Liberate Your Set Esteem and Lose Weight

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 by: Kim Beardsmore

Are you a
'look-and-lose' dieter? Have you studied every diet ever created, read
a zillion diet books, and yet are still unhappy with your weight?

Has
your quest for the holy grail of dieting become a substitute for
actually making changes required to take the ill health out of your
current diet?

If so, you may not realise your thoughts are key to your happiness and success.

Do
you look at yourself and say, "I'm fat", or "My hips are too big"? Many
of us look in the mirror and immediately compare ourselves to those
'perfect' human specimens we see every single day on TV, in magazines
and in the newspapers.

Often we talk to ourself and make
excuses, "It's my genes", "I'm much too busy to get fit", "I like
myself this", as a way of protecting yourself from the way we see
ourselves now and the way we want to be.

If we were to be truly honest with ourselves most people actually want to lose a few pounds - if we only knew how.

The
good news is you CAN achieve your desired body shape with the right
thinking about yourself, an understanding of how to get optimal
nutrition, healthy eating habits and how to incorporate activity into
your lifestyle to keep your muscles toned.

But most important of all, you need a regular mental workout to keep your self-image in shape.

Self-image
is closely connected to the success or failure of any goal you choose
to seek after, but none more so that the goal to get yourself fit and
healthy.

So how do you go about strengthening your
self-image? Well fortunately your self-image, just like your muscles,
will respond well to a regular work out. You can actually strengthen
your self-image with a few daily exercises.

Exercise One - Self Examination

Start
by compiling a list of all those negative thoughts your have about
yourself…I'm undisciplined, I can't manage my time, I let people down,
I can't succeed, I don't exercise enough. You will need to decide
before you start this process that you won't get discouraged….these are
things that you will admit to yourself but they most certainly don't
have to control your life.

Next, compile a second list
including everything you LIKE about yourself. Keep going until this
list is LONGER than the first list you compiled. You might include
things such as, I am a good cook, I can make people laugh, I contribute
to the soccer club, my daughter loves the way I decorate her room.

Then,
take your 'negatives' list and turn it into your 'potentials' list. You
do this by creating a positive self-image to every 'negative' you
listed. Instead of "I can't succeed", write a counter belief, "I will
succeed".

Ceremonially throw out the 'negatives' list -
you are saying goodbye forever! Burn them, trash them, destroy
them….they are no longer going to be a part of your thinking about
yourself.

Now, keep your list of potentials in a prominent
place. On your refrigerator door, in your daily journal, or in a
picture frame on your desk. Make sure you have them in front on your
every single day so that you are reading them constantly and
reprogramming your daily thoughts.

Exercise Two: You Can Be What You Want to Be

Now
that you have your list of potentials… run your own visualisation
stories so that you can 'see' yourself in a new light. For example, if
your list of potential includes "I eat just the right portions",
visualise yourself with a moderate portion on your plate, and feeling
completely satisfied at the conclusion of your meal.

Read
through your list of potentials every day taking a few moments of
personal quiet time to reflect strongly on your visualisations. Try
starting your day first thing in the morning and finishing as the last
thing at night with visualising yourself being the person on your list,
and doing the things you want to do.

Exercise Three: Keep a Journal of Your Daily Successes

Keep
a record of all the positive changes in thoughts you have about
yourself. We all have triumphs and 'failures'. You must record and
remind yourself of the positive changes because our human nature will
replay the negatives - sometimes blowing them out of proportion. It's
important to nurture and celebrate the small steps you make every day.

Exercise Four: Go Easy On Yourself - You Are Beautiful Work In Progress

Don't
listen to the criticism…not your own nor that of others! Remember you
are the designer of your self-esteem, do not hand this over to other
people. You are way too important to give this away. Protect your role
as creator of your own self-image and do not, take on board negative
criticisms. We all make mistakes, and mistakes can be used to help us
learn. Do not criticise yourself for being human and making a mistake.
The only last mistake in the one from which we never learn to grow.

Exercise Five: Forget About The Past

The
only moment you can live is the current one. You can't live in the
future and you most certainly shouldn't live in the past….the challenge
is to take charge of our thinking so that we think in the same time
zone in which we live!

For example we may be tempted to
think about yesterday's failures…"If only I hadn't eaten second
helpings", "If only I didn't reach for the chocolate cookies". If we
concentrate on the mistakes of yesterday this will our brains to replay
our failures and reinforce them to us.

Yesterday is
over, today is where you live….make sure that today you do NOT replay
yesterday's failures and make your resolve to change TODAY.

Exercise Six: Resolve to Change Today

Just
as you shouldn't live in the past, you can't live in the future. You
can only live or change today. The oldest cliché in the world is
perhaps one of the greatest truisms of all…'tomorrow NEVER comes!'

There
is no better time than now. So, no matter what excuses you may have to
wait to take those healthy steps you know you should take, none of them
are valid. Do it now, do it today. Resolve to make a different in your
own life before you go to sleep tonight.

Exercise Seven: Write a Plan For your Life

This
is your success plan. If you have not already done so it is time for
you to create direction and purpose in your plans for yourself. Review
your list of potentials and record next to each potential when you want
to achieve this by.

Exercise Eight: Carry Affirmation Cards About Yourself

This
is one of the fastest tools for your success. You are what you think.
Strengthen your self-image every day by reviewing your thoughts. One of
the easiest ways to do this is to carry affirmation cards in your
wallet and review regularly. Affirmation cards are short bursts of
words in business card that prompt and remind your self-image of your
intentions. An example might be:

• I can achieve anything that I put my mind to.

• I will be satisfied with single helpings.

Try it, you have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Exercise Nine: Change Your Eating Habits

Now
that you have set the groundwork in place, you are now ready to change
your physical habits. You are ready to add a balanced nutritious diet,
healthy eating habits, regular exercise and relaxation.

By
using these nine exercises daily to change your thinking habits, you
will be strengthening your self esteem and unlocking your internal
power to make a change in your life. Before you can change lifelong
eating habits, you must first change life long thinking habits. We are
what we think. We can't be something other than what we believe we can
be!

So, do yourself a favour, liberate your self-image and then, see how much more effective your healthy living plan becomes!

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About the Author

Kim is successful a wellness mentor. She has been assisting people achieve excellent health through cellular nutrition. For those wanting to lose weight she uses a proven amazing, approach that enables people to have a boost in energy and block to cravings while they are losing the weight. She has a Bachelor of Science majoring in Biochemistry and Histology. Visit http://leanmachine.org/?refid=articlecity-23429

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