How You Think Determines Your Weight!
Are you a 'look-and-lose' dieter? Have you studied every
diet ever created, read a zillion diet books, and yet are
still unhappy with your weight? Has your quest for the holy
grail of dieting become a substitute for actually making
changes required to take the ill health out of your current
diet? If so, you may not realise your thoughts are key to
your happiness and success.
 Do
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
single day on TV, in magazines and in the newspapers.
Often we talk to ourselves and make excuses, "It's my
genes", "I'm much too busy to think about a diet right now",
"I like myself this", "I'll start a diet after Christmas",
as a way of protecting yourself from the way we see
ourselves now and the way we want to be.
If we were to be truly honest with ourselves most people
actually 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 thinking 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 most important of all, you need a regular mental workout
to keep your self-image in shape.
Self-image is closely connected to the success or failure of
any goal you choose to seek after, but none 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, just like your muscles, will
respond well to a regular work out. You can actually
strengthen your self-image with a few daily exercises.
Exercise One: Self Examination
Start by compiling a list of all those negative thoughts
your have about yourself…I'm undisciplined, I can't manage
my time, I let people down, I can't succeed, I don't
exercise enough. You will need to decide before you start
this process that you won't get discouraged….these are
things that you will admit to yourself but they most
certainly don't have to control your life.
Next, compile a second list including everything you LIKE
about yourself. Keep going until this list is LONGER than
the first list you compiled. You might include things such
as, I am a good cook, I can make people laugh, I contribute
to the soccer club, my daughter loves the way I decorate her
room.
Then, take your 'negatives' list and turn it into your
'potentials' list. You do this by creating a positive
self-image to every 'negative' you listed. Instead of "I
can't succeed", write a counter belief, "I will succeed".
Ceremonially
throw out the 'negatives' list - you are saying goodbye
forever! Burn them, trash them, destroy them….they are no
longer going to be a part of your thinking about yourself.
Now, keep your list of potentials in a prominent place. On
your refrigerator door, in your daily journal, or in a
picture frame on your desk. Make sure you have them in front
on your every single day so that you are reading them
constantly and reprogramming your daily thoughts.
Exercise Two: You Can Be What You Want to Be
Now that you have your list of potentials… run your own
visualisation stories so that you can 'see' yourself in a
new light. For example, if your list of potential includes
"I eat just the right portions", visualise yourself with a
moderate portion on your plate, and feeling completely
satisfied at the conclusion of your meal.
Read through your list of potentials every day taking a few
moments of personal quiet time to reflect strongly on your
visualisations. Try starting your day first thing in the
morning and finishing as the last thing at night with
visualising yourself being the person on your list, and
doing the things you want to do.
Exercise Three: Keep a Journal of Your Daily Successes
Keep a record of all the positive changes in thoughts you
have about yourself. We all have triumphs and 'failures'.
You must record and remind yourself of the positive changes
because our human nature will replay the negatives -
sometimes blowing them out of proportion. It's important to
nurture and celebrate the small steps you make every day.
Exercise Four: Go Easy On Yourself - You Are Beautiful Work
In Progress
Don't listen to the criticism…not your own nor that of
others! Remember you are the designer of your self-esteem,
do not hand this over to other people.
You
are way too important to give this away. Protect your role
as 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 criticise yourself for
being human and making a mistake. The only last mistake in
the one from which we never learn to grow.
Exercise Five: Forget About The Past
The only moment you can live is the current one. You can't
live in the future and you most certainly shouldn't live in
the past….the challenge is to take charge of our thinking so
that we think in the same time zone in which we live!
For example we may be tempted to think about yesterday's
failures…"If only I hadn't eaten second helpings", "If only
I didn't reach for the chocolate cookies". If we concentrate
on the mistakes of yesterday this will our brains to replay
our failures and reinforce them to us.
Yesterday is over, today is where you live….make sure that
today you do NOT replay yesterday's failures and make your
resolve to change TODAY.
Exercise Six: Resolve to Change Today
Just as you shouldn't live in the past, you can't live in
the future. You can only live or change today. The oldest
cliché in the world is perhaps one of the greatest truisms
of all…'tomorrow NEVER comes!'
There is no better time than now. So, no matter what excuses
you may have to wait to take those healthy steps you know
you should take, none of them are valid. Do it now, do it
today. Resolve to make a different in your own life before
you go to sleep tonight.
Exercise Seven: Write a Plan For your Life
This is your success plan. If you have not already done so
it is time for you to create direction and purpose in your
plans for yourself. Review your list of potentials and
record next to each potential when you want to achieve this
by.
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
thoughts.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to carry affirmation
cards in your wallet and review regularly. Affirmation cards
are short bursts of words in business card that prompt and
remind your self-image of your intentions. An example might
be:
Try it, you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything
to gain!
Exercise Nine: Change Your Eating Habits
Now that you have set the groundwork 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 these nine exercises daily to change your thinking
habits, you will be strengthening your self esteem and
unlocking your internal power to make a change in your life.
Before you can change lifelong eating habits, you must first
change life long thinking habits. We are what we think. We
can't be something other than what we believe we can be!
So, do yourself a favour, liberate your self-image and then,
see how much more effective your healthy living plan
becomes!
- Source: Adapted from Herbalife Today Magazine
| 
Fast track weight loss with 
