What if I told you there is a single secret to weight loss, and it’s not an off-the-wall diet or grueling workout regime? While there are many factors in successful weight loss, only one lays the groundwork for your entire program—and it determines your success or failure. That component is mindset.
Few people understand the role the mind plays in weight loss. They struggle with fleeting diet plans and fizzled exercise routines, always landing right back where they started. The real problem is not the wrong diet, a weight loss plateau or slow metabolism—they simply have not laid the right groundwork for successful, lifelong fitness. You need to train your mind before you can train your body.
So, how to accomplish this mysterious mission?
First, Break Into the Control Room
Think of your mind as your body’s center of operations. This is where the big decisions are made, and your body won’t do anything without checking in here first. So when you start a weight loss program, you need to check in here, too. This is where you will both activate your weight loss program, and build the solid foundation that will fuel you all the way through.
Good news: the mind is incredibly receptive to change. And in fact, so powerful is its ability to adapt that the brain actually undergoes physical changes under your direction. “The brain adapts or expands in response to repeated patterns of activity,” the Dalai Lama has observed. When you make conscious choices and adopt new habits, you are wielding your power to make huge, lasting changes to your frame of mind.
Next, Nick the Nasty Habits
Procrastination, guilt, indulgence, insecurity, distraction… all will block the door to your ideal shape. These unconscious forces operate against you because they are allowed to. It’s not your subconscious trying to sabotage you—your mind wants to help you achieve amazing physical health and fitness. So let it. When you commit 100% to reversing bad habits, you’ll find that your brain is right behind you.
Hypnotherapy is an incredible tool for strengthening and conditioning the mind. The IdealShapeTM Mastering the Mind CD Series uses hypnotherapy to correct negative forces at the subconscious level, where they are often strongest and hardest to pinpoint.
Now It’s Time to Make Your Move
So receptive is your brain to your wishes that it picks up on every little cue you send. One positive choice is all it takes to send a message to your brain that it’s time to reverse course. For those who get overwhelmed by big fitness and nutrition goals, remember: all it takes is tackling that first stepping stone. But how do you take that first step?
This might be the best advice we’ve ever heard: Just do it. Rather than fussing over details or struggling to assemble a plan, “Just get started,” says procrastination expert Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. “Progress, even a little, will reduce your dissonance, fuel your motivation and enhance your well-being.” Yep, there’s that “one cue” we were talking about. Sometimes strategizing is a sneaky little device that keeps us from ever actually getting started. (Yes, planning can be a form of procrastination!)
If you find yourself stuck in the “planning” phase of weight loss, get back in the moment. Right now is when your weight loss plan starts. Send that first cue to your brain immediately and you’ll be on track to lose weight. Sometimes a visual signal, such as IdealShape’s wrist band, is extremely effective. It sends a message to your mind to stay focused, on both conscious and subconscious levels.
Mindset can be your greatest obstacle in weight loss, or it can be your greatest ally. Make it the latter. Now you know you can program your mind for weight loss with just one right move. So set your stepping stone goals: if you want to lose 50 pounds in 2010, break it up into monthly, weekly, and daily “mini goals.” Every achievement will build momentum (kind of like a snowball) and your weight loss journey will keep getting quicker and easier.
All it takes to retrain your brain for permanent weight loss is a single cue: take the first step toward your ideal shape today.
Get the full scoop on goal-setting at NoMoreBacon.com
I am definitely a victim of self sabotage and know how important having your mind “on board” is… but man sometimes that is hard!
I think in general, we americans… maybe we humans are just so used to being pessimistic!