Carol-Welch

I am not a very good dieter.  I never have been.  I consider myself someone with very little will power, but I have found some strategies that help keep me healthy and fit.  Here are a few of my secrets:

I THINK of myself as a healthy, fit person.  I know that I will make good eating choices, while at the same time I believe that “everything in moderation” is the way to live.  I enjoy all types of foods, including sweets, butter, bread, meat and fast food.  Does this work for me because I’m stronger, smarter or just naturally thin?  NO!

There have been times in my life when I knew I needed to lose some weight.  The latest diet craze would catch my eye and I would think, “I can do that.” I would then buy the book or the pill or whatever was being offered.  I would get into a tense state of mind where all I thought about was food and what I would eat next (or couldn’t eat).   Because I THOUGHT about it so much, I felt hungry all the time.  Given that I’m not a person with much will power, I would give in to that craving and I would eat even more than when I wasn’t on a diet.  “Well that didn’t work very well,” I would think to myself!  Have you ever been on that merry-go-round?  Maybe you had great will power but you still felt like you were starving yourself.  Maybe you even lost some weight or a lot of weight.  Did you keep it off?

There are things I do regularly that anyone can do.  They are based on psychology, attraction and understanding the subconscious mind.  Much of the time we feel we have no control over our actions.  That’s because our deep-seated beliefs and habits are creating our actions instead of our conscious thoughts creating our actions.  Here is my 5-Step Process:

1.      I establish my level of DESIRE.  I must have a STRONG DESIRE for something in order to create change.  Once I am certain that DESIRE is there,

2.      I work on retraining my subconscious mind.  I create a personal statement about who I want to be (as though I already am) and read that statement aloud at key times during the day.  Here is an example:

• I am a fit person whose body craves food that will keep me healthy and strong.  Food tastes great until I’m full.

3.      I read the statement, and while reading it, I am picturing and feeling myself being that person.  I may read it several times per day, but it is critical that I read it RIGHT BEFORE CLOSING MY EYES to sleep, and again right after I wake up in the morning.

4.      Next, I live my life normally, concentrating on the good things that are going on in my life – I have wonderful kids, I have a loving husband, I have a job I enjoy, I live in a beautiful town, I love the weather this time of year, I have great friends that make me laugh, etc.  Whatever it is that gives you joy and makes you feel good about your life….those are the things to consciously notice throughout the day.

5.      I try NOT to dwell on food, eating choices, weight, etc. throughout the day.  Just keep reading your statement every night and every morning.  You may notice some subtle changes in your behavior.  When you do, celebrate the change.  Pat yourself on the back and say something like, “I enjoy making good choices!” or “That was easy!  I enjoyed my meal but  easily stopped when I was full.”

There are a couple of key things to point out regarding this method.  If you are familiar with attraction and the power of our thoughts, this will make perfect sense to you.  If not, you may want to do a little research on the topic.  Philosophers, spiritual teachers and some of the most successful people in our history are adamant about power of thought.  People use different descriptions, but it all boils down to this:  THOUGHTS CREATE REALITY.

Here’s an example.  I don’t like Mondays. Everyone knows that Mondays suck, right?  I wake up on Monday morning, groan about it being that crappy day again and then stub my toe getting out of bed.  I then find that the hot water isn’t working properly.  These things reinforce my BELIEF that Mondays are bad.  All day long, things unfold to reinforce that belief, so my deep rooted belief from now on is that Mondays are bad and will be challenging.  On the flipside, I LOVE Fridays.  Friday is the end of the week, everyone is in a good mood, I get paid, I have a couple of days to rest and play…..and guess what?  Friday does turn out to be good for me.  Everything runs smoothly, people greet me with smiles and maybe even a nice surprise shows up that day.  This reinforces my belief that Fridays are good.

Guess what?  I really do like Mondays!  I think Mondays are great and I expect them to be great.  I get a lot done on Monday, as it is one of my most productive days.  Why do you think that is?  It is because I BELIEVE Monday is going to go well for me.  I have THOUGHTS (both conscious and subconscious) to reinforce that belief, and then my thoughts help shape my REALITY so that I actually experience a great day on Monday.  My thoughts are shaping my reality and I get to choose what my thoughts are!

This was a long example to make the point, but it works the same way with diet and body image.  If you think you are overweight or that diets don’t work or that you’ll never be able to lose that last 10 pounds, then guess what?  You are correct!   But what about those times when you proclaimed, “I will lose the weight this time!!!” and really meant it?  It probably didn’t work or you wouldn’t be reading this article.  Our emotions and intentions are VERY strong at times, and then they wane and we find it hard to gather up the will power to take the action needed.  In addition to that, when we diet we are thinking about food all day long, so we feel hungry all the time.  Life SUCKS when we feel deprived, so we feel sorry for ourselves and eventually cave in and go back to old habits.  We make a conscious statement and truly believe it in the moment, but somewhere deep in our subconscious mind we are telling ourselves that it is too hard or that we’ll never be thin or that big is hereditary…. Sound familiar?  You may even say these things aloud or try to shove them down and ignore them.

Unfortunately, ignoring our subconscious thoughts does not make them go away.  We actually have to re-train our subconscious and it takes some time.  That’s where the 5-step process comes in.  If you follow it with consistency and belief, your inner thoughts will change.

I challenge you to work on changing your core, subconscious beliefs about your weight and food.  Try following the steps above for at least 30 days straight.  See what happens.  Think of how much easier this is than following some rigorous diet.  This will not be a “get skinny quick” method, but it is a method that might change your thoughts and feelings about your weight and food in general for a lifetime.  Wouldn’t it be nice if you never have to think about or stress over your weight or what you can/cannot eat again?

Feel free to post your thoughts and experiences with this.  I’m open to learning new strategies for living my best life too.  I’m happy to help you in any way that I can, so feel free to contact me.

Peace & Prosperity to you!

My blog has moved!  Check out my newer posts at:  Carol-Welch.com

Carol

P.S.  The 5-step subconscious re-training method can be used for just about anything you have a strong desire for (money, career, health, relationships, addictions, etc.).  Just change the verbiage and make sure you write down what you WANT rather than what you DON’T WANT.   Keep it positive!