Keep Moving Forward: Transform Your Mindset, Transform Your Life

In this episode we discuss how changing the 'voice in your head' can change your perception and lead to long term success. 

Transcript

 Welcome back to the Keep Moving Forward podcast, your weekly dose of real talk about weight loss, personal transformation, and the mindset shifts that help us show up, stay consistent and stop living in the past tense. I'm your host, Eric, AKA, the used to guy, and if you  📍 ever said, I used to be healthier, I used to be more disciplined, or I used to care more, you're not alone.



You're actually in really good company. I've said all of those things and a hundred more. And for a long time I believe them, like they were facts carved in stone. But today I wanna talk to you about something deeper than workouts, meal plans, or routines. I wanna talk about mindset and more specifically how the way you see yourself might either be the thing holding you back or the key that unlocks everything you've been chasing.

Let's start with a hard truth, and it's one we know, but we don't always admit. Most of us start a weight loss or transformation journey. Hyper focus on the external. We want smaller pants, better reflection in the mirror. Lower blood pressure compliments the confidence that comes from people saying, good job.

And hey, those things matter. But if that's all you're chasing, if the only part of you that's changing is the surface stuff, the scale, the reps, the routines. Then you're missing the biggest piece of the puzzle because the real transformation isn't physical. It's mental. It's not just what you're doing.

It's who you believe you are while you're doing it. Look, I've lost weight before. I've gotten motivated and I've crushed challenges and races, but every time when I thought the problem was just what I ate or how often I moved, it never lasted. Because you can't out diet a broken mindset. You can't outrun or outwork a belief system that's constantly sabotaging you from the inside.

If you believe, I'll always screw this up, then no matter how hard you try, you'll find a way to prove yourself, right? Let's be honest about the real villain here. It's not sugar, it's not carbs. It's the voice in your head. You know the one it says. You've always been this way. You never finish what you start.

You are just lazy. You are too far gone. Why even bother? Sometimes it whispers, sometimes it yells, but it shows up, especially when you're tired, when you mess up, when the scale doesn't move or when you've just had a bad day. And if you're not careful, it can become a truth. You live by. I used to think that voice was being honest, that I was just calling it like it is, but it wasn't honesty, it was conditioning years of internalized beliefs and repeated failures shaping how I saw myself.

Look, if you walk around believing you're someone who always fails, your actions will line up with that story. And when the inevitable setback comes, because it always does, your brain goes see. Do it. But here's the good news, that voice that story, it's not permanent and it's not you. It's just the thought and thoughts can be changed.

Let's sit at that for a second. Thoughts can be changed. That doesn't mean the old ones won't creep back in. They will, but with awareness and practice, they lose their grip. You can start to recognize that critical voice, not as some inner compass, but as an outdated script that doesn't match the life you're trying to build.

Every time you choose a better thought, every time you interrupt the old loop, you begin to write a new one. Let's talk for a second about identity. You don't rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your belief in yourself. If you still believe you're the overweight one or the lazy one, or the person who gives up or like me that you're the used to guy.

Your actions will follow that identity. That's why so many diets fail, not because the plans are bad, but because the person following the plan hasn't changed how they see themselves. Real change isn't about doing healthy things. It's about becoming a healthy person. It's not about forcing behaviors, it's about shifting identity.

When your identity changes, your decisions feel less like battles and more like habits. Look, let me give you a real example. I used to say, I'm trying to eat healthy Now. I say I'm someone who fuels their body with care. One is effort. The other is embodiment. One is temporary, the other is sustainable.

Here's the kicker. Identity isn't something you earn after results. It's something you claim first and then you grow into it over time. You don't fake it, you practice it. Think about that for a second. What would a shift in your life look like if you stopped waiting to feel ready and just started living like the version of you that already cares about their health?

What if you acted like the kind of person who keeps promises to themselves even before you fully believe it? Let me tell you a little bit about my own turning point. I. My identity shift did not happen overnight. I didn't wake up one morning as a new person. I struggled. I failed. I got frustrated. I made progress.

I slipped again, and I got back on the horse and rode forward. But what changed is that I stopped making it mean something about my worth. I stopped making every setback a full blown story about how I was broken. I also started to see my patterns. Late night binges, all or nothing mentality, perfectionism.

And instead of judging myself, I got curious. I stayed committed, I zoomed out and focused on the long game. And in the process, I started building a new identity through small, honestly boring, repeated actions, drinking water, logging my meals. Taking a walk and taking up running, even when I didn't feel like it, saying no, when I wanted to say yes to old habits, but being honest with myself and slowly respect grew, not perfection, respect.

That's what kept me going on the hard days. And you know what wins? I celebrate now. Yeah. Hitting a goal is cool. The 50 k, the jeans that fit me again, uh, the, the fact that my, my, my stomach's not protruding over my pants. Um, but I celebrate more when I wake up and go into a workout without an inner debate.

When I sit down at a restaurant and look at a menu and try to make the best choice I can. When I stop binging mid spiral, I put the chips back in the cabinet and I walk away. It happens when I catch myself in a negative thought and I say, nah, that's not true anymore. So when I look in the mirror, I don't flinch.

I look at myself with gratitude and honest appreciation for the work I've done and the work that I'm doing. Those are milestones and they're invisible to the world for the most part. But they mean everything. Okay. Let's zoom out a little. How do you actually shift your mindset? What does that look like day to day?

First of all, it starts with awareness. Pay close attention to your self-talk when you mess up. What do you say to yourself when you succeed? Do you own it and celebrate it or brush it off? In this process, you're not trying to get rid of those negative thoughts forever. You are learning to catch them, call them out before they take root.

In those moments, ask yourself, take a pause. Is this thought actually true? Even if it feels true, is it useful? In that process, you can start replacing the, I can't with, this is hard, but I can figure it out. You take on that learning mindset, you can replace, I failed again with. Well, that wouldn't work. I'm still learning.

Let's try something else. If you do those things honestly and repeatedly, you can build a new inner voice, one that supports you instead of sabotages you. Now for the science nerds in the room, yes, there is real research behind this. A psychologist Carol Dweck coined the term growth mindset, and that's to describe the belief that our abilities can be developed through dedication and effort.

People with a growth mindset are more resilient. They fail and bounce back. They don't let setbacks define them. They learn, they adapt, and they keep going. Look, this is not just a theory, it's a performance tool. Athletes use it, leaders use it, students use it. Anyone who's chasing long-term change can benefit from it.

You can build this mindset like you build a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. So let me leave you with this. If you are stuck, if change feels impossible, if you keep ending up back where you started, it's probably not your willpower. Probably not the plan you're trying. Maybe it's the story you're still living within your mind, and if that is true, you can rewrite it.

This week, your challenge is to act like the version of you that already believes they're worth the effort. Each day, pause and ask yourself, what would the healthy, consistent version of me be doing right now? Then do one small thing in alignment with that version of you. It could be as simple as saying no to a habit that doesn't serve you taking a walk instead of scrolling on your phone.

Logging your food. Even if the day wasn't perfect, it could be speaking kindly to yourself. When you mess up at the end of the week, write down three moments where you showed up as that version of you. No matter how small memorialize that, remember it.

You don't need to become someone new. You just need to return to the version of you who believes they're worth the effort. Or create a version of you that feels that way because you are worth the effort.  📍 Thanks for hanging with me today. If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who's in the thick of their own shift.

Visit. Use two guide.com for more and remember, you don't need to be perfect. You just need to keep showing up and keep moving forward.