Weight Loss Starts in Your Head!

Are you a ‘look-and-lose’ dieter? Did you study every diet ever created, read diet books billions, but still happy with your weight? Are you searching for the holy grail of dieting be a substitute for actually making the changes needed to take the pain out of your diet today? If so, you may not be aware of your thoughts is the key to your happiness and success.

Did you look at yourself and say, “I’m fat”, or “My hips are too big”? Many of us look in the mirror and immediately compare ourselves to those ‘perfect’ human specimens we see every day on TV, in magazines and newspapers.

Often we talk to yourself and making excuses, “It’s my genes”, “I’m too busy to get fit”, “I like myself”, as a way to protect ourselves from the way we see ourselves now and the way we want to be.

If we are truly honest with ourselves most people really want to lose a few pounds – if we only knew how.

The good news is you CAN achieve your desired body shape with the right idea about yourself, an understanding of how to get optimal nutrition, healthy eating habits and how to incorporate activity into your lifestyle to keep your muscles toned.

But the most important of all, you need a regular mental exercise to keep your self-image in shape.

Self-image is strongly associated with success or failure of any destination you choose to look after, but no more so that the goal to get yourself fit and healthy.

So how do you go about strengthening your self-image? Well fortunately your self-image, like your muscles, will respond well to exercise regularly. You can actually strengthen your self-image with some daily exercise.

Exercise One – Self Examination

Start by compiling a list of all the negative thoughts about yourself you have … I was not disciplined, I can not manage my time, I let people down, I can not work, I do not exercise enough. You will need to decide before you start this process that you will not get discouraged …. These are the things you will admit to themselves but they certainly do not need to control your life.

Next, compile a second list including everything you LIKE about yourself. This continues until the list is LONGER than the first list you compiled. You might include things like, I’m a good cook, I can make people laugh, I contribute to the football club, my son liked the way I decorate his room.

Then, take the list of ‘negative’ and turn it into your list of ‘potential’. You do this by creating a positive self-image for every ‘negative’ you listed. Instead of “I can not succeed”, write a counter belief, “I will succeed”.

Ceremonially dispose of a list of ‘negative’ – you say goodbye forever! Burn them, trash them, destroy them … them. No longer will be part of your thinking about yourself.

Now, keep a list of your potential in a prominent place. At the door of your refrigerator, in your daily journal, or in a picture frame on your desk. Make sure you have them in front on a daily basis so you read them constantly and reprogramming your mind everyday.

Exercise Two: You Can Be What You Want

Now that you have a list of potential … running the story itself visualization so you can ‘see’ yourself in a new light. For example, if a potential list includes “I eat only a portion of the right”, visualize yourself with a moderate portion on your plate, and feel totally satisfied at the end of your meal.

Read the list of potentials every day taking a few moments of quiet time to reflect strong personal in your visualization. Try starting your day first thing in the morning and finishing as the last thing at night by visualizing yourself into someone on your list, and do the things you want to do.

Exercise Three: Make a Journal of Your Daily Success

Keep track of all the positive changes in your mind about yourself. We all have triumphs and ‘failures’. You must record and remind yourself of the positive changes because human nature we will replay negatives – sometimes blowing them out of proportion. It is important to preserve and celebrate the small steps you make every day.

Exercise Four: Go Easy On Yourself – You Are Beautiful Work In Progress

Do not listen to critics … not your own or someone else! Remember you are a designer your self esteem, do not hand it to someone else. You are too important to give this a go. Protect your role as a creator of your own self-image and do not, take on board negative criticisms. We all make mistakes, and mistakes can be used to help us learn. Do not criticize yourself for being human and making mistakes. The only last mistake in one of which we never learn to grow.

Exercise Five: Forget About Then

The only time you can live is one of those times. You can not live in the future and you certainly do not have to live in the past …. The challenge is to take over our minds so that we think in the same time zone in which we live!

For example we might be tempted to think about failure yesterday … “If only I had not eaten second helpings”, “If I do not reach for the chocolate cookies”. If we concentrate on the mistakes of the past will be our brains to replay our failures and strengthen them to us.

Yesterday is over, today is where you live …. Make sure that today you do NOT repeat the failures of yesterday and make your resolve to change TODAY.

Exercise Six: Resolve to Change Today

Just like you do not have to live in the past, you can not live in the future. You can only live or change today. The oldest cliche in the world is perhaps one of the biggest axioms of all … ‘Tomorrow NEVER comes! ”

There’s no better time than now. So, no matter what reason you may have to wait to take healthy steps you know you should take, none of them are valid. Do it now, do it today. Decide to make a different in your own life before you go to bed tonight.

Exercise Seven: Write a Plan For Your Life

This is your success plan. If you have not done it is time for you to create direction and purpose in your plans for yourself. Review the list of potential and the next record with the potential of each when you want to achieve this with.

Exercise Eight: Carry Affirmation Cards About Yourself

This is one of the fastest tools for your success. You are what you think. Strengthen your self-image every day by reviewing your mind. One of the easiest ways to do this is to bring the confirmation card in your wallet and review regularly. Affirmations are short bursts of words in the card business cards that ask and remind your self-image of your intentions. An example might be:

* I can achieve something that I make up my mind.

* I will be satisfied with a single portion.

Try it, you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Exercise Nine: Change Your Eating Habits

Now that you have set the foundation in place, you are now ready to change your physical habits. You are ready to add a balanced nutritious diet, healthy eating habits, regular exercise and relaxation.

By using nine exercises daily to change your thinking habits, you will strengthen your self esteem and open up your internal resources to make changes in your life. Before you can change the eating habits of a lifetime, you must first change the living habits of thinking. We are what we think. We can not become something other than what we believe we can!

So, do yourself a favor, freeing your self-image and then, see how much more effective your healthy living plan becomes!

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