5 Psychological Factors That Prevent You From Losing Weight

When we think of weight loss, we think of deprivation, restriction, and "no pain, no gain." We think we're not good enough, not pretty enough, not thin enough. We feel a little dark, a little sad and a little insecure.

We've lost who we truly are beyond the number on the scale. We've let others determine our worth and along the way, we overlooked the true light inside of us, making us think, "Maybe I'm just not worth it."

It's an icky spot to be in, but know that you're worth it. Your body can be healthy. You can choose happiness. You just need to change your perspective and add a few tools in your life.

Here are five little-known factors that could be preventing you from losing weight and how to break through them.

1. You (constantly) beat yourself up.

You're constantly doubting yourself, putting yourself down and choosing to believe you don't deserve to be healthy and happy.

Tune-in. Watch for those negative thoughts. Notice how often they come up. And when you're ready, shut them down. Choose a different perspective. Choose empowering thoughts. Choose love.

Think of all you've accomplished and find a mantra that rings true to you so you can feel empowered. When we're empowered, we make the good-for-you kind of choices and once we make one, we keep making more ... all leading you where you want to go in your journey.

2. You deprive yourself.

We always want what we can't have. Deprivation commonly puts us in a cycle of binge, feel guilty, restrict, repeat

Keep your body nourished with real, whole foods. Eat within an hour of waking and check-in with your hunger every 3-4 hours after. When you're hungry, eat. When you're satisfied, stop. Honor your hunger and fullness, and when you want something eat, enjoy and really, truly taste it.

When you eat real, whole foods, fuel your body throughout the day and honor your hunger and fullness, you can't go wrong. Trust your body.

3. You expect perfection from yourself.

You expect yourself to be perfect once you decide to become healthier and when you slip-up, you beat yourself up, throwing yourself off course. You'd never be this hard on anyone else, but you're this hard on yourself.

Know that slip-ups are a part of your (and everyone's) journey. They're going to happen and they're your time for growth. Choose to learn from what happened, forgive yourself and take your new tools, thoughts and inspirations and forge forward. Get comfortable with being perfectly imperfect.

4. You rebel.

Many times, we use food to rebel. We're sick of being on a diet, of people saying things about our weight, of trying to be thinner or prettier, so we send a big old "screw you" out to the world (and ourselves) and we majorly overeat.

Let the resentment and anger go. Forgive yourself and all you felt wronged by. Forgiveness doesn't mean you agree with what happened, but it means you're ready to cut the cord and move forward. It means you're choosing happiness and peace. It means you're ready to let the past go and focus on the future — the only place you can really do the work for change. Forgive.

Here's a simple mantra to try: I'm choosing to open my heart, let the past go and forgive others and myself because I want to be happy.

5. You're not getting what you truly need.

You really need love, comfort, joy or safety, but instead of creating more of that in your life or asking for what you need of those close to you, you use food.

Spend time getting clear on what it is you actually need. Once you're clear, brainstorm a list of all the ways you can add more of that into your life. If you need to ask for something from the key players in your life, try this simple sentence:

I've noticed ____. This makes me feel ____. I really need more ____. Would you be willing to ____?

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