Positive imaging for weight loss

Visualisation can play an important part in losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Losing weight can be difficult for many people who use fad diets and pills to achieve their weight loss goals without letting their mind help in the process.

Visualisation is a powerful technique that can help you make lasting lifestyle changes. Just by "day dreaming," you can significantly improve your chances in achieving your goals. Visualisation is a great weight-loss tool and it's as simple as visualising your body as you want it to look.

This mental image of yourself is then transferred to your subconscious mind, which in turn starts to work on your body, shaping it in accordance with your mental image.

This means that if you program your subconscious with a mental image of yourself as a slimmer person, through persistence, your mind will accept this and aid your body to conform to this mental image.

Once your mind is programmed with the proper mental images, it will start to work in assisting you to lose weight. You have to let go of past dieting failures and refuse to entertain any negative images that come into your mind.

If you can visualise your body at its perfect weight and proportions, the subconscious mind will work to make it become a reality. It will then begin to positively reinforce your body into aiding the metabolism and eating habits.

Programming your mind into believing you can lose weight, and to visualize yourself at your ideal weight is of the greatest importance.

Try to think of a different image of yourself, then let your subconscious do the work for you. If you think of your body fat and being out of shape all the time, then the subconscious mind will find ways to make it so.

The subconscious looks after all of your vital functions. It's the cause of all your good and bad habits, and also regulates muscle and body-fat composition. The latter is the one we are most interested in.

So please try to visualise your body as lean as you would like, and your mind will work on that image. The mind can be a great partner in losing weight.

Getting rid of bad nutritional habits

A bad habit is like second nature and is acquired over a long period of time. Bad habits are programmed into the subconscious and will power alone will not get rid of it. Many try using all sorts of different ways to break it but without success.

Obesity is the result of bad nutritional habits and some of the causes are boredom, stress, tension and different complexes. Food becomes the substitution for these causes and before too long, obesity sets in.

Most people become concerned that they’re obese, eat more, and a vicious cycle is established.

The only way for lasting permanent weight loss is to break these bad habits and replace them with positive new ones. Visualisation puts you in charge of your subconscious where all these bad programs are stored.

All the will power in the world is not going to break these bad habits unless one has the help of their subconscious.

Relaxation

Relaxation is the best way to reach the subconscious and will slow down the mind, turn off the exterior world so as to tune in to ones inner self. The best times for these sessions are in the morning and late at night, just before going to sleep.

Try performing two sessions, one in the afternoon (primary) and the other before going to sleep (secondary), but once a day is quite sufficient. Sessions usually last 20 minutes.

It has been stated that one of these sessions is equivalent to two hours of deep sleep. Upon waking you will feel revitalised and full of energy. Believe me, instead of worrying about time constraints, you will be looking forward to the next session.

When you begin your relaxation sessions, make sure you won’t be disturbed - lock the door, take the phone off the hook and loosen all clothing. Now find a comfortable position, whether it's lying down or sitting in a comfortable chair.

Sitting may be preferable as you may fall asleep if you become too comfortable. You want to be conscious and not asleep in order to tap into your subconscious mind.

Try to exhale all the air from your lungs completely and then breathing in through the nose. Take 10 seconds to fill the lungs with air (not to capacity, but comfortable) hold for 10 seconds and then exhale slowly through the nose for another 10 seconds.

Each one of these breathing cycles should last for 30 seconds, complete five cycles and after each cycle you will be feeling more and more relaxed.

If you are sitting, open your eyes and look straight ahead. If you are lying down, open your eyes and stare at the ceiling. After a few minutes, slowly close your eyes.

Having reaching this relaxed state, start your visualisations. Put together images that power your emotions. Make them alive and colourful. Make the scenes as real as possible and imagine yourself as slim and toned the way you will look after successful weight loss.

Picture yourself 10 weeks from now on the beach, walking briskly and confidently to your favourite spot, your breathing is normal and relaxed. You smile to yourself; you could keep walking like this for miles without feeling fatigued.

You lay your towel out and begin to take your clothes off revealing a firm, toned, well-conditioned body. You have just bought a brand new swimming suit which just weeks before would have been lying in your closet waiting to be used.

Glancing around, you notice the beach is busy. You catch the eye of someone of the opposite sex. They smile at you and you smile back. You walk confidently to the water and swim a couple of hundred yards with no problem or fatigue.

Or try this:

Visualise your family and friends complimenting you about how good your body looks. Try to view the scene as it is happening this instant - in the present, not in the future.

Using these visualisations you can construct in your mind any scene that you desire. See yourself exercising, socialising, in the company of friends. Try and hear people complimenting you about your slim new body, and watch their admiring glances. Make the mental image as real as possible.

• Remember to set a goal for your ideal weight.
• You must want to lose weight.
• Visualize yourself at your ideal weight.
• Use positive images at every opportunity.

Practice these sessions on a daily basis and over a period of 10 weeks you'll be on your way to become more fulfilled, happier and leaner.

Gary is the author of several e-books, including Maximum Weight Loss in 10 Weeks and Maximum Weight Gain in 10 Weeks. Visit Gary's website at www.maximumfitness.com.

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