Many people enter a diet or fasting program with great motivation and determination and actually lose large amounts of weight. But unfortunately, many end up getting it all back because they haven’t addressed the psychological side of exercise, weight loss, and health.

In this article, we will discuss “How Our Brains Work”, specifically as it relates to keeping weight off forever through reprogramming subconscious belief systems. In this way, mental supports begin to support your progress instead of sabotaging it.

As I have said in other articles, most diets do not produce lasting results because they are often seen as temporary rather than permanent changes in lifestyle and eating habits. The key phrase here is “permanent change.” That is what this article aims to help you achieve.

I spent years on that seesaw of losing weight, gaining weight, losing weight, gaining weight again; indefinitely. Let me tell you, being caught in this kind of vicious cycle, as the years go by, is extremely crushing and heartbreaking. It affects the individual physically, mentally and emotionally to the point of hopelessness and utter despair.

This is why, after so much trial and failure, I have come to the conclusion that my mindset is by far one of the most important elements in successful weight loss. All the fasting in the world will not produce lasting results if my thinking and self-image are based on negativity and self-defeating belief systems.

Beyond positive thinking

Positive thinking is far from a new concept. Neither is imagination or visualization. A movie recently came out called The Secret that spoke in depth about this process. It is very interesting and offers good information and motivation.

In short, the premise is that maintaining a sharp mental image of what you want to achieve can, in fact, attract the desired outcome into your life. Now trust me, I’m not one to just mention a little tool I learned and offer it up as a foaming solution or panacea.

What we will look at here is a combination of techniques that saved me from 15 years of obesity, suicidal behavior, self-loathing, and utter hopelessness and isolation. So we’ll be dabbling in a variety of topics and issues so you too can make powerful changes in your life when it comes to eating, eating, as well as physical and emotional health.

Visualization is one of those tools that, through constant and stubborn practice, has helped me break down very destructive thought patterns. For example, take some time and visualize yourself in that particular dress or pant size that you want to wear.

Spend some time each day perfecting this mental image, preferably at night before bed. One technique that worked very well was to post photos around the house of myself when I was younger and thinner.

beheading magazine

Other times I would flip through magazines and clip photos of sleek, fit male bodies. I then cut out my head from some other photo in my family album and pasted it onto the shaped body image from the magazine. eh eh This is actually very powerful.

I had a chronic food relapse, and just looking at my face on the magazine-thin body kept me from bingeing on many occasions. Try it! Stick the pictures in places like your bathroom mirror, your nightstand or desk right next to your bed (so it’s the last thing you see at night and the first picture you take when you wake up) and, of course, the fridge door.

Every morning when you wake up, look at the photos and say to yourself, “This is me. This is how I want to look physically. I can do this.” Create a collage of fit people participating in a variety of sports and recreational activities. Then stick your head in the bodies!

self talk

One book that had a huge impact on my life was “What to Say When You Talk to Yourself” by Shad Helmstetter.

It taught me that I actually have the ability to reprogram my subconscious mind and give it direct and precise instructions to support the changes I want to make in my life. I have to admit that at first I thought this was very silly. I was born skeptic. But the pain eventually humbled me and I was willing to try it with an open mind. The results were life changing.

Here’s what you can do: * Go to the drug store and buy a pack of flash cards. *Complete at least 20 of them with positive affirmations about your weight, health and image. *Write in the present tense so that your mind absorbs the statement as a done deal and not as a wish far in the future.

Here are some examples:

* Now it is always easy for me to control my appetite at all times. * Now it’s always easy for me to say no to _____. (Fill it with your specific trigger foods.) Mine was pizza and donuts. Oh my God! eh eh *Now I lose weight easily and effortlessly every time. *Now I always have a supernatural willpower to achieve all my goals at all times. * Now it is always easy for me to maintain the weight and I always easily resist any temptation.

Evaluate the different areas of your life that you want to change and make statements directly related to them. These can include self-esteem, spirituality, lifestyle, etc… for example:

*Now and always I feel great about who I am and am constantly filled with a heady passion for life at all times. (Self-esteem) *I always receive powerful spiritual guidance and discernment to overcome all problems at all times. (Spiritual) * I am always full of energy and motivation to live and I love to be outdoors and active at all times. * Now it is easy for me to talk to others and I always feel good about myself in every situation.

Of course you can add your own. . Once you have them ready, take them out in the morning in a quiet place and read them out loud. Allow each word to enter your mind and imagine the message penetrating the center of your soul. If you’re getting negative feedback like, “Yeah right! Poppycock!” just let the thought pass and carry on.

The mind must finally adhere to the instructions you give it! If you practice a specific religion, end the session with the prayer of your choice and any other inspirational reading you are charged with reading. Repeat the process during the day when the mind begins to fill you with opposing thoughts. End the day by doing one last reading immediately before bed. Make sure that the last message your brain receives is positive.

If nothing changes, nothing changes

The point I’m trying to make in this article is: don’t start fasting or dieting and go through all the detox pains and starvation, but allow the mind to go idly by. In other words, dieting and/or fasting while continuing to feed your mind negativity will get you right back to where you started, which is: weight gain.

Make sure that while you are fasting and/or dieting, you are also fasting from negativity and giving your mind a constant feed of powerful thoughts that go against any mental blocks you find that have always led you to gain all the weight back.

In psychology, the “bomb theory” says that if nothing changes, nothing changes. So the message I want to send to you with all the force I can muster is: you can fast for 100 days and emerge clean, lean and feeling great.

But if there are no internal changes in the way you think and believe, then the mind is very likely to sabotage your progress and take you back to where you started, or worse. Please, dear reader, do not take this message lightly. If you were like me, then you are reading this article because you have health and fitness goals that are important to you.

I learned many years ago that “Freedom comes with sacrifice.” Fasting and a proper diet are important parts of the process. But in order to maintain the freedom gained through these positive changes, it is imperative to directly and forcefully address those inner voices that try to destroy your dreams.