Three mums share their tips on how they stopped self-sabotaging their weight loss success

You want to make some HUGE changes in your life, and you’ve signed up to the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge to help you make some healthy lifestyle improvements.

You’ve set some great goals, you want to keep up with your kids, fit into your favourite pre-mum dress and lead a longer and healthier lifestyle.

So why then is it SO HARD to find the motivation and why do you keep coming up with excuses?

We all know that living a happier and longer life is to take care of our bodies and minds, so why don’t we just do what we know is best? You could be self-sabotaging your efforts without realising it. Here’s how to recognise if you are.

Why do we self-sabotage?

Many people believe they end up destroying their own ability to achieve their goals because their mind becomes their biggest enemy and thoughts of lack of self-worth can severely impact their success.

Do any of these statements sound familiar to you?

• You stay on track for a while but over time revert back to your old unhealthy lifestyle.
• You know what needs to be done but you can’t seem to achieve any progress.
• You have worked out and eaten right for the last few days so you indulge in treat meals for the rest of the week.

If you’ve answered yes to one or more of these, chances are you are self-sabotaging your own attempts at health.

How to overcome self-sabotaging?

Success in weight loss rarely just depends on eating right and exercising. It’s also dependent on your mindset, habits and mental health. Exercising will not fix your emotional eating. Restrictive diets will not change your lack of motivation.

Quite often we get off track due to the fact that there is an inner conflict with our desire to achieve better and the physical motivation to do so, which leads to lack of consistency and thus progress.

3 Ways to Stop Self-Sabotaging

1. Put Pen To Paper

When we write down our thoughts, fears and anxieties, they somehow seem smaller than when they were in our heads. So list four or five reasons why you think your life will be worse than it is now if you achieve your goals.

You will soon see the fact that you have been fearful of losing weight due to false rationalisations. Once you identify what these fears are you can work through them.

2. Challenge your fear

Try to poke holes in your logic and your false rationalisation so you can diminish their control over you. You can do this by talking to your partner for some objectivity or share your thoughts in The Healthy Mummy’s Facebook group, where other women have been where you are.

3. Reassess your reasons for a healthier life

Consciously reassess your reasons for a healthier life, making sure you are identifying and dealing with the reasons for your fear.

You have all the resources, support and knowledge to set you on your weight loss journey, but you find you are still not making visible progress. This lack of progress more often than not boils down to a lack of consistency, which is created by self-sabotaging behaviour.

Lauren has lost nearly 30kg and she says self-awareness stopped her self-sabotaging

This 42-year-old Melbourne-based mum-of-two says mid-way through her Healthy Mummy journey she felt a little lost in her priorities.

“I had to reset my focus just before my 40th and have been maintaining since ” she says.

“My top tip for self-sabotage is getting aware of what’s happening and why I’m doing it.

“If I’m in a negative frame of mind – I try to catch that negative self-talk in the moment and make and reframe it with something positive or go for a run or workout.”

Lauren also tries to have a heap of healthy food in her house to stop her from making bad food choices.

“If I’m stressed and I want chips – I will grab some rice cakes or make some pappadums for crunch,” she admits.

“If I slipped up, it’s perfectly fine. That doesn’t mean today, or the rest of the week, is a waste. Today is just my first chance to start fresh.

“If I’m hungry and find myself looking in the fridge – I’ll ask myself is there a chance I’m thirsty – have a big glass of water then see how I feel.

“Remember. Make small goals. Keep them focused and think about slowly changing habits. I promise that leads to the bigger changes.”

Hannah Pech has lost 30kg following The Healthy Mummy and no longer self sabotages

Mum-of-five Hannah has been maintaining her weight loss for two years now.

She says that she stays motivated by having small goals, scale and non-scale, as well as a lot of support around her.

“Look at non scale victories that you have and can achieve from a healthy active lifestyle. Focus on that,” she says.

1. When making changes ensure they are sustainable
2. Don’t eliminate food groups. It will mean you want them more.
3. Drink water. Often it is a really good distraction
4. Remember this is a lifestyle not a diet.

Ashana Spinelli has lost 23kg and she says eating savoury snacks has helped her stay on track

Forster-based mum-of-two Ashana has lost 23kg in five months following The Healthy Mummy app and maintained this success for 10 months.

“I love baking but with that comes a lot of self-control so I limit my batches to every fortnight so that I don’t eat them all at once. I also freeze them,” she says.

“Eating savoury type snacks most of the time has helped me keep on track and stick to one serve. If you feel like giving up, then why not just take a little break and get back to it?

“Don’t put too much pressure on it, it shouldn’t be over thought. It’s not all of nothing. It’s life and to make it work for you It’s about balance.”

The 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge is the perfect opportunity to start 2024 off to a healthy, happier you.

Thousands of women have lost weight and are now seeing an improvement in their overall wellbeing. Be one of them today!

Are you ready to become a Healthy Mummy?

Want to lose weight, and improve your energy and health?
Access 600+ guided & personalised Fitness Programs (Beginner to Advanced)

Know what to cook every meal
With family-friendly weekly meal plans & over 6,000 easy recipes developed by nutritionists

Get motivated, stay motivated
With support from MyCoach and MindPower features

Feel Supported 24/7
In our private support groups with other mums just like you

Join Now