The Best Way To Lose Weight Is Not The Way That You Thought!: People assume that the best way to lose weight is pretty straight forward. Eat less and move more. If only it was that easy. For lasting results and a positive mindset use the Triple A process. Awareness. Acceptance. Action.
Often those who want to lose weight jump straight to the Action stage and go on a diet. Not taking the time to understand their own thoughts and learned reactions means that WHEN the weight returns their self-esteem is bruised and the failure idea reinforced. The only way to break the yo-yo cycle is to firstly become AWARE of why we do certain things.
The reasons can be complex but always start in infancy when our needs were met with a bottle and then the treat when we cried or hurt ourselves. Rewarding orally carries on in to adulthood and as small problems become bigger so do our automatic responses of turning to food or drink. Understanding these associations is the crucial first step in positive change as we can start to make sense of our past and analyse how our belief systems were formed.
ACCEPTANCE is step two in the process where we get to grips with our past and how our parents, peers etc. conditioned us. This enables us to rationalise our upbringing, make sense of it and work on the parts that caused negative associations and harmful behaviours. Accepting that we are only human as were our primary programmers means we can empower ourselves and allow guilt feelings to decrease. This in turn reduces stress which helps us think things through methodically. If this phase is done correctly, acceptance will stop us blaming others or feeling helpless or victimised.
Making the decision to take responsibility and work on improving the future leaves us ready to take ACTION. The key thing here is taking the RIGHT COURSE of action. This starts with self-talk, challenging negative dialogue which reinforces guilt, and replacing it with positive affirmations. E.g. Replace “What’s wrong with me, why can’t I do it?” with “I take one day at a time, I am human, I accept mistakes, I choose to succeed”. Since programming that goes back to early childhood tends to be tenacious, it requires vigorous de-programming techniques and motivational tools like books and self-hypnosis to be utilised over and over. Visualisation reinforces positivity, as you practice imagining yourself taking the best course of action. Then repeating positive behaviours become easier and habits such as a healthy diet, regular exercise, and drinking water quickly become the new norm.
The best way to lose weight starts with your head. Work on your THOUGHTS, identify what needs to change, then re-programme by frequent repetition, and finally execute the plan. Repeat proven processes until they replace old unhealthy processes. This is the way to lose weight and keep it off.
