. I’m not saying that if you think positive thoughts great things will happen. The fact is sometimes things don’t work out no matter how positively we think.

I feel that the voice in your head, that internal dialogue should be sprouting positive thoughts so that the wrong things don’t happen. Things like stopping short of your goal, going on an eating binge or believing that you are not worthy of success.

This is especially true when it comes to changing your diet or starting a new workout program. Thinking that you’re not strong enough to stick with it or that you are just meant to be fat is exactly what is keeping you fat.

So get rid of the negative talk in your head. As soon as you hear it, turn it around. Instead of hearing “you’re not strong enough” change it to “I have all the strength I need”. If you don’t allow them to take hold you’ll drastically improve your chances for success no matter what your goals are.