Dieting
Dieting, weight loss and healthy eating all respond to influences of the mind. Giving the body the care it needs in dealing with aches and pains, the dis-ease one feels involves the ever important, care of one’s thoughts.
“Your body is in your mind.” What a concept! We’ll be discussing how to shift the focus in the mind, how to get motivated, stay motivated, how our hidden thoughts prevent us from achieving the success we so long for.
It’s not hard to believe
The plethora of information on what diet to chose, how to attain fitness, achieve good health, be stress free can leave the serious investigator feeling confused, rattled and broke. When it comes to time and money, accept this invitation to put a new spin on your challenges.
Grab a moment
Stop now to notice your breath for just a moment. It is deep and full, shallow and quick. That noted, take a little journey through the mind, a journey in self-discovery and awareness. Among the first questions, ask yourself, “Do I sincerely believe I’m a valuable, confident and worthwhile individual? Or, do I believe I’m a failure, lacking in motivation and self-worth, unlovable?” Hear this; you are what you believe yourself to be. What you fear the most, takes form: “I’ll never keep the weight off.” “I’m never going to feel loved.” “Success always escapes me.” Thus, the first challenge is to tune into mind talk, the unspoken self-talk clutter that rolls in and out of your mind. Listen to those little messages that relate to stress, weight, health needs, success, self-image.
WHAT YOU BELIEVE ABOUT YOU IS TRUE You’re asked to set aside your investigation of diet books, healthy eating programs, diet supplements, time management, and instead use two to four weeks of limited time to investigate what your mind is saying to you. Why four weeks? It takes two weeks to change a habit and four to make it your own. For this exercise we suggest you take the mid-line.
Please pause your reading now just to a couple of deep breaths. You may even close your eyes so that you can put your mind on this moment and this moment only. Allow the belly to rise as you take a deep slow breath to inhale and the belly to fall as you exhale. Take another deep slow breath, exhale and try to sense if you can a higher source outside yourself but related to you. Ready yourself to begin the daily observation of your self-talk. Your body responds to your self-talk. Your self-talk is your known truth and the body responds accordingly
Listen you your mind
Next, you’ll simply count and record a daily tally of the number of times a negative thought comes into your mind; a thought such as, “I hate the way I look in these pants.” Purchase a hand counter, and with the click of a button you’ll record the number of times you hear your mind give you a negative message. With daily practice, you will become accustomed to hearing your thoughts (mind-speak, self-talk). This feedback is an indicator of how your mind may be driving your body to stick to all those negative habits such as overeating, “I can’t stick to a diet. Food is the only thing important to me,” examples of negative self-talk. Remember you are what you think you are. Self-talk is habitual, we either put in more positive self-talk than negative, or more negative than positive. “This day sucks, I’m a mess.” That’s two clicks to the negative already. “I’m grateful I have a chance to love myself. I’m grateful my body has been there to support me. I believe change is good.” There you go with three clicks to the positive.
Mind talk made better
After a period of time, you’ll begin to separate negative mind talk from positive mind talk. Start recording the number of time you hear a positive self message. This easy little tool in self-awareness can germinate shifts in habits.
Using it, you’ll begin to recognize that those thoughts that lead the parade, be they negative or be they positive, create your reality. Your mind may have been harping at you silently for months, if not years, “Just buck up; where’s your self-control; just make up your mind; decide to do it; say no; don’t be so weak.” That’s a total of six negative messages. Give yourself a minimum of three days practicing self-awareness, a week is better and two weeks or four is better yet. In the midst of those weeks, you’ll begin to notice how adept you are at replacing negative messages with positive ones.
This journey in self-discovery and new, refreshing self-talk is paramount.
Once you can quit beating yourself up emotionally, you’ll be ready to discover the right formula, which you can individualize for you, the right diet, the correct supplements, the best weight loss program, a better form of relaxation and mindfulness. Set a course now to journey through the mind of self-discovery. Train yourself in positive affirmations, which allow you to stick to a diet program, drop excess weight, feel better about yourself through the day, discover the joy in exercise, expand your interests, become more energetic and over all move forward into the direction of an increasingly healthy lifestyle.
