Affirmations and Weight Loss: The Power of Positivity
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”
~Buddha
Psychology has always been one of my biggest interests. The critical role that our minds play in our mental and physical well-being baffles me to this day.
(I was actually majoring in psychology in college before I decided to "drop out" and move to Florida... )
One interesting topic in the world of psychology is affirmations.
Carter... what the heck are affirmations!?
An affirmation is basically just self-talk. It’s a statement about ourselves or our situation that's phrased in the present tense as if the self-focused declaration is already true.
We continually use affirmations subconsciously with words and thoughts and this flow of affirmations is what creates our life experience in every moment.
You'd be surprised to find out how often you actually do this, and while you may not be consciously aware of them, they reveal a great deal about how you TRULY feel about yourself.
Unfortunately, most people engage in self-talk in a negative way...
While most folks use them negatively, we CAN alter our affirmations and spin them in a more positive light. By doing this, you can create a new "truth" in your mind that will make self-love and positivity a new normal.
What's more is that creating this new positive outlook will likely result in a much more enjoyable weight loss experience.
I'll explain that in more detail later on...
The Negative side of Self-Talk
"I'm not good enough..."
"I'm too fat & ugly for anyone to REALLY love me..."
"I'm so pathetic... I'll never lose weight... "
Any of these sound familiar?
More often than not, the types of affirmations people use are negative in nature...
Instead of using words and thoughts intended to build themselves up, they gravitate towards things keeping them down.
Even more unfortunate is that many people find weight loss motivation through their own negative self-talk. Their goals for losing weight are rooted in some "fairy tale" idea that being lean and fit will give them the life they've always wanted.
"Once I lose weight I'll be good enough!"
"I'm too fat & ugly now, but when I lose weight...[insert fantasy idea of being skinny]"
I like to refer to this as Negative Motivation. While negative motivation can provide a short spurt of weight loss drive, it will ultimately thin out.
While using negative motivation may help you lose 20-30 pounds, you'll likely be mentally worse off than before, and you may even regain the weight you've lost.
It's not until you can change your mind that you can change your weight.
Use Positive Affirmations to Alter your Negative Self-Talk for Good!
In order to successfully lose weight (and maintain a healthy body weight for life), you'll need to fix the negative self-talk you've been engaging in.
The fix for this is actually quite simple, it just requires some discipline and consistency for the positive changes to take place within you.
Here is how you can do it:
- Identify the negative self-talk you've been using in your life (It might help to write these down so that you don't forget them).
- Create positive affirmations around your negative self-talk. The goal here will be to literally "flip" your negative self-talk into positive affirmations.
Here are some examples:
"I hate my unattractive body" becomes "I love my body at any shape."
"I'll always be fat & unhappy" becomes "I am happy no matter my weight."
"My life would be so much better if I were skinny" becomes "Life is already freaking awesome, and my weight can't change that!"
It's going to require discipline and consistent work to reverse the psychological damage that negative self-talk causes within us...
Because of this, it's important to use the present tense when you create your new positive affirmations.
Creating positive affirmations in the present tense will make them feel more authentic and sequentially accelerate your progress.
If you catch yourself thinking or engaging in any of your old negative self-talk - stop yourself. Transform it into the positive, right then and there.
Do this consistently and you'll be amazed at how effective it becomes :).
You'll literally change your mind state from one of negative self-talk to positive belief. You'll realize you are already all you ever need to be.
And here is where the magic kicks in...
By creating this new positive outlook, you'll make losing weight far easier than ever before.
Instead of using negative motivation to drop weight, you'll find that you don't need a constant influx of motivation to lose weight after all.
Once you learn to accept yourself in the present moment, you can focus on healthier reasons for losing weight such as reversing disease, being able to move free of pain, feeling better...
and yes, looking better...
The only difference is now you don't NEED to look better to be happy - you're already happy with who you are and with what you've got!
The "looking better" is just icing on the cake 😉
To recap - here is how the magic of positive affirmations works:
When you begin to say and think positive affirmations, you begin listening.
When you begin listening, you begin believing in what you say and think.
When you begin believing in what you say and think, you will start to understand how your mindset can positively impact your weight loss and life.
Conclusion
There is no understating the power of positive affirmation (and positive psychology for that matter).
If you are serious (and I mean really serious) about losing weight and creating a healthier life, then creating a positive mindset is a MUST.
I truly believe that your mindset towards your inner self is what will ultimately dictate the success or failure of your weight loss journey.
This mindset shift has altered the direction of my life in a positive way, and I know it can do the same for others.
The importance of mindset for losing weight is so important that I recently partnered with my good friends over at Anabolicmen.com to create a program around it.
Overcoming perpetuating weight problems and obesity requires more than just "eating less." It's about creating a mind primed for weight loss and life-long weight management success.
Click here if you want to learn more about my new program
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