Do you know someone who lost a good deal of weight and gained it all back?

I would surmise that most of us do.

Not necessarily 100 pounds, but even 20 or 30.

But why?

The new body looks better.

The new body feels better.

The new body performs better.

But,

The new body is often stuck with old emotions and mentality.

When someone has been a certain weight, body fat, muscle build, or posture for a long period of time, their mind has defined them as that person. Being that person has soaked in and they are more or less okay with it.

This means that their eating and activity level has become routine and acceptable to them.

That isn’t to say that being in better shape doesn’t sound good to them, but people know them as who they currently are and there is a level of comfort that goes along with that.

So what happens mentally after a significant physical change be it fat loss, muscle gain, athletic performance etc.?

The person who has made the physical change is excited about it, but often times their emotional state of who they are and what the new lifestyle entails hasn’t caught up with the physical changes. This usually causes them to revert back to the old person.

Because it’s comfortable.

The person’s changed body turns them into a fitness imposter in many people’s eyes including their own often times.

They are in a physical state that isn’t “them” according to some of their peers. They are imposing on a lifestyle and physique that does not line up with how anyone knows them.

I have heard countless stories of people who have changed significantly for the better physically, only to go home for the holidays and have their family respond in horror as they question if they are “feeling okay”.

You see, the family DEFINED who they were as the old unhealthy version of them. They were that overweight, lack of muscle, slouching person. Anything else was just be weird to an outside eye.

The family fails to consider that the changes the person has made are completely healthy and putting them at a height and body fat that is good for them and their long term health.

But, over time, this stuff brings the person down. It wears on them.

They ask themselves “am I trying to be someone I’m not?”

Very often these feelings are followed by a slow revert back to their previous weight, body fat, and activity level.

This is almost exclusively related to the fact that they had not mentally became the new version of themselves.

They still had “overweight” thoughts. They still had “lazy” tendencies.

They had not REDEFINED themselves mentally yet to the point where old habits were off their radar.

When the door is left open, even a crack, the old person tends to come back in.

Slowly but surely, until every habit that was broken comes back full circle.

I often encourage people to view each small goal as a new definition of themselves.

For example, if someone was trying to go from 350 to 250 pounds they may say to themselves “as soon as I hit 339 I will NEVER be in the 340s again.

**Keep in mind, I am not saying weight loss should be the single focus of a person’s goals, but for sake of example, go with me on this one.

What this allows someone to do is establish a new mentality at every stage of their transformation.

Another one could be “I have worked out twice per week for one month now, I will never do less than that again”.

Never underestimate the training and coaching that your brain needs in your physical journey. It can make or break your progress.

Vow to never let yourself feel like a fitness imposter. When you make changes for the better, coach your emotions and feelings to follow suit with your body.

Do not let others define who you are, but also do not define yourself as anything other than what you are. The past is the past. The new you IS YOU.

When you put in the time and the commitment to get healthy, own it. You deserve every ounce of feeling good and I challenge you to be confident in that and close the door completely on the old you.

If you have any questions on how to start your quest to the new you, I would love to help.

Email me right now at JwaltersPT@gmail.com

or, to learn more, check out my website at www.JonWalters.co

IG: JonWalters15