One example of a mindset that hinders our progress is that we are going without or depriving ourselves. This kind of operating model in life leaves us feeling disappointed, and often ideas of fairness (it’s not fair) become persistent.
So you’re trying to lose weight, but your deprivation mindset tells you it is horrible, and you’re missing out on the ‘the good stuff’. You can see where this is headed. This mindset often results in failure to progress and cessation or sabotage of our efforts.
It’s time to throw this mindset in the bin. It is a glass-half-empty thought process that is self-fulfilling because you convince yourself that you are missing out, and ultimately, it makes a long-term approach unsustainable, so you fall off the wagon.
No one wants to live like that, but you convince yourself that you will try again, still with a deprivation mindset, and the yo-yo continues.
The deprivation state of mind however, is a choice. The way we flip it on its head is twofold.
First, rephrase. Instead of deprivation, get what you are gaining into your head. Because you will be gaining a lot:
- Longer healthier life
- More mobility
- Less pain
- More confidence
- Better mental health
All that wonderful stuff you are gaining. Awesome! You can also rephrase the word deprivation to mean what you deprive yourself of if you do not act.
The second part is a little more complicated. It’s about growing to love healthy food and exercise after a long period of seeing these as inferior to sedentary behaviour and ultra-processed foods.
This can take time. You’ll get there when you learn to savour the glorious flavours of healthy foods. Over time, you will enjoy what exercise does for you, too.
The trick with ultra-processed food isn’t that it tastes better. It’s that they trick the mind with their use of ingredients – fat, salt, sugar – to think they are better; they, in many ways, work like a drug, activating long unnecessary processes of seeking high-calorie foods. And then, ultimately, this choice (if too regular or too much) leaves us crashing as our body tries to adapt to the onslaught. Right there, you have deprived yourself of health, of a balanced intestinal system, and your fatigue hits, too. So much deprivation. But I digress. How do we not feel that healthy choices are lesser? Over time, when you don’t eat ultra-processed, and you learn to flavour your food correctly, your palate adapts, and you honestly grow to love all those whole foods.
The same goes for exercise. On some level you may feel that you are depriving yourself of time resting when you exercise, without realising that your evening walk gives you time to yourself, to step away from the stress and you soon grow to love how you fell when you step back into your home.
A little note. The idea that you are depriving yourself actually often originates in the media. Junk food companies want you to eat their foods, and they will make you feel like their food is what you need and convince you that you are depriving yourself if you don’t eat their chocolate bar or cereal. Don’t let them have that power over you. Ascend that shit! Rise above and consider reducing your consumption of advertisements that may try to convince you to buy their product. They don’t want you to get healthier because they want to make money off you. If you feel deprived, then you very well may buy their products.
Instead, think of the food that you really enjoy eating. Not the every day chocolate bar or takeout, but the gourmet version or experience that you enjoy most when you imagine the whole scenario. Maybe that is sharing a Cinnabon with your best friend with a coffee, or it’s having a picnic of Greek delicacies and wine. Then do this once a month. That sure won’t feel like deprivation now, will it?
