Everyone is talking about positive visualisations, imagery and affirmations these days, and for good reason: they can really work!
If you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, read on. I’m going to share some valuable information about how affirmations in particular can support your weight loss. How do I know? First hand experience...I use these techniques in my life too.
If you truly take on a positive affirmation and repeat it to yourself with emotion multiple times a day for a period of time, it will affect your subconscious mind. Without realising it, you will start to take actions every day to make your affirmation come true.
So, how does this relate to losing weight or maintaining weight? You can choose a mantra to help you eat well and get in the habit or moving frequently. If we give our subconscious the right orders, we will succeed in whatever we set out to accomplish.
Affirmations must be in the present tense, the here and now. Here’s a formula for your first affirmation if you're struggling to think of something. You can use the whole thing, or just part of it, if that feels better. You can insert your ideal weight in the blank area:
I am healthy and happy. I move daily to pursue my goals of even better health, both in mind and body. My food choices are in alignment with my healthy living and I love my ___ Kg / lb body.
The Nuts and Bolts of Affirmations
Using a positive affirmation will work, but you have to be consistent. You need at least 25 consecutive days of affirmation practice to ensure that there will be a shift for you (although this may be much longer), however I would recommend keeping it up in the long term to really cement it in your mind.
Type it up, print it out, and read it out loud to yourself for at least one to two minutes. Do this every morning when you first wake up and every night before you go to bed. If you can do it at noon as well, that’s even better. Try to do it as long as possible. When I used to drive to work I'd spend a good 10-15 minutes going through this on some days, with a big smile on my face as I did it!
Keep in mind that you must read with emotion because your subconscious mind understands feeling, hence why I would smile (and still do), plus smiling automatically makes me feel better. You must be able to believe that your affirmation is possible for yourself, or it just won’t work. Choose something that feels a little bit scary, but that still feels attainable, just like with your goal setting.
I also use Functional Imagery Training (FIT) to help clients work on weight loss, and move forward with goals. I find having healthy positive affirmations can really help, alongside the mental imagery practice (not just pictures/visualisations, but use of all your senses...so don't worry if you don't feel you're great at visualising pictures in your mind).
FIT has an excellent evidence base and there was even a TV programme made about it here in the UK.
If you want to know more about working with me and how this may help you, then send me an email to suzanna@motivatedhealth.co.uk
Please note: This article is intended to be for educational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or replace professional assessment or personalised advice.
I do not hold responsibility for the information on any links to external websites within this article and information within these links/websites may change at any time or no longer be accessible. Any website pages/links added are also for education purposes only.
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