6 Fat Loss Mindset Shifts That Sped Up My Results (Without Cutting More Calories)
6 Fat Loss Mindset Shifts That Sped Up My Results
(Without Cutting More Calories)
When I think back to the pandemic years, one of the most challenging things for me wasn’t just being stuck inside (Melbourne had super strict lockdowns), it was how much I felt like my body and mind were slipping away from me.
Living in Melbourne during the strictest phase of the lockdowns, we were only allowed to leave the house for an hour a day.
My usual routine of lifting in the gym completely disappeared. I was working from home, snacking every other day from stress, sleeping 10 hours a night but waking up feeling like I hadn’t slept at all.
My nervous system was fried, my stress was through the roof (before I even knew I had ADHD and was autistic), and the weight gain crept up, slowly, but noticeably enough for me to feel uncomfortable.
When I finally had the energy to take back some control, I started small: getting my steps up, focusing on meals that supported my brain and my mood rather than just my body, and slowly reintroducing training. But the biggest shift wasn’t in my body, it was in my mindset.
Here are the fat loss mindset shifts that completely changed my approach to health and made the results stick.
1. It’s okay to feel a little bit hungry
This one was huge for me.
I used to feel uncomfortable with being hungry. I grew up a “clean plate club” family, where we would have to sit at the dinner table until our meals were finished. I was used to feeling full.
And being neurodivergent, especially when I was growing up, I would only notice the “extremes” of feelings, not hungry until I was starving, not satiated until I was full.
I could only recognise things when they reached their utmost end point.
I remember exactly what broke this line of thinking about being ‘full’ for me.
A friend and I were visiting a mutual friend, and when we were leaving the friend who came with me was going to a separate place and had a long drive ahead of her. She was eating some snacks while we were talking, and then she said, “I can’t decide whether to finish this or not.. I’ve got a really long drive.”
And without even thinking the first thing that came out of my mouth was, “Just finish it, you might get hungry later.”
IMMEDIATELY I stopped and said out loud, “WHAT a weird thing to say…. of course you’ll be hungry later!”
If you’re satiatied (but not stuffed), that is where you stop, you’re going to get hungry again later anyway.
A mild level of hunger is just a signal that your body is using energy, which is exactly what we want in a fat loss phase. Physiologically, ghrelin (your hunger hormone) rises and falls in a wave, so that hunger you feel isn’t a permanent state. When I stopped seeing hunger as an emergency and started seeing it as a sign that my metabolism was working, I stopped the “urgent snacking” cycle.
When you’re losing body fat expect that between your meals and before bed you might feel a little peckish (not starving, that’s too much), but you shouldn’t be feeling ‘full/stuffed’ after every meal!
2. “I have to eat healthy, it’s the only way to get results”
When I reframed healthy eating from punishment to privilege, everything changed.
Food became less about “good” or “bad” and more about how it supported my training, my brain, my hormones, and even my autism & ADHD.
Certain foods that were high in sugar or too processed were actually triggering more sensory overwhelm and shut-downs for me, so choosing balanced, whole meals wasn’t just for fat loss, it was for quality of life.
When you focus on the function of food (fuel, recovery, mental clarity) rather than moralising it, you’re less likely to binge or rebel against your plan.
Here’s the thing about moralising food:
When you label food as “good” or “bad,” what you’re really doing is labelling yourself as good or bad for eating it.
It turns eating into a moral scorecard.
Subconsciously, you might be trying to control yourself through shame… as if punishing yourself will somehow make you behave “better” next time. But shame isn’t a good long-term motivator.
When you focus on the function of food instead, like how it fuels your workouts, helps your body recover, keeps hormones in ideal ranges, and keeps your brain sharp, you take away the moral drama.
Food becomes neutral data: does this serve me right now, or will I feel better with a different choice?
This mindset not only reduces binges and rebellion against your plan, it creates a much calmer, more empowered relationship with food.
3. “If the scale stalls, I’m not losing fat” vs Looking at trends, measurements, photos, and non-scale wins
The scale is just one single data point.. and honestly, it’s often the loudest but least reliable one.
There are so many variables that can cause your weight to fluctuate day-to-day that have nothing to do with fat gain or fat loss.
