What is the greatest weight loss secret? Is it lowering your food intake? Is it increasing your exercise? Is it a new magic pill or diet drink?
There is a fellow down the hall from my office. For several months now he has been trying to convince everyone he sees that this new magic, all-natural pill has helped him lose 30 pounds in less than 2 months. He claimed he has lost over 90 pounds total. What he fails to say is that over 60 of that came from lap-band surgery. Then he gained some of the weight back and now uses these pills to help him go on a starvation-like diet.
Another friend of mine and his wife are telling everyone that together they lost a combined 105 pounds in 3 months. He lost 55 and she lost 45. They found a doctor that gave them some kind of injection and they lived on a 500 calorie a day diet... another form of starvation.
Of course you don't have to watch much TV or listen to the radio very long before an advertisement for some new and miraculous cure for obesity comes on. The irony is that none of those magic ingredients are nearly as powerful as one simple reality:
What is the greatest secret to weight loss? It is this simple... "if you can see it you can be it"
Do you remember the old story about putting fleas in a jar? The story goes that if you put a bunch of fleas in a glass jar and screw the lid on they will start trying to jump out. Now, fleas are supposed to be extraordinary jumpers and could normally jump right out of the jar were it not for the lid. After a day or so, you can remove the lid and the fleas will jump but only to the top of the jar and not beyond. That's because they have become conditioned to only jump so high and, I suppose, prevent themselves from being injured by hitting the lid (which has now been removed).
We do that exact same thing. Over the years we have created imaginary barriers that we perceive to be limits to our success. Unfortunately, many of these barriers were put in place before we were 6 years old. But the point is, they are imaginary... not real. But, just like the fleas, we perceive them to be real and thus they limit our ability to move past them.
So, what does this have to do with your losing weight? It's everything! One of the most neglected elements in weight loss is actually seeing yourself at your ideal weight. When you can paint a mental picture of yourself at your ideal weight, you will have essentially won the battle.
Why do people buy magic pills and potions and spend millions of dollars on gimmicks to lose weight? It's because these things promise to break the barriers that are keeping you from losing. And, they work, at least temporarily. However, when you can break your own barriers when you remove you own "lid". You will reach your ideal weight, without the aid of pills and potions and can you can maintain it forever! See it, be it.
How do you paint the picture and destroy your mental barriers?
I am going to share a technique used by Natalie Ledwell as part of her MindMovies.
- You sit down in a comfortable place. You close your eyes and begin to take deep, relaxing breaths.
- Get as relaxed as you possibly can. Your arms and legs feel warm and a bit heavy.
- With your eyes still closed begin mentally counting backwards from 10 to 1. As you count down, feel yourself relaxing deeper with every number.
- Now, picture yourself in a beautiful place. Maybe on a beach or in a meadow. Wherever you can feel nature. You feel safe and totally at ease. You notice your surrounds. What are you hearing? What do you smell? Is it warm? Is there a breeze gently blowing? Just savor the peace and beauty of this place.
- Now as you are in your safe and beautiful place, imagine 2 pictures appearing in front of you. One is very large and positioned directly in front of you. The other is much smaller and positioned in the upper left hand corner of your view.
- Stare at the larger picture. It is you at your current weight. As hard as you try, you can't lose weight. You try to eat less. You try to exercise. You try to do all the right things but you are still heavy and can't seem to do anything about it. You are a failure. You feel all alone and not even worthy to be slender. Feel this pain. Feel this heartbreak. Face this picture head on.
- Now, notice the smaller picture. It is up in the left hand corner and much smaller than the one in front of you. But it's different. It is a picture of you and you are at your perfect weight. You are happy. You feel younger than you have in years. Your friends are showering you with compliments. You are active, doing the exciting things you have always wanted to do. You look incredible.
- Now, in an instant, switch the pictures with a snap. The picture of you at your ideal weight is now in front of you and the "old you" is in the background.
- The old picture keeps trying to come back and dominate your view but every time it does, snap it back so that the "new you" remains in front of you. Keep snapping the "new you" picture to the foreground until it is all that you are conscious of.
- This is you. Feel yourself smiling as you feel so alive and happy. It's a beautiful picture.
- With this picture firmly planted in your minds eye, start wiggling your toes and fingers. Bring yourself back to consciousness, alive and feeling refreshed.
Try spending 10 minutes a day painting your own mental picture of yourself at your dream weight. I think you will be very impressed with the result.
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