To increase the success rate of any weight management
program, we have to shift our thinking of "weight loss" as
something that suggests deprivation, hunger or loss to
something that suggests growth, development, and gain.
Weight loss is not loss, but the building of a lean, powerful
body. Losing weight is not losing at all, but gaining a newly
reconfigured body. The best way to do this is to enlist the
power of your mind. Visualize yourself at your ideal weight.
Focus on your slim and slender body, your well-shaped
legs. Imagine yourself living a powerful, dynamic life.
Would you be bingeing yourself to death? Make this
positive visualization of your ideal self a daily practice until
you find it actually easy to see yourself as lean, strong and
beautiful. Next time you feel like wolfing down a whole
chocolate cake, shift your mind to that slender body and
well-shaped legs.
'Hunger" is another word we need to reclaim. We think that
we have to be hungry to be slim. That is not so at all. We
just need to be able to differentiate between real hunger
and emotional hunger. Take time out and ask yourself, "Am
I really hungry?" Think twice before putting anything in
your mouth. If you decide that you are indeed hungry, then
eat, but make sure that what you eat honors your body.
Make sure it is nutritious food and not empty calories. If
you decide the sense of deprivation you are feeling is
emotional hunger, then the searching has to go deeper.
Are you lonely? Angry? Stifled? Resentful? What is
bothering you? Decide if you will take this anger out on
your body or take the more courageous route: have it out
and come to terms with it. Speak out what it is that makes
you mad, sad, uneasy. Don't be afraid to dig. The best
things have come from the darkest pits of the earth.
Know yourself! Know when your most vulnerable moments
are. Know when you are most susceptible to being
sabotaged by your partner's sneer, your mother's
disbelief, your sister's insistence that you don't have it in
you. (Families are so supportive, aren't they?) Understand
that your decision to change challenges their status quo
and families are known to resist change (Don't rock the
boat!). Once you understand where your Achilles' heel is,
develop a list of strategies to deal with the issue when it
rises. Arm your mind: if you understand where they are
coming from, it is easier to be less defensive and
submissive. Arm your fridge: should you be swayed by
these difficult moments to binge, have a whole fridge of
allowable snacks so that even though you indulge in 2, 3
items, there is no harm done.
Plan your day ahead. If you must have a snack before
bedtime, make sure that you have low-fat, high protein
snacks accessible in the fridge so that you do not opt for
what's left over from dinner instead. There is less
likelihood that you will sabotage your weight loss program
if you have nutritious and allowable snacks available at all
times.
Eat 5-6 smaller meals a day (3 meals plus 2 snacks). Make
your body think "abundance", and it will expend more
calories. Do not skip meals as this makes you body go into
"starvation mode" and your body will respond to that by
shutting down your metabolism.
Measure yourself before you start your weight loss
program and once a week after that. Measure your upper
arms, chest, waist, hips, upper thighs, ankles, wrist. Record
your measurements faithfully. If you are following your
weight loss program carefully, you will notice a change in
measurements very quickly. You will lose in inches; your
clothes will feel looser. This will give your mind positive re-
inforcement. Do not weigh yourself everyday. Your weight
is not really an accurate measure of your progress
because weight is dependent on time of day and hormonal
fluctuations.
Exercise 4-5 times a week. Work towards doing 30 minutes
of cardio (walking, running, cycling) and 15 minutes of
weight training. Use visualization to make exercise an
active part of the New Beanutiful You.
Reward yourself in ways other than food. Buy a new dress.
Go see a movie. Take a weekend trip. Go dancing. Enjoy
the new lifestyle you have created for yourself. See it not
as a short term goal; instead focus on making the changes
lifelong habits. You will forever be eating well, exercising
well, taking care of yourself so that you will look great, feel
great, be great!
Be proud of yourself: you have trained your Body to be an
extension of the Mind!
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