How to target your “problem” areas!

I’ve been asked MANY times over the last 7 years how to get rid of “bat wings”, get a tight butt, have a flat stomach, and get rid of loose skin.

And I get it – we think that these areas are PROBLEMS and so much will change when we lose weight and “firm up”.

And I also understand that for many, the focus for working out is to transform our bodies in a specific way.

There is a perception that our lives would be SO MUCH happier if our body just looked a certain way – that all (or most) of our problems will go away with the extra weight. (or we just won’t care since we will have amazing arms!)

But the fact of the matter is – you can’t spot reduce an area of your body – and all of your problems won’t go away with your loose skin. (womp womp)

Yes – you CAN make your body stronger by working out and you CAN build muscle to change your body composition (newsflash though – building muscle requires eating more calories too!).

But none of these things will automatically stop those thoughts you have about yourself – if you don’t think your “good enough”, “skinny enough”, or “pretty enough” NOW – you won’t then either.

Because if your thoughts are about never being ENOUGH – that won’t change without some mental exercise as well.

I too have been sucked into the idea that when I lost all of my weight my life would be better.

That when I could see some muscle definition in my arms – THEN I was worthy of wearing sleeveless shirts.

That if I could just get rid of all of the loose skin from my weight loss I would FINALLY look like a REAL personal trainer.

That if I lost the weight, controlled my eating plan, changed my career – I would NEVER struggle with food or myself again.

So I did all of those things (well except for the loose skin – that’s still here 🙂 ) – and I still felt like a failure, a fraud, out of control with food.

The only spot reduction that offered REAL change for me was targeting the “problem” area between my ears!

Learning how to become aware of my thoughts from a place of curiosity and non-judgement was HUGE for me!

And I won’t gloss over how these two things were HARD for me at first.

When we’ve walked around most of our lives not fully acknowledging the words floating around in our heads – it’s a challenge at first to start to actually pay attention.

And then to acknowledge WHAT I was thinking WITHOUT judgement was WORK for this Catholic school girl! (full disclosure – I only went to Catholic school for a few of my elementary years – but guilt took a firm grasp on me at an EARLY age!!!)

The tendency sometimes can be 1) to think that WHAT you are thinking isn’t THAT big of a deal and 2) to beat yourself up when you realize the full impact your thinking actually has on your life!

But then freedom takes hold. Once you’ve worked through these two realizations – your whole world looks different.

No longer do you spend your time beating yourself up (mentally and physically) for how your body looks.

No longer do you use food as the answer to all of your emotional problems.

No longer do you think you’re a victim to circumstances outside of your control.

No longer do you look outside of yourself for the love, acceptance, joy that you think you have to “earn”.

You are in the driver’s seat and can choose to take care of your body (mind and spirit) in whatever way serves you!

And you finally realize that you have FULL control over what you define as a “problem” area.

P/S – If you still feel STUCK with your “problem” area – let’s chat. Email me (amy@losethementalweight.com) and I will help you figure out what step to take next!