It’s so annoying isn’t it?!
You KNOW you need to plan your food / snack less / drink less wine / stop eating chocolate after dinner every night / exercise more etc etc.
But you just can’t seem to do it for more than a few days before you slip.
Why is that???
It could be down to the image you have inside your head.
We all have a picture in our heads of who we are – our own self-image.
This image is something we often don’t realise and don’t tend to question – we just believe it to be true.
You might find yourself saying things like ‘that’s me, that’s who I am’.
With weight loss, you’ll say things like:
‘I just can’t say no!’ or
‘I’ve never liked exercise’ or
‘I have an uncontrollable sweet tooth’
Quite often, though, this belief about who we are massively holds us back from achieving what we really want – not just weight loss, but great relationships, more money, more success at work…generally all the things that would make us truly happy.
Our self-image is usually based on opinions and ideas that we’ve picked up from ourselves and others over time.
And it controls EVERYTHING.
What you can or can’t do, what you find difficult or easy, and all your actions, thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
It’s a fact of human nature that we HAVE to stay consistent with our self-image.
So if we believe we are weak-willed when it comes to alcohol, we literally HAVE to say ‘Oh go on then!’ when offered another glass of wine.
We are programmed to stay consistent with the image we have of who we are, and we literally cannot act differently for any sustained period of time.
So even if you wrestle with yourself and say no this time, eventually you will cave.
That Chocolate Will Find You
If not this time, that glass of wine or those extra chocolates will get you next time.
Or that pizza will find it’s way onto your lap even though you SWORE you wouldn’t order another takeaway this month.
Unless you change your inner thoughts and beliefs.
It’s all about strong willpower right?
No.
That might be part of it for you. Everyone is different. But conscious effort and willpower to make changes will NEVER work long term if those changes go against your beliefs about yourself.
About who you are and what you’re capable of.
If you have a ‘fat’ self-image, believe you have an uncontrollable sweet tooth, ‘just can’t say no’ to food and drink, or can’t find the time for exercise, you will MASSIVELY struggle to lose weight and keep it off.
Does this sound familiar?
You can’t out-perform or escape the way you see yourself.
If you’re struggling with doing what you KNOW you need to do to lose weight, chances are you’re following unhelpful patterns that have been programmed into your subconscious.
They are basically ingrained in your self-image and are causing you to sabotage yourself.
And the great news is that you CAN change this, and it can lead to amazing results.
How You Can Change Things
Without sounding all hippy, new age and woo woo, what you need to do is start visualising who you want to be, how you WANT to think and feel, and what success you want to achieve, so that your subconscious mind can get to work on making it happen.
Most of us spend waaaay too much time thinking about what we don’t want.
‘I don’t want to be fat’
‘I don’t want to feel embarrassed in a swimming costume’
‘I don’t want to deprive myself from all my favourite foods by going on a diet’ (you don’t have to do this btw)
‘I don’t want to exercise’
Whatever we think about often (and think about deeply with emotion and feeling) is what our subconscious mind will help to create.
It doesn’t recognise the difference between positive and negative. It just goes after what you think about.
Keep picturing everything you don’t want, and feeling unhappy about it too, and that’s what you’ll get!
You need to start programming your mind to be successful.
Think about how you want to look and feel.
Think about feeling slim, fit and wearing your swimsuit with pride.
Think about feeling in total control of what you eat, and loving the results you’re getting.
Think about yourself ENJOYING the feeling of exercise, pushing yourself and feeling stronger and healthier every week.
Sure, it’s not as simple as just picturing all this great stuff – you still have to put the effort in. But you’ll find it SO much easier and be SO much more motivated if you can see it in your mind’s eye first.
A lot of people say they can’t visualise.
Have you ever thought of the worst-case scenario about an event or situation, and made yourself feel 10 times worse than necessary?
Then you’ve done visualisation!
If you can do it negatively, you can do it positively too.
What is it You Really Want?
Whenever you notice yourself thinking negatively, or thinking generally unhelpful thoughts (I think about food waaaay to often), stop yourself and picture what you WANT instead.
This will get easier over time.
Ideally, spend a few minutes each morning and evening doing this, and keep aiming to get the thoughts so clear that it’s like watching a little movie of yourself. The goal is to feel emotion too – excitement and happiness at how great it’s going to be. Picture it as if you’ve already done it, and feel great about it NOW.
Would you be prepared to try doing this every day for 3 weeks?
The author of the book believes that if you do, you’ll never want to stop.
Having seen and experienced this myself, and listened to some of the most successful people in the world talking about it too, I’d highly recommend it. What have you got to lose?
I think the important thing to add is that you then do SOMETHING, just one small act or task each day, to prove to yourself that you are heading towards that goal.
Go out for a 10 minute walk. Eat an apple when you could have had a chocolate bar. Cook a healthy new recipe for dinner and enjoy it. Drink a glass of water when feeling hungry for a snack. Buy a new workout top. Set your alarm 10 minutes earlier. Say no to that piece of cake. Picture your goal. Feel in control.
Vision + consistent action = results. And this work
s for everyone.
Pleeease don’t just read this and think ‘oh that sounds like a good idea’ and then do nothing about it!
You CAN change things.
You CAN have the body and life that you want.
But you have to BELIEVE that you can. SEE what you want and MOVE towards it CONSISTENTLY.
Are you up for the challenge?
If you’re willing, send me a quick email and let me know what you’re going to start picturing and taking action on.
And if I can help in any way, you know where I am 🙂