What Do You Really Believe About Losing Weight?

(And why your brain is sneakier than you think)

So.
You want to lose weight.

You’ve got a goal. A number, a size, a vague vision of feeling comfy in your own skin and not needing to unbutton your jeans at dinner. You might even have a Pinterest board. Maybe a plan. Definitely a drawer full of leggings you swore you'd wear when you “get back on track.”

And yet…
You're stuck.

Maybe you haven’t started.
Maybe you’ve started five hundred times.
Maybe you did start, made some real progress and then—like a Netflix series that started strong but got weird in Season 3—you backslid. Regained the weight. And now you’re sitting there thinking, “What’s the bloody point?”

And here’s where it gets interesting.

Instead of questioning the method…
You start questioning yourself.

“Why can’t I stick to anything?”
“Why don’t I want it badly enough?”
“Why am I such a lazy, undisciplined, biscuit-gobbling mess of a human?”

Sound familiar?

Here’s the thing no diet plan, personal trainer or smug kale evangelist on Instagram ever bothers to mention:

You don’t do what you want. You do what you believe.
Read that again.

If your brain has quietly (or not so quietly) subscribed to beliefs like:

• “Losing weight is hard.”

• “I always stuff it up.”

• “I can’t be trusted around food.”

• “I’m too old / too busy / too knackered to change now.”

Then guess what?
You’ll act accordingly.

Because despite the motivational posters and glittery affirmations, your brain is not a cheerleader.
It’s a lawyer.
And it is working tirelessly to prove itself right.

So if you believe this is going to be an uphill battle through misery and spinach, you’re going to create that experience. And then—just to rub it in—you’ll think, “See? I knew it. I can’t do this.”

It’s not a motivation problem.
It’s not even a food problem.
It’s a thought problem.

Now, most people, when they’re trying to change, go straight to the doing.
The action plan. The rules. The apps. The juice cleanse. The treadmill you swore you’d use this time.
They white-knuckle it with willpower—which, in case you haven’t noticed, has the shelf life of a fart in a cyclone.

And when willpower inevitably bails on you like a dodgy Tinder date, you think:
“Guess I’m the problem.”

But you're not.
Your thoughts are.

And this is where we turn down the noise and get properly weird.
Because I’m going to suggest something very radical:

Stop focusing on what you need to DO. Start focusing on what you actually THINK.

Yes, I know.
This is not as sexy as a 21-day bikini-body challenge.
But unlike said challenge, this will actually work.

Here’s how:
It’s called a Thought Download.

And it’s deliciously low-tech.
You grab a pen. A piece of paper. (No, not your phone. Paper. Like a caveman. Trust me.)

And then you write.
All of it.
Every brain-farty, judgemental, unfiltered, slightly unhinged thought you have about weight loss, food, your body, your past attempts, your Aunt Betty’s unsolicited health advice—everything.

This is not about being positive or polite.
This is about honesty.
No censor. No grammar check. No “shoulds.”
Just your unedited mental soup.

And what happens?
You find gold.
Or more accurately, you find the anchors.
The beliefs dragging you under.
The stuff you didn’t even realise was running the show.

Maybe it’s “I always fail.”
Maybe it’s “I can’t lose weight unless I suffer.”
Maybe it’s “I’ll never feel comfortable in my body unless it’s perfect.”

These aren’t just little passing thoughts.
They’re your brain’s operating system.

And until you see them, you can’t shift them.
Which is why you keep trying new plans with the same old results.
Because the story hasn’t changed.

Your thought download is like turning the lights on in a messy room.
The mess was always there—but now you can see what needs cleaning.
And more importantly, you stop blaming yourself for the mess.

So here’s your new weight loss strategy:

1. Pause.

2. Pick up the pen.

3. Dump your thoughts on paper.

4. Observe the BS.

5. Challenge the BS.

6. Choose better beliefs—ones that actually support the life (and body) you want.

Because once you get your thoughts aligned with where you want to go, the rest becomes surprisingly… doable.
No forcing. No flogging yourself.
Just honest, sustainable change.

And yes, it will feel strange at first.
Like doing yoga in jeans or calling your Year 9 maths teacher by her first name.
But trust me, it works.

And if you need help shifting those sneaky subconscious stories, well—that is what I do.
I help smart women unhook from the crap they’ve been conditioned to believe about food, weight and themselves.

So they can stop white-knuckling it…
And start actually living.

Weight loss without the self-loathing.
Progress without the punishment.
A brain you can trust—and a body that finally feels like home.

Let’s get to work.

Photo credit: Paola Aguilar from unsplash