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There are a million ways you can approach a lifestyle change. Whether you’re looking to improve your mental well-being, trying to get fit or just want to improve your overall health, there are thousands of methods to choose from. You can turn to strict dieting, but that often doesn’t work out and feels too restrictive. Dieting does work for some people, but if you’ve struggled with dieting before and have been disappointed that you haven’t seen long-term results in both your body and your mind, you’ve come to the right place.
We’ve all been there — we follow a diet and see results only to gain whatever we lost back. When we improve our health we don’t just see results in the body, we see it in our minds and the way we view ourselves also. So when we gain whatever we physically lost back, we often see those negative and destructive emotions creep back in as well. The solution to this immensely common problem? By beginning our wellness journeys in the place that matters most — the mind. This is the approach that the Noom app takes when helping their users achieve their wellness goals, and below are just seven of the ways Noom taps into psychology to help you see wellness results that last.
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1. Make a mental commitment framing you as the only person who can do this for yourself.
It’s important to always keep in mind that this wellness journey you’re embarking on is for you and you alone. Only you can make it happen. There’s no sense in making excuses for not starting to work towards feeling better as soon as you can as you’re the sole person who can get in your own way. Once you understand this and keep this in mind, it’s very possible that you’ll be able to stick to your goals for the long haul.
2. Set small goals — and rewards.
When starting a wellness journey we all, of course, have certain long-term goals that we want to attain and are the ultimate accomplishment. But the little victories along the way are just as important — and that’s exactly what Noom likes to focus on. Noom likes to call these short-term goals S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound goals), and users are encouraged to celebrate these as much as the long-term goals.
3. Avoid non-clear food containers.
Using clear containers is a little psychological trick to keep you from eating more food than you actually need. Neil O’Nova, a health, fitness and weight loss expert, writes in his book, 7-Minute Skinny Jeans, “Our brains are highly visual. We take visual cues as to how much food we’ve eaten to help us know when we should stop.” According to O’Nova, “when you can’t see how much food you’ve had, you never get that visual feedback and you end up eating way too much.”
4. Plan meals that fit your lifestyle.
It’s important to look at how you currently live your day-to-day life and then plan healthier meals that work with whatever lifestyle you have. What portion sizes make most sense for you? How many times do you eat in a day? What unhealthy habits do you have that you want to combat? Noom employs personalized coaching that helps you take on a healthy approach to food. And, you guessed it, this all starts in the mind.
5. Re-frame the way you approach exercise.
There are people out there that genuinely like to exercise but, if we’re being honest, most of Us don’t. Exercising definitely can be fun, but it isn’t always going to be fun — which can sometimes discourage us from going to the gym. Why not think about your workout this way: even though you don’t always enjoy the act of working out, can you recall a time that you’ve ever left the gym and not felt great about yourself? Try focusing on chasing that feeling the next time you don’t feel like going to the gym to motivate you!
6. Rethink food: Don’t make any foods off limits.
When you limit yourself, you’re essentially setting yourself up for failure. When we tell ourselves we can’t have something we often want it even more than when we weren’t telling ourselves “no.” Amy Goodson, RD, sports dietitian for the Dallas Cowboys, believes that limiting yourself doesn’t do you any favors. “You want to make changes you can do for the rest of your life. The key is to eat what you want, but not everything you want,” says Goodson, according to Health. “You can still enjoy one to two splurges during the week as long as you stay on track the rest of the time.”
7. Turn your phone into your subconscious.
We all love horoscope apps that sometimes tap into our emotions on a daily basis, so why not utilize the amazing technology that is our smartphones to give ourselves some messages of encouragement and motivation from ourselves? Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., president of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy in Philadelphia, tells Health she suggests setting up reminders on your phone that can keep you on track. Having reminders, with the help of Noom, will keep your wellness plan at the forefront of your mind to avoid you from falling by the wayside and focused on short and long-term goals!
See It: Grab a two-week trial of Noom now!
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