Positive thinking key to weight loss

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CHANGE YOUR TUNE: Self-belief is the first step when it comes to weight loss.

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The other week I received an email from a 34-year-old woman struggling with her weight. It had been a lifelong issue, she said, so she had decided that enough was enough. It was time for an overhaul: lifestyle, diet, exercise, the lot. My heart went out to her.

I told her that the first thing that had to go was the identifying part of her email address: bigfatgirl77. I explained that as long as she thought herself to be a big fat girl, she was never likely to be anything else apart from big and fat - which, I hasten to add, I don't have an issue with. My philosophy is that we can be and should be whoever we want to be, and we should not feel bound to live our lives according to someone else's expectations. We only get one swing at it, after all.

But this woman was unhappy and ready for profound change. She didn't realise that the negative talk she had surrounded herself with was holding her back.

It's something I hear a lot, sometimes disguised in humour. You know the kind of thing: "Look out girls, big mamma's coming through!" and "I might be big, but there's more of me to love!"

Check out the dialogue of successful sports personalities or other high-achievers: it's dripping with self-belief and positive language. There's no self-deprecation, just gritty optimism, and not a hint of self-doubt or flaccid aspiration. I'm not talking about cutting-and-pasting the kind of over-the-top language commonly used by motivational speakers into your everyday dialogue. I'm talking about reflecting upon what you habitually say to others, and thereby what you habitually tell yourself, about weight loss, career, relationships, achievements - anything, really.

In the context of weight loss, I have to say I'm not a big fan of the word "hope", either. I don't understand it when people say, "I hope I'm down to 75 kilograms by Christmas". How will hoping for weight loss to happen make it happen? Taking active steps to make something happen not only means that it probably will happen, it also puts us in the driver's seat to take back control of the issue - and our lives.

We should never underestimate the power of language. In the same way that negative language quickly degenerates into limiting our self-beliefs, positive language strengthens our resolve to achieve what it is that we want.

There can be no better example of that than our own bodies, and the way we think about them. Subject your body to positive influences - exercise and a healthy diet and lifestyle - and it will respond positively; subject your body to negative influences, and of course it will respond in kind. But the first stop is always our minds: the way we think, and what we tell ourselves, is critical for a positive outcome.

MICHELLE'S TIP

Listen to the words that you use in conversation, and restrict the ones that don't support you. For me, "try", "can't" and "hope" have long been relegated to the rubbish bin, along with any self-denigrating comments.

-Sydney Morning Herald

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Kelsey   #14   via mobile 06:50 pm Jan 15 2012

Its all in that book 'the secret ' by Rhonda Byrne, applies to all aspects of life. Has worked for me!

KJL   #13   12:26 pm Jan 12 2012

I too, am not a fan of the word hope. To me hope is just another excuse for failure. You can hope you going to this and that, but at the end of the day you have to have faith in your ability to get the job done.

L.Smith   #12   09:40 am Jan 12 2012

I totally love Wolfie #6's Gandhi quote.

And congratulations, Liz #1. Good on you!

Effective Positive Thinking   #11   05:43 am Jan 12 2012

Great article, Michelle and right on point. I've been writing a web site entirely devoted to positive thinking and one of my main points has been to stop and listen to what you are saying out loud to people, but also to notice what people around you are saying out loud to you. Are they verifying your beliefs? Do you draw that out of them some how? Our inner self talk, what we verbalize as well as what we are attracting from those around us tell us scores about our beliefs. And about weight loss, the key is to "think thin." I have an article about that on my site at http://www.effective-positive-thinking.com/meditation-to-lose-weight.html

tim   #10   11:36 pm Jan 11 2012

positive thinking is the key to everything

Mazza   #9   04:38 pm Jan 11 2012

@S.Beast Michelle didn't say her email was to blame. She said the name the writer had chosen was negative about herself. The other posters have reitereated that we need to choose our words carefully. Another word to get rid of is "lose". Losing weight means that it could be found again and return. I prefer to use the words "shed" (as in I shed fat) or "reduce" (I reduced the size of my midriff this week). Michelle is an inspiration.

Leah   #8   03:45 pm Jan 11 2012

Its seems the email theory does work - S.Beast seems to explain alot! Great article - point of the story is to have positive thoughts and thats has definetly helped me in my weight loss conquest.

Nakeshia   #7   03:31 pm Jan 11 2012

Also get rid of the word 'should' from your vocab, it does nothing for actually making you do what you think you 'should' be doing!

Wolfie   #6   03:20 pm Jan 11 2012

Hey, S.Beast #2 - words have a profound impact on outcomes. But I'll leave it someone much wiser who said it better -

Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny. Mahatma Gandhi, Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

AMayzing   #5   01:28 pm Jan 11 2012

This is a bit fluffy but agree that positive thinking can do wonders.

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