Think Yourself Slim – It’s not only possible, it’s necessary for overcoming yo-yo dieting!

'Where the mind goes the body follows'

I believe we are an outer expression of what’s going on inside; if we are stressed it shows, if we overeat, it shows, if we don’t exercise, it shows, if we are a happy person who laughs a lot, it shows. How we live our lives ultimately shows up as a physical expression of who we are.

If you think you should lose weight, or should get healthy, as opposed to I must lose weight, and I must get healthy, is the difference between wanting to do something and having to do something.

Shoulds exist in a ‘grey area’, where intellectually you ‘know it’s the right thing to do’, but you still have a profound desire to do the exact opposite! In other words, thinking you ‘should lose weight’, means you are still undecided. Let’s explore an example of how mind/body alignment works in the real world.

Remember a time when you have been tempted to go off your diet plan. It might have been a birthday party you could not avoid when you were on a diet. Once they cut the chocolate triple layer cake, there was a piece for everyone and it would be rude to say ‘no’ right? The moist cake is sitting there in front of you and with fork in hand, you think, ‘I should stick to my diet’, but we all know what happens next...

Now let’s replay that moment, this time, however, you think, ‘Wow, that cake looks really good, but I am feeling so proud of my achievements so far, and I must stick to my plan because I am so proud of my progress and feel amazing, so even this cake won’t derail me!’

In the first part of our Mindswitch training, we do an amazing exercise that shifts you away from ‘should’ into an unwavering mental commitment of ‘I will’. It’s called ‘50 compelling reasons to lose weight and keep it off’.

So, write a list of 50 reasons why you want to lose weight, and keep it off. Trust me, after 20 years as a weight loss coach, this is the #1 most powerful exercise I have clients do before embarking on their weight loss journey, and I challenge you to do this too. If 50 sounds daunting, commit to writing 5 reasons a day for ten days straight, in fact, set a daily alarm to remind you. The more you think about it, the more your brain and awareness will begin to align and focus on reasons to lose weight, so the decision to start will happen naturally!

Lots of love, Deborah