Diets tend to focus on willpower, deprivation, and restriction, which then result in feelings of failure, shame and guilt (totally stressful). So how do we begin to shift the stressful paradigm around weight loss and enter into a natural relaxed state that supports effortless weight loss? I spent 15 years of my life yo-yo dieting and stressing out around food before I learned how to relax into my weight loss journey. Here are 5 tips that helped me relax into my weight loss journey:

Let go of the need to FIX. Having the need to fix our selves is the single quickest way to halt progress and lock it unwanted behaviors. Why? Because it stresses us out and shuts us down. They key is to create some space between your actions and your thoughts to explore the behaviors that you want to fix (without judgement), once they have permission to come to the surface you can choose to keep them or let them go.

Feel Your Feelings. When we fight against a negative emotion we only make them stronger. Many of us think that if we allowed ourselves to feel the depth of our feelings, they would destroy us. But remember, a feeling is simply a vibration in your body and we are all designed to feel our feelings all the way through and come out on the other side perfectly fine.

Trust your instincts. There is no person, book, or diet out there that knows better than you what your body needs. Our bodies are way more intelligent than our brains so we need to trust them. Practice turning off the voices in your head and tuning into the sensations in your body. I promise, your body will not steer you wrong.

Shift your definition of extra weight. Excess weight = potential energy. So ask yourself what kind of potential energy might you be storing when you carry extra weight? In other words, what would you being doing if you weren’t so busy trying to lose weight? This could be energy used for creativity, self-expression, withheld emotions, etc. Take the time to explore yourself and remember the excess weight is never the problem it is merely the symptom.

Breathe. Taking long, deep breathes is hands down the quickest and most efficient way to get our bodies out of a stressed state and into a relaxation mode. And this doesn’t mean you need to sit and meditate for thirty minutes. Simply commit to ten deep breaths the next time you’re stressing out and see just how quickly you are able to unwind.

And most importantly, give yourself permission to be on the journey. Weight loss is a process, so find the patience and compassion that you would offer to a friend and be sure to slather it all over yourself.