Have you ever thought to yourself, “If I could just reach my ideal weight, I’d be so much happier.” 

You start to imagine what life would be like once you’ve reached your ideal weight and life looks happier and more joyful. You imagine that your relationships are thriving, and everything starts falling into place.

You may even catch yourself looking at people who are skinnier than you and think about how amazing their life must be or how in control and organized they are. 

Here’s the harsh truth—no matter what the number on the scale shows, losing weight will not make your problems disappear. They are still going to be there, and there will be more work that needs to be done to address those problems. Let’s talk about it.

Losing weight does not equal having the life that you love

One of the biggest misconceptions about weight loss is that a lot of people think that once they’ve achieved their goal weight that things are going to start falling into place in their lives. 

They think that losing weight will solve all of their issues, and they will feel better mentally and emotionally. 

It’s easy to think this of others as well. When we see someone who’s skinnier or thinner than us, we instantly think that their life must be great, when in reality, they still have issues, too. 

The truth is that even when you lose weight, all the issues and problems that you currently face will still stay the same. The only thing that will change is your size—nothing else. 

It’s important for us to remember on our journeys that changing your body will not change your life. In order for us to find true happiness, we need to address the root cause of our issues.

Addressing your underlying issues

Once you lose weight, oftentimes, the initial problems that caused you to gain or retain extra weight will come up to the surface. 

For instance, some people who have had stomach surgery may not be able to eat as much as they could, however, the emotional issues that caused them to overeat will still be with them. 

Instead, they’re left with finding other outlets to deal with their issues rather than turning to food which can lead to developing other unhealthy habits or addictions. 

It takes a deeper dive to address your problems. If you want to get healthy and keep the weight off, it takes peeling back to the layers to get to your root cause. 

This is where coaches like myself can offer one-on-one support, guidance, and encouragement to help you overcome these issues to get to a place in your journey where you truly feel confident in yourself.

Don’t wait to feel happy

Last but not least, it’s important than ever to start doing the things that you enjoy, now. 

When you start to feel good about yourself, you start wanting to do more of what helps you feel good. When you’re not doing the things that make you feel happy, you’re not going to have the motivation to want to continue reaching your goals.

Choosing to be happy now is going to have a positive snowball effect on your life in the long run. You’re going to start to have fun, and you’re going to give yourself the self-care and motivation that you need to keep pushing forward with losing weight. 

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Remember, you are worth so much more than just a number on the scale. When you’re not addressing the underlying issues that you have along the way, or aren’t giving yourself permission to enjoy things until you’ve lost the weight, you’re not going to be happy in the long run.

Choose to be happy now, and start finding joy in the things you love. You’ll find that it will make the biggest difference in your weight loss journey.