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How I Lost Weight by Changing My Mindset

In this post, I want to share with you a TEDx talk that changed my life. It’s by Anna Verhulst, a medical student who struggled with her weight for years until she discovered a simple recipe to lose weight and keep it off. The talk is called “Recipe to losing weight” and you can watch it here. It’s only 9 minutes long, but it’s packed with insights and wisdom that can help anyone who wants to lose weight or improve their health.

By Quoc Nguyen Tran MinhPublished about a year ago 3 min read
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The Problem with Diets

Anna starts by explaining why diets don’t work. She says that diets are based on the idea that we need to restrict our food intake and exercise more to create a calorie deficit. This sounds logical, but it’s actually counterproductive.

Why? Because diets trigger our survival instincts. When we deprive ourselves of food, our body thinks that we are in danger and responds by slowing down our metabolism, increasing our hunger hormones, and storing more fat. This makes us feel miserable, hungry, and tired.

And what happens when we feel miserable, hungry, and tired? We give up on the diet and binge on the foods that we crave. This creates a vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting, where we lose weight and gain it back, over and over again.

Anna says that this cycle is not only bad for our physical health, but also for our mental health. It erodes ourself-esteem, confidence, and happiness. It makes us feel like failures and losers.

See more Keto meal

The Solution: A Recipe for Weight Loss

So what’s the alternative? Anna says that instead of focusing on calories, we need to focus on our mindset. She says that we need to change the way we think about food, exercise, and ourselves.

She shares a simple recipe for weight loss that consists of three ingredients:

Awareness: We need to be aware of what we eat, how we eat, and why we eat. We need to pay attention to our hunger signals, our emotions, and our habits. We need to understand what triggers us to overeat or undereat, and what nourishes us or harms us.

Acceptance: We need to accept ourselves as we are, without judgment or criticism. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others or to unrealistic standards of beauty. We need to appreciate our bodies for what they can do, not for how they look.

Action: We need to take action based on our awareness and acceptance. We need to make choices that support our health and well-being, not out of fear or guilt, but out of love and respect. We need to find activities that we enjoy, not that we dread. We need to celebrate our progress, not punish ourselves for our mistakes.

Anna says that this recipe is not a quick fix or a magic bullet. It’s a process that takes time, patience, and practice. But it’s worth it because it leads to sustainable weight loss and lasting happiness.

See more Keto meal

My Experience with the Recipe

I watched Anna’s talk about a year ago and I decided to give her recipe a try. I was skeptical at first, but I was also desperate. I had been dieting for most of my life and I was sick of it. I was overweight, unhappy, and unhealthy.

I started by becoming more aware of my eating patterns. I realized that I often ate out of boredom, stress, or loneliness. I also noticed that I ate too fast, too much, and too mindlessly. I decided to slow down, savor my food, and listen to my body.

I also started to accept myself more. I stopped weighing myself every day and obsessing over every calorie. I stopped hating my body and blaming myself for my weight. I started to appreciate my body for its strength, resilience, and beauty.

And finally, I started to take action based on my awareness and acceptance. I stopped following fad diets or counting calories. I started eating more whole foods and less processed foods. I started drinking more water and less soda. I started moving more and sitting less.

I didn’t expect any dramatic results from these changes. But after a few months, I noticed something amazing: I was losing weight without even trying. And not only that: I was feeling happier, healthier, and more energetic than ever before.

I’m not saying that this recipe is easy or perfect. It’s not. It’s challenging and imperfect. But it works. It works because it’s based on science, not myths.

See more Keto meal

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About the Creator

Quoc Nguyen Tran Minh

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