Can you really think yourself thin?

We can go on fad diets, invest in latest technology, or try the new fitness craze to help us lose weight or improve our self-perception.

We lose a bit of weight or change our body image, but still aren’t happy, or put the weight back on again.

When this happens, we have a million and one reasons why we aren’t getting or keeping the results we want: Family, work, social life, finance, medical and, the best of all excuses… time.

I know all about these excuses because I have seen people use them and I have also used them myself.

The problem is that we accept these excuses, and once we do that, then it doesn’t matter how much time or energy you put into your workouts or diet, you won’t get the your true results.

We start playing the blame game once again: “I’m working out, but it’s the food I’m eating.”

The food you are consuming is not the issue. It’s your thought that ‘food is responsible for putting the weight on’.

When you keep repeating, “It’s because I eat too much,” what you are actually doing is feeding your own thought process of eating, eating, and even more eating.

This popped into my head last week, twice.

The first time was when I was reading ‘The Secret’, and the section about ‘your body’.

Again, it uses the example of weight loss and how our thoughts attract everything we have and are.

Saying, “I’m overweight”, “I’m not strong enough”, “I’ll never look good in those clothes”, or “I hate my body” are the negative thoughts you are inflicting upon yourself, and what you think about every day becomes your reality.

The second reason is that I was using these excuses myself. My training had slowed down because I was using the excuse that I did’t have a goal because Iron Man Cork, which I signed up for, had been cancelled.

Then it went to, “I’m starting to lose motivation, I’m putting on weight, this shirt is a bit tight” etc. I signed up to the gym, started writing down workouts but I didn’t change my thought process first.

Now, I’ve started to write every morning that I have a strong, healthy body and mind.

This is the first step in achieving your goal, speaking from the wish fulfilled.

Don’t say, “I want to be” or “soon I will be.” Write or say your goal in the present tense. For example, you might say, “I am so happy and grateful now that I weigh X amount and that I am happy and confident in my body.”

This is the first step in thinking yourself thin.

Ask the universe, energy, or God – the label or what you believe in doesn’t really matter, it’s the fact that you are putting it out there.

And make sure it’s in the present tense.

Alongside this, you must believe and feel this goal.

If it’s a certain weight you are aiming for, or time/distance for a run, believe that you have already achieved it.

Now think about how you would feel.

How good are you going to feeling in your clothes, how happy are you now that you have achieved this goal?

The next step is to take action.

With this new mindset, taking action won’t seem like a chore. It will happen with ease and joy: You’ll enjoy going to the gym, working out, and eating healthy because you know where you are going, and how that is going to make you feel once you actually get there.

You may be reading this and thinking ‘this is a load of nonsense’, but I would urge you to try it for at least 30 days – however, you must be all in.

Don’t think after a few days or even weeks that it isn’t working. It’s coming.

Be patient and keep believing.

The moment you were about to give up but kept going may just be the breakthrough that you needed.