Things like:
Stress & cortisol: High stress can lead to fluid retention, making the scale spike even if you’re in a calorie deficit.
Hormonal changes: Your menstrual cycle can cause fluctuations of 1–3kg depending on the phase you’re in.
Digestion & gut content: How much food is still being processed in your system can shift the number significantly.
Sodium intake: A salty meal can make you hold onto extra water for 24–48 hours.
Carbohydrate intake: Carbs store with water in your muscles and liver, so eating more carbs (even within your calories) can make the scale go up temporarily.
Muscle damage from training: A hard gym session can cause inflammation and swelling, which shows up as extra “weight” even though it’s not fat.
Hydration levels: Dehydration can make the number drop, while extra fluids can make it rise — neither reflects real fat change.
Sleep quality: Poor sleep increases stress hormones and can temporarily increase scale weight.
Once I started weighing myself daily and taking the average each week, everything shifted for me.
I began to see the scale the same way I see the temperature outside, just neutral data, not a verdict on whether I was “good” or “bad.”
This took the emotional charge out of the number and let me focus on the actual trend over weeks and months.
Some days were higher, some lower, but the overall direction showed me I was on track.
4. Messed up? Reset the next meal.. not the next day
I used to tell myself, “I’ll start again tomorrow,” any time I had an off-plan meal.. which usually meant the rest of the day turned into a free-for-all.
But fat loss doesn’t work like that.
It happens over weeks and months, not in a single perfect day.
When I shifted my thinking to, “What’s my next choice?” everything changed.
Instead of waiting for a fresh start tomorrow, I made the next meal an opportunity to get back on track.
This stopped me from creating those random calorie surpluses that were slowing down my progress and taught my brain that one imperfect meal doesn’t have the power to derail my whole plan.
Over time, this broke the cycle of all-or-nothing thinking, which is one of the biggest psychological roadblocks to fat loss, and helped me stay consistent without feeling like I was constantly starting over.
5. Recovery is part of the process, not laziness.
I can’t emphasise this one enough: your body doesn’t change during the workout, it changes after the workout when you’re resting and eating.
Skipping rest days can elevate cortisol and keep your body in a stressed, inflamed state that actually slows fat loss.
I started prioritising good sleep, breathwork, and gentle recovery days , and ironically, that’s when the fat loss sped up.
6. “Less food = faster fat loss” changed to “The right deficit is the fastest way.”
When I lost a large amount of weight back in 2017, I was unintentionally under-eating.
Sure, the scale went down quickly, but so did my strength, my energy, and honestly, my enjoyment of training.
I felt flat, tired, and weak, and that wasn’t how I wanted to feel in my body long-term.
This time around, I was determined to do it differently.
I wanted to keep my strength, my performance in the gym, and the muscle I’d worked so hard to build.
That meant creating the right calorie deficit.. one that was enough to drive fat loss but still gave me the fuel to lift heavy, recover well, and show up for life outside of the gym.
Not only did this approach feel better physically, but it was also so much easier to stay consistent week after week.
And honestly, the first step was simply knowing what my real numbers were, how many calories my body actually needed to function well and still lose fat. If you’re not sure where to start, I built a free Calorie & Macro Calculator that does the maths for you.
It’ll give you your personalised targets straight to your inbox, and you can start using them today to build your own strength-preserving fat loss plan.
Since making these shifts, I’ve never gone back past my “comfortable” body fat percentage, even through life changes, travel, and high-stress periods.
The changes were no longer temporary, because they weren’t just about a quick fix.
They changed the way I think about food, training, and recovery permanently.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “This is me right now”.. stressed, tired, unsure where to start.. this is exactly what I help my 1:1 coaching clients with every day. Together we create a plan that works for your body, your brain, and your lifestyle. If you’d like my support, you can apply for coaching here — I’d love to work with you. 🖤
Hey there, I’m Rachel!
NUTRITIONIST, PERSONAL TRAINER, WELLNESS COACH
If you’re ready to ditch the all-or-nothing mindset and build a strong, confident body—you're in the right place.
✨ Start with my free 5-day Mini Mindset Reset to design a healthy lifestyle that actually fits your life.
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