There are a lot of tools that can aid in lasting weight loss; positive affirmations are just one of those tools. Even under the best of circumstances, losing weight is an uphill battle. If you are hankered down by depression or low amounts of self esteem it’s exponentially worse. Having an unhealthy body weight can cause a range of negative feelings that further hamper your motivations. The way you talk to yourself has more impact on your success than anything external. The majority of people don’t really know how much negativity is running around in their minds. Think about what came to mind the last time you looked at your self in the mirror, or when you work an outfit that didn’t fit perfectly.
These are just a couple of examples of negative self-affirmations. This type of negativity is not only bad for your motivation levels, but it also destroys your self esteem. Getting rid of fat takes time, commitment and perseverance. In order to be successful in the long run, you have to do everything you can to maintain a positive demeanor. That’s where affirmations come in. Not sure what I’m talking about? Affirmations are a series of positive statements that that can be either spoken or written. These are done in the present tense and they help you focus your mind on the goals you are seeking to reach.
Before you start creating affirmations, you need to visualize what goal you want to reach. Then move on to creating comments that seem as if the goal is being reached right at the moment. Here are a few ideas for positive affirmations to boost your weight loss:
- I can get down to my target weight and stay there easily
- I love how I look and take care of my health
- I deserve the fit and healthy body I have
- I enjoy exercising and reducing my weight
- All of the food I eat contributes to my health goals
- If I am hungry I eat, If I am not I fill my time with other things
- I see myself looking great at my target weight
After you have made a list of affirmations, make sure you put aside time in your day to say them. There is no specific way, but you can pick just one and say it a certain amount of times twice a day, or you can repeat several of them all through the day. When you practice your affirmations, pair them with visualization so you can not only tell your mind what you want, but also see yourself reaching the goals you have set for yourself. By picturing your goals, your mind creates a mental path for your body to follow.
One of my clients was able to learn the positive aspects of self talk for herself; she had some simple setbacks on her journey to lose weight. These setbacks made her despondent. Over the course of a few sessions she was able to begin to help herself though positive affirmations. She told herself that she wasn’t really as heavy as she felt, and was able to recognize how far she had actually come on her journey. When she started to feel depressed about her weight again, one of her close friends was able to remind her how good she looked now. The mind is so smart that it can make you feel different than what’s really accurate.
She was able to work past her mental block when she realized what she was telling herself. Once the realization hit her, she was able to begin practicing positive affirmations on her subconscious which led to higher levels of motivation. If you find yourself in a similar situation, try looking at what you say to yourself. Get a piece of paper and write this at the top: “I cant drop the weight because..” write down everything that comes to mind on the lines below it. Take a few minutes to go over it to understand the negativity in your statements. The next step is to re-write each of those statements to something positive that will help you reach your goals.
It may seem strange at the onset saying something over and over that you don’t quite believe. As time goes by you will see that not only do you start to believe it, but your attitude towards your body image will begin to improve. Repetition allows you to change the pathways in your brain to form new beliefs that support your new healthy lifestyle. Not only are these affirmations good for losing weight, but they also boost your self esteem. We have to listen to what’s in our head; it’s best to make sure what we hear aligns with our goals.
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