The Biggest Mistake that is affecting your weight loss success - and it's not what you might think!

We have all been there. Drinking a cup of tea and gorging on a cream cake, in total defeat with the thought ‘Why can’t I lose this weight?’

Believe me and I know you know, there can be many reasons why you are not dropping the pounds as efficiently as you should be. I want to share a secret sabotage, that has been affecting your results and you might not even be aware of it. I have worked with a whole lot of women and this is the one thing, that keeps popping up time and time again, putting folly to the efforts of us gorgeous gals.

Are you ready to accept the biggest mistake we make in our weight loss journey is trying to be a perfectionist?

Perfectionism.

Yes! Perfectionism is the devil that is keeping you from getting where you want to go.

How so?

Okay, let me explain. Us female creatures enjoy having everything perfect. You are having a baby. Before the baby gets here, everything is colour coded from nappy bags to buggies. There is nothing wrong with that, you want everything perfect for the arrival of your little bundle of joy (who, by the way, will turn into a teenager and won’t be able to muster the energy to salute you in the mornings, but that is just a side note!).

The child’s communion is fast approaching, and it is all hands-on deck to get the place painted and have the garden looking like something being entered into the Blooms festival. There is nothing wrong with that either. You want the place looking fabulous for making memories with your friends and family.

That stuff is all good, but there is a down-side to perfectionism. Let’s see how perfectionism is affecting your weight loss journey.

Perfectionism and Diet

Have you ever started a diet on Monday and by Wednesday night you ended up having a take-away and thought to yourself, ‘that’s it now, I’ll have to start again Monday’?? That is her girls! That is your inner Perfection Princess speaking to you. I am so happy to be able to formerly introduce you. Now you can work on telling her to back off.

I did explain to you, that you might not be aware that perfectionism is affecting your weight loss attempts. You had a take-away, okay not exactly ideal when you are on your new healthy eating plan, but why would you just give up? You made a minor boo boo and now your whole week is going to suffer, because your actions were less than perfect. I see this all the time. You are not alone. You are human. The thinking behind the action is, that you want to succeed. You made a mistake, you blew it, so you are going to have to start again Monday. When it is broken down like that, it is clear how our perfectionism is setting us up for failure. How did Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday get written off so quickly?

Your ‘diet’ is never going to be 100% perfect all of the time. There will always be a birthday around the corner, a celebration of some kind and quite regularly a bout of PMS. In order to break the cycle, we must first accept that we cannot set standards for ourselves that are impossible to keep.

Perfectionism and Exercise

‘I’m going to lose another stone first and then join a fitness class’ – have you heard this one?? Here is another example of our inner Perfection Princess doing the talking. She really is annoying! You do not need to lose weight first to join a gym or any group exercise class. I have never come across a gym members policy that states a member must lose weight before joining! (The only reason someone would be respectfully turned away is if your doctor has not given you the okay to exercise and everyone should seek that advice before starting a program.)

You do not need to be the perfect weight or have the perfect look to start exercising in public. If you do feel self-conscious about it, then seek out studios like mine that support women of every shape and size on their fitness journeys. Your tribe is out there waiting for you to join them!

Another example of when the inner Perfection Princess might rear her self-sabotaging head is, when you are doing the physical moves of any exercise. If I had a euro for every time a woman was doing an exercise in my presence, saying she couldn’t do it, while I’m standing there watching her do it, I would be a multi-millionaire. I would be writing this piece from the Bahamas and not my desk which faces out on to a gloomy, winter’s evening.

Nobody starts off an expert. You did not master your signature dish until you had practised it a few times. We all remember our make-up in the 90’s, the less said about that the better. What your Granny said about practice makes perfect is right. We need to practice these moves and for as long as we do, we will see progress. You did not stop learning to walk because you fell on your bum a thousand times. Perfection is not necessary. Consistency is!

Perfectionism and Mindset

Perfectionism is giving up when the going gets tough.

Consistency is showing up to do what you need to, despite how tough the going gets.

Perfectionism is a mindset and unfortunately it is one that promotes failure rather than success. To overcome struggles with perfectionism, you need to change your mindset. Instead of demanding yourself to be perfect in the pursuit of weight loss and fitness, try aiming for excellence while being consistent in habits that result in weight loss. That has a nicer ring to it. Excellence is a nice word. You can become an excellent painter through practice. You can become an excellent pianist through practice. You can become an excellent example of weight loss through practice!

Let’s face it, we would all love a perfect world and a perfect life but that is not realistic. That is not life. Unfortunately, we will have challenges and obstacles to face. I mean, we are currently living through a pandemic! Anyway, life would be boring without challenges. Weight loss is not a linear thing, it’s more like a roller coaster ride with highs and lows. Any way we can make it easier for ourselves is a good thing in my book!

Dim the voice of your inner perfectionist and I wish you every success in your journey!

Niamh has been helping women overcome their struggles with fitness and weight loss since 2014. Niamh's studio, Fitness at the BodyShaper, moved online on the 12th March 2020, to continue supporting women achieve their goals. You can join any of Niamh's classes by booking online or if you would like information on personal training email her at info@fitnessatthebodyshaper.com