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4 Ways Weight Loss Builds Your Self-Esteem

Self-esteem forms a critical part of our psychological health, and really lays the foundation for how we view ourselves and the world around us. One of the most common causes of low self esteem is the relationship we have with our bodies, and our food choices. It’s often a highly sensitive topic, as there’s a lot of emotions tied up in eating habits, food choices, and the impacts that these have upon our external appearance.

With that said, once you really start to gain a hold over your eating habits and experience some real control over how you look in the mirror, and then to the outer world, your inner world really begins to change. For the better. Here’s four extremely predictable examples of how this works, for almost everyone. This stuff is life-changing, so please do think about each example.

1. THE CHANGES IN THE MIRROR

This is perhaps the most obvious one.

But it’s also one that is very powerful, and is the best way to start your day. Because regardless of what the scale says, or your MyFitnessPal app says, you know that you’ve won when you wake up looking better than you did the day before.

This could be a leaner looking face, a more defined waistline, or maybe you can see more visible abs or veins etc. Whatever it is, it feels good, and there’s no better way to start the day as far as your self-esteem is concerned. Once this becomes a pattern over time, it continues to grow your self-esteem and confidence. Before you know it, it starts to spread into all the other areas of your life.

2. CHANGES IN YOUR CLOTHES

Nothing feels better than when you can see that you’ve moved down a belt notch, or down a shirt size because these former clothes no longer fit you. It’s visual proof that your weight loss plan is working.

This creates a positive feedback loop and encourages you to go out and achieve more weight loss. It makes sweets and ‘tempting foods’ far less tempting, and it builds anticipation for future success, and you soon start thinking about how far you can take this weight loss plan. Maybe a 33 inch waistline? Maybe even 30 inches? At this point, it’s really up to you. For the first time in a long time you start to feel that you have an internal locus of control, rather than the commonly perceived external locus of control.

3. INTERMITTENT FASTING BUILDS DISCIPLINE

Not only does Intermittent Fasting create the ideal hormonal environment for fat burning. But it also builds discipline. Intermittent Fasting challenges you to control your eating window to 8 hours or less, depending on the type of Intermittent Fasting diet you choose to follow. When you do this successfully, you feel those feelings of achievement and success, because you know you’re working towards your goals.

It sounds crazy, but not many people are capable of saying “no” to their cravings, or going an extra four hours without eating. Intermittent Fasting teaches you to do both, and eventually, your cravings end up disappearing.

Becoming a more disciplined person is extremely important for the long-term foundations of building your self-esteem. Because discipline is a habit, it leads to you becoming more disciplined in other areas like your work, relationships etc. All of these will build your confidence, your energy, and your sense of control over your own life.

If you can combine the right Intermittent Fasting model (for you) with a fun, exciting exercise routine, you’ll be onto a winner as far as weight loss is concerned.

4. REINFORCEMENT FROM OTHERS

This is the most powerful one of all.

Receiving direct compliments, noticing people’s shocked faces (when they haven’t seen you in a long time), or spotting subtle glances from the opposite sex, will all do wonders for your sense of self-esteem. Social approval and social proof is THE reason celebrities and famous athletes have sky-high confidence levels – it’s all based on extreme positive feedback from other people.

If you lose 20, 30 or 50+ pounds, people WILL notice. It becomes especially obvious when they haven’t seen you since you lost the weight, and you can literally look like a different person. This reinforces the above three points, and amplifies them, making you feel like a rockstar.

This is the one that will inspire you the most to sustain your results, rather than ‘yo-yo diet’ like 97% of the population does. Sustainability is key, and a true increase in your self-esteem will help you to turn these eating habits into a lifestyle. I talk a lot about the Intermittent Fasting lifestyle, and the freedom it offers you – zero restrictions on your food choices, you simply need to be careful about your timing and portion control.

SUMMARY

Self-esteem is at the core of being a psychologically healthy individual, and weight loss will help you in a variety of ways in achieving this goal. It starts off with the day to day changes in the mirror, and how clothes feel overall. But the most powerful changes are when your friends, family, co-workers and potential love interests all start to notice and pay compliments.