Broken weight loss mindsets - part 3

In part 1 of this series, we looked at "messed up thinking" around expectations.

In part 2, we looked at "messed up thinking" around dealing with setbacks.

In part 3 today, we’re going to look at the psychology of money management - and how we can use some of this common sense to manage our eating and weight loss / management.

Let’s say that you’re wanting to save for a family holiday.
The cost of the holiday is £3,500.
In order to save for the holiday, you need to create a surplus - eg save more than you earn - of £3,500.

You want to save this money in the space of 14 weeks.
So you need to save £250 a week.

Up until now, you’ve been spending about £500 a week on living expenses, socialising, and other bits.

So as things stand, it’s impossible to save.

However, because that sunny holiday is so important to you, you make some diligent decisions, and reduce your outgoings to £250 per week.
Which leaves another £250 of ‘surplus’ - you’re doing the right things and are on track to achieve your goal of jetting off to sunny Marbella and getting your white bits out!
Now all you need to do is repeat this every week.

However……
You get to Friday.
And the broken mindset kicks in.

“Whoop whoop, it’s Friday. And I’ve been sooooo good all week. I’ve not spent a penny over my £250 budget.
To reward myself for being awesome, I’m gonna let my hair down a little”.

And with that, you proceed to go on a shopping spree and splurge £250 on ‘stuff’.

You wake up on Monday.
“Sh*t!……I’m back to where I was a week ago.
I’ve made no progress to my goal. But I was sooooo good all week. It’s just not fair. Saving money just doesn’t work for me.”


This analogy should now be obvious.
It’s how you view weekends.
It’s seeing life as something to divide into two separate parts.
5 days of work and ‘trying to be good’.
And 2 days of ‘let’s completely stop giving a shit, after all life is for living’.

Spending all your surplus on a weekend, is the same as eating back the calorie deficit you creates during the week.

It just doesn’t work.

Of course, weekends are often times for a bit more socialising or a meal out.
That’s not the point.

The point is that it doesn’t matter whether you - or I - like it or agree with it. 
It’s just a fact of life that if you “blow all your savings on a weekend”, you’ll have nothing to show for your efforts.

“Lifestyle Change” is a term that’s thrown around a lot.
In reality it means “mindset change”.

It means changing your outlook.
Changing your attitude and beliefs.
It means asking if the current belief of “weekends are for escaping, via the medium of too much food and drink” is working for you.
And if you’re stuck in this pattern, then asking what you can expect to EVER change, if you don’t first change how you think.

Even if you ‘saved’ £250 during the week, and then spent £150 on a weekend, you’d still having some savings.
It just means it’ll take a tad longer to pay for your holiday.

The goal is simple. 
Don’t allow weekends to blow every penny you saved during the week.
Because if this is a weekly occurrence, you’ll be stuck …. Forever.

Get your thinking right. The rest will follow 🤓