Consciousness

In order to lose weight, you will need to stay conscious. What I mean by that it that you will need to use the conscious higher brain as you unlearn the desire for overeating. Beware, your lower unconscious brain is going to want to be in charge.

Lower Brain vs Higher Brain

The lower brain uses less energy. We operate with this part of our brain 80% of the time. The lower brain contains everything that we have learned and repeated so many times that they’ve become a habit. We don’t even have to think about doing them, we just do them.

For example, when you drive to the grocery store, you really don’t have to think about where you’re going. You automatically know the way. My mom used to call this being on automatic-pilot. You’ve gone so many times, you don’t have to think about where to turn, or which route to take. Sometimes you get to the store and you can’t even remember the drive there.

When you drive on automatic-pilot, you are using your lower brain. It has created neural pathways that naturally fire and function without us having to use too much energy to think about them. It’s automatic. When you begin implementing this program, the lower brain is going to want you to do what you’ve always done. It will offer you thoughts such as:

“Oh my gosh! This looks so yummy!”

“Let’s have a snack.”

“This is too hard.”

“I’m tired of this.”

“Eating this way is so boring!”

“I’m going to starve to death if I don’t eat something right now!”

The Higher Brain

The higher brain is the part that makes us human. It is much wiser than the lower brain. It is logical and reasonable. It knows you’re not going to die if you don’t eat that snack the lower is brain wants you to eat.

When I finally stopped letting my lower brain tell me what to do all the time.

 In order to be successful, the higher brain has to be in charge.

When you have thoughts like, “This is too hard. I’m tired of having to think about this.”, know that these thoughts are just your lower brain throwing a tantrum. She’s mad you’re using your higher brain, and she wants to be in control. She’ll try to convince you that it’s much easier, more enjoyable, and a whole lot more fun to let her be in charge.

Don’t give in to this tantrum. Remind yourself that you’re perfectly capable of doing these new challenging things. Stay conscious and keep using your higher brain. Eventually, this new way of doing things will become second nature to you, and you’ll be able to hand it back over to your lower brain. Soon, you won’t even have to think about it how to eat and when to eat, you’ll automatically just do it.

Staying Conscious

To stay conscious, you will need to plan in advance what you’re going to eat. Do not let your lower brain dictate what sounds good in the moment. Plan everything you’re going to eat at least 24 hours in advance. You can plan weekly (this is what I do) or every night for the next day. You will also need to have a back-up plan for when things come up and plans change. Have a default go-to meal. For example, if I decide to go out for lunch instead of staying home and eating what’s on my meal plan, my default plan is to have a salad.  When you plan in advance, you’re going to eat what your body needs and what will help you reach your weight loss goals and become your healthiest self.