Don’t Obsess on your Weight
Unfortunately, it’s very easy to start obsessing about our weight. It’s a number that’s easy to understand and most of us know that our number is too high, and we start to obsess about having a lower number. It’s a number we sometimes have to fill in on forms as if it somehow defines us. Most of us know that our weight should be lower. We assume we’ll be happier if our weight is lower. We imagine the day when we get on the scales and we have the magic number we’d hoped for – oh, how happy we’ll be!
Or will we?
It’s easy to see that obsessing about this magic number of our weight is sheer folly. Here’s a simple thought experiment to consider. Imagine that our magic number we’d hoped to achieve for our weight was 150 (the units don’t matter). We’ve been having trouble reducing our weight for a few months and decide to amputate a limb to reach 150. Now we can get on the scales and our weight is below 150, so we’ve succeeded, right? Of course not. The magic weight number we were after was really a proxy for the body we’d hope to have when we reached that weight. We really want a better body and not a smaller weight value.
Better to Visualize the Body You Want
Rather than obsessing about the value of our weight, it’s much better to visualize the body we’d prefer to have. The mind is much more powerful than we realize and it shouldn’t be underestimated.
Imagine that better looking body we want. Visualize it. Know that it’s inside your current body and it can easily come out. Forget about the body you have and just visualize the one you want. Imagine the feeling of having that body. Imagine how much energy you will have. How tight you’ll feel around the belly, etc. Imagine how much energy you will have. Imagine every detail you can. Especially how you will feel.
Be very careful here. Don’t visualize using negatives like “I won’t be fat and lazy like I am now” or “I won’t have that fat on my hips”. Visualize only the look and the feel of the new body. Thoughts like “I am so fit and vibrant” and “My hips are strong, athletic and flexible”. Visualize it like you already have it.
This visualization of the new you is very close to a meditation exercise. Find a quite place and a quiet time to sit or lie comfortably and do the visualization in as much detail and with as much care as possible. Do this as often as you can during the day, but especially in the mornings and the evenings. Then, as you get used to it, you’ll be able to visualize it even when you’re on the bus, in a boring meeting, etc. At the very least, the visualization becomes reality for your mind and you will have your mind actually on your side, helping make the new you a reality.
Once again, be careful not to allow in any negative thoughts. If, deep down, you don’t believe that you can be the new you, then your mind will never believe the visualization. This is the main reason why most visualizations can’t be of a hugely different you, because the negative little voices will arise that make the visualization useless. To help beat this, it may be necessary to have several “small step” visualizations that you upgrade as you progress.
Don’t Put Limits on Yourself
However, there are no rules on this type of visualization. If you can honestly believe that you can have a hugely different body, then there’s no telling how quickly you can have it. It can happen remarkably quickly. Once again, the mind is extremely powerful.
If you get the visualization right, you will naturally start acting like a person with that new body. Your conscious and subconscious minds will work constantly in the right directions and your visualization will come true before you know it. It’s not easy to get the visualization right, and it’s especially hard to avoid the negative thoughts that can easily arise. Even simple negative thoughts like “who am I kidding?” are enough for the brain to ignore it and just do nothing, or worse, sabotage your efforts to keep you in the same state as you are.
Even though it’s difficult, it’s certainly worth the effort and the practice. Get it right and your problems are over. You’ll have the body you want before you ever thought possible. And, you won’t care at all about the value of your weight when you have the body you always dreamed of!
Related Links
- Weight Loss Visualization
- EFT or tapping can also be a useful exercise to get the subconscious mind in gear – The Tapping Solution Book and The Tapping Solution Website
- Why Do I Munch?
- Appreciating your subconscious mind – and working with it
- Some interesting thoughts on Scale Obsession from Marks Daily Apple
i recently started weighing myself daily again, mainly because i bought a new scale that automagically tracks my progress. but that said i am trying not to obsess. when i look in the mirror, i can visualize the body i want, without a doubt. i know that it will take persistence and hard work to get there, but I am totally on board with doing whatever it takes.
Tracking your weight and learning how your body reacts to things can be interesting. I wish you the best of luck. If you can visualize what you want, I’m sure you’ll get there even faster than you think. Keep up the visualization every day and don’t let the inner demons bring you down. Hopefully we can inspire each other a little bit to keep going.