Diets actually work against you as you try to achieve your weight loss goals; but there is a secret weapon for making yourself thinner and healthier: your mind. It might seem ironic, but the key to a thinner and healthier body is, well, all in your head. In fact, it’s virtually impossible to lose weight without having the right attitude and frame of mind. As you have discovered if you read my e-book, Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind here’s how you can create a “mental blueprint” for weight loss success:
The First Step to a Thinner and Healthier You!
Zig Ziglar once asked, “How can you hit a target if you don’t have one?” Of course, he was referring to setting goals so you can move more confidently toward them. But having a goal is only the first step on the journey to a sustainable healthy weight. The real key to successful weight loss is being able to visualize yourself already thin!
One of the main reasons people struggle to lose weight is because they have a mental image of themselves being heavy, miserable, stressed and unhappy. And what you think about becomes real – a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your thoughts expand and amplify. In other words… Where your attention goes, your energy flows. What you think about comes about. You reap what you sow! Get the picture? Good!
Dr. Wayne Dyer said, that “thoughts are things.” Unfortunately, people who struggle to get thin tend to focus on what is rather than what will be. Of course, you must come to terms with where you are in your struggle, but you can’t allow yourself to mentally dwell there or you will not be able to move toward the new and improved you!
Meeting the Future You
So let go of that negative image of yourself. Look beyond the person you see in the mirror today and begin to see yourself being the way you want to be. Looking the way you want to look, feeling the way you want to feel, thinking and speaking positive thoughts, behaving the way you want to behave – and having what you want to have!
See yourself already there, the goal accomplished, with all the obstacles behind you. Feels pretty good, doesn’t it? And just from this preliminary imagining, you’ll find your mood improving and your confidence building. And when that negative inner voice of fear speaks up, you can silence it with this reply: “Everything that has ever been accomplished or created first appeared as a wishful thought in the mind of a believer!”
As you continue to tune into a mental picture of yourself looking and feeling great, that picture will become clearer over time. If you need inspiration in the beginning, get out a piece of clothing you want to be able to fit back into, or find a picture of yourself when you were slimmer. Indeed, you were thinner and healthier once – you can be that way again!
If you are not a particularly visual person and have trouble picturing the new you in your mind, talk yourself through it. Repeat positive affirmations frequently. Let your voice make it real if your “mind’s eye” can’t quite get you there. Pretty soon you’ll be able to actually feel yourself being thinner, being healthier, and being more confident, as well as more active and attractive.
More Reasons to Master Visualization
Ultimately, of course, being healthier is the key benefit of your weight loss aspirations. But along the way, being able to imagine yourself achieving this improved lifestyle has other benefits. You’ll also be able to:
- pre-program your mind to respond more positively and confidently in future situations. With enough reinforcing practice, you’ll be able to totally eliminate self-sabotage from your thoughts and actions before it ever begins.
- feel the healthy emotions you want to feel right now, and tap into them to keep you focused and on track to achieve your weight loss goal.
- stay motivated because positive mental self-conditioning is contagious even within yourself. Soon your negative inner voice will be much quieter and less persistent, drowned out by the stronger, more motivated and capable you!
The Bottom Line
Becoming a thinner and healthier person is possible. If you can conceive it, you can achieve it! To reach your weight loss goal, however, you must imagine that what you want is already here! You are already thin. It’s just that there is a layer of fat covering you up. But because you are approaching your weight loss journey with a new attitude and a mental picture of yourself being thin, that layer of fat will melt away like an ice cube on a hot summer day. And each day as YOU continue to shine, it melts away more and more, letting the world see what you already imagine: a slimmer, trimmer, more attractive and confident you!
Of course, being able to picture yourself thin and using that to propel your weight loss is just part of the secret to body transformation. You can learn more from my Healthy Transformations blog here. And for the full discussion of how to use your mind to set the stage for weight loss, check out my e-book, Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind? Finally, for even more information on how you can lose weight, click here or contact me at 317.579.7500.
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Tim Shurr, MA, is President of Shurr! Success, Inc., a personal and professional development company based in Indianapolis, and Director of Indy Hypnosis Center. He is an award-winning speaker, business strategist, TV personality, and an internationally known expert in Peak Performance. For more tips, visit www.OvercomeSelfSabotageNow.com or www.indyhypnosis.com/blog.