I was a hefty 107 kilos at the age of 14 which wasn’t the best start in life and I could never understand why I was so big. I felt very trapped and out of control in my own body. Throughout the years of trying to lose weight I starved myself, yo yo dieted, tried all the fad eating plans but my weight continued to be the focus of all my attention right up to well into my late 20s.
Because my size had been the centre of my attention for all of my teenage and adult life, I was constantly in a battle to uncover the one click resolution, the switch that would end all my problems, but I discovered that it wasn’t about just losing a few kilos, or down to one quick-fix solution.
During my mission I researched a lot of information, particularly about the unconscious mind and how that impacts on our beliefs and behaviours. I realised the main culprit was my emotional state, my faulty inner programming, thinking and habits, along with discovering that I had to find the qualities that weight loss would give me first. There was so much more to my weight loss journey than shifting a few pounds. I needed to work on my self esteem, self acceptance and feeling good in my own skin.
I learnt about nutrition and exercise, and built up more knowledge on the impact that my thinking had on my body, as well as stresses and traumas that came and went. I began to write a weight loss journal and I did some self hypnosis, but unfortunately this was only effective all the time I was doing it. In my early 20s I began to learn about NLP and as I qualified as an NLP Coach, I had the opportunity to improve my own re-programming and personal development. From my Wingwave Training and practical NLP techniques, I have learnt much about the unconscious mind and the importance of implementing new strategies to change habits and behaviours around food, as well as re-framing negative self talk. I finally kicked my deep rooted emotional relationship with food and over the past 15 years I have lost a total of 63 Kilos (10 stone).
So if you’re feeling like you can resonate with my story, it’s useful for you to know we all have personal programmes and patterns running inside our subconscious mind which start at a very early age. We formalise our habits and behaviours by those who we are closely linked to, and the impact of our environment. If you were repeatedly given chocolate as a child to make you feel better or stop you crying, chances are you have a deep rooted anchor to chocolate, and associate it with making you feel better when you feel upset in your adult life. If you suffered trauma or loss in the past, you may look to food as a comfort, something that you use to make you feel better. However like any drug, the buzz never stays and you feel worse than you did before.
Generally the habits we form at an early age are beneficial to us because they protect us and make us unique, but some habits can be detrimental to our well being and cause us to self sabotage i.e over eating, food addictions, emotional eating and habitual eating. There are many advertised so called “quick fix” solutions and diet plans to follow, however these don’t last long term if you don’t work at the deeper level to change your relationship with yourself as well.
While the process of understanding how you sabotage yourself can take years to uncover, there are short cuts you can take along the way which will help you to re-programme your thinking. Affirmations are a great way to send positive messages to your unconscious mind so you start to embed a different way of thinking. As a result you behave in a nicer way towards yourself. Remember my point about finding the qualities first before the weight loss takes place?
Going from negative self talk to self acceptance doesn’t happen over-night. Some people find it very hard to contemplate loving or accepting themselves, and perhaps the thought of it feels conceited. However, I can assure you that if you practice these over time, you will start to notice your thinking changes and that real self love is not in any way egotistical, you “just are”. That’s what I help people to understand as part of my weight loss programme. Here are some affirmations to get you going. Feel free to tweak them so they resonate with you, it’s also very important to say them daily.
1. I believe in my ability to truly love myself for who I am
2. I accept my body shape and acknowledge the beauty it holds
3. I am the creator of my future and driver of my mind
4. I let go of unhelpful patterns of behaviour around food
5. I allow myself to make choices and decisions for my higher good
6. I bring the qualities of fulfilment, happiness and contentment into my life as I am now
7. I let go of any guilt I hold around food choices
8. I accept my body for the shape I have been blessed with
9. I let go of relationships that are no longer for my higher good
10. I believe in myself and acknowledge my greatness
11. I allow myself to feel good being me
12. I accept myself for who I am
13. I bring the qualities of love into my heart
14. I have hope and certainty about the future
15. I am grateful for the body I own and all it does for me
I would love to hear how you get on using these. Give it a few weeks after practising them several times day. I guarantee you will start to feel more wholesome and in control, seeing your body as your friend, rather than your enemy.
I also recommend writing a journal if you aren’t already, it is extremely empowering to acknowledge your feelings and understand what your challenges are to you losing weight.
For more secrets and tips on weight loss which I discovered during my journey, click here to sign up for my Free report on the 6 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Trying to Lose Weight.
I also offer a Free 20 minute Skype or telephone consultation so feel free to get in touch if you would like to ask any questions or have an informal chat.
