Michele DeJesus, PhD, NBC-HWC is a board-certified & Mayo Clinic-certified Health Coach and an ACE-certified Personal Trainer with a PhD, in Holistic Nutrition. She is the CEO of a 26-year coaching business, successfully guiding adults in transforming their health, fitness and weight loss.
What if the secret to permanent weight loss is actually in your brain? We separate health, work, family, spirit, community, and friendship from fitness, yet these pieces are all threads of the same fabric that is you. When we compartmentalize, we risk losing sight of the bigger picture, forgetting how deeply connected these facets truly are. If you’re looking to lose weight and keep it off, this shift in perspective, diet freedom and weight loss as an "inside game", is the key to creating lasting, meaningful transformation. To truly support our goals, we must go deeper, rewiring the brain to develop new concepts, thoughts, and beliefs that empower us. Without this shift, old patterns and self-sabotaging habits will continue to hold us back.
We are losing the weight battle. By 2050, almost 80% of Americans will be overweight or obese. Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1990. Yet, the diet industry is thriving. It is now a $70+ billion industry in the United States. I’ve come to believe we’re looking in the wrong "place" to help us finally lose weight. The answer lies inside your brain. We have approximately 60,000 thoughts per day. About 90% of these are repetitive, meaning we "think" the same thoughts every day, and 80% of those thoughts are negative. Imagine all the negative thoughts we repeat regularly about dieting, weight loss, midlife, and aging.
1. Change your mind, change your life
Many of my clients struggle to grasp just how profoundly their thoughts shape their decisions, success or failure, and overall experience of life. But when we open ourselves to the idea that our thoughts create feelings, which in turn drive our actions, we unlock the power to shift our mindset. With this awareness, we can start taking intentional steps to reshape those thoughts and create a new, more fulfilling path forward.
In essence, “change your mind, change your life” (a concept coined by American psychologist William James). Today, we understand there is a scientific reason why old patterns of behavior continue to happen even when you don’t want them to. The explanation lies in a neuroscience concept called neuroplasticity.
Basically, if a neural pathway is used frequently, the brain flags it as important and makes it easily accessible on repeat. This is especially true when strong emotions like fear, happiness, or love are attached to it. For example, if you associate positive emotions of happiness with your new puppy, then the next time you see a cute puppy anywhere, your brain will automatically pull up the idea of happiness.
The brain can also reinforce negative thoughts and behaviors. When we repeatedly encounter ideas or experiences that elicit negative beliefs or feelings, our brain creates and strengthens neural pathways around those patterns. Over time, it begins to replay these thoughts automatically, like a tape recorder loop, presenting them as undeniable truths. For instance, we might believe we’re lazy simply because we’ve been told so for years, or we might feel destined for failure because past setbacks have ingrained that belief. These neural pathways feed us these thoughts as though they’re facts, shaping how we see ourselves and what we believe is possible.
Through neuroplasticity, our brain forms neural pathways based on repeated thoughts or emotions, especially those tied to negative experiences. By identifying and addressing these patterns, we can disrupt the cycle, rewire the brain with healthier, more empowering beliefs, and lay the foundation for lasting success.
2. Neuroplasticity and weight loss
When it comes to weight loss, particularly in midlife, my experience shows that there are many deeply ingrained beliefs about weight, food, weight loss, and dieting that unconsciously hinder the weight loss experience my clients desire. By bringing these unconscious patterns to light, we uncover past ideas and narratives that sabotage meaningful change and long-term success.
Harnessing the concept that we can change our brain patterning, my clients learn to rewire their minds, replacing old, limiting beliefs with empowering new ones. This transformative process allows them to rewrite sabotaging thoughts, navigate cravings with confidence, manage emotions in healthier ways, stay committed to their goals, maintain a consistent exercise routine, and put an end to overeating.
3. Your neuroplasticity toolbox
The following are three tools to fill your behavioral toolbox and apply to your weight loss journey:
A. Positive self-talk
First, I have my clients catch their negative self-talk. By identifying their negative thought patterns, they can specifically reframe those thoughts to reshape their brain’s response over time. This is a targeted redirection of their focus and intent so that their "new" thoughts reflect their particular life and environment. This is not simply positive thinking. Rewriting our thoughts is a very powerful tool in reshaping the neural pathways of our brain.
B. Mind gym
With this tool, you become a mental athlete of your own transformation. This involves mentally rehearsing the behaviors you want to adopt, like exercising in the morning, making healthy meals, feeling more vibrant and healthy, or saying “no.” Like a pro athlete, you practice these behaviors mentally to create neural patterns similar to the actual experience, priming your brain for change.
C. Intentional practice
Change takes time. Generating new lifestyle behaviors requires focused and repetitive action. Similar to learning a new skill, such as playing an instrument or a new language, your brain wakes up and pays full attention to these novel actions. This is a heightened state of neuroplasticity. The repetition, practicing healthy meal prepping, a sleep ritual, or a morning routine, strengthens relevant neural pathways that support these new behaviors, allowing them to become your new normal.
Conclusion
Transformation requires patience. Lasting change happens with repetition over time. Without a doubt, your brain will attempt to sabotage you with old, familiar patterns. It will remind you that this is not your usual way of thinking or behaving. My clients often tell me that this feels uncomfortable, uneasy, and disruptive. But that’s the point. We’re disrupting old patterns that no longer serve us. Patiently redirecting your old patterns and repeatedly using new ones will, over time, train your brain to flag these new pathways and present them as your new way of being.
Read more from Michele DeJesus
Michele DeJesus, Health Coach/Weight Loss Specialist
Michele DeJesus, PhD, NBC-HWC is a board-certified & Mayo Clinic-certified Health Coach and an ACE-certified Personal Trainer with a PhD. in Holistic Nutrition. She is the CEO of a 26-year coaching business, successfully guiding adults in transforming their health, fitness and weight loss. Michele has been featured in the IDEA Health & Fitness online magazine as well as numerous television appearances speaking about fitness, weight loss and health. She is the host of the Facebook group, Midlife Confidence: Women Conquering Weight Loss and the creator of an online 12-week weight loss intensive for midlife women. Her mission is to support midlife women in creating their own health & wellness renaissance.
