How To Lose Weight And Enjoy Life

By: Liz Labrum Copyright (c) 2007 Liz Labrum Think - RightNow Are you stuck in the mental and physical loop of being overweight whilst wanting to be slim? Do you find you're going round in circles and getting more upset, frustrated and helpless? You're not alone More people than ever are overweight. It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of the population are overweight or obese. There are more overweight children than ever before stacking up health and self esteem problems for themselves later on in their lives. In the UK it is the National Health System's (NHS), priority target to tackle the growing prevalence of obesity in the population and millions of pounds are being pumped into the effort. If the NHS succeeded with its goal then we would all be slimmer and much more active. We wouldn't be putting life on hold whilst we want, wish and try to be slimmer and more active. We'd all be enjoying our lives feeling confident and happy and achieving much more. Wishing and hoping doesn't make it come true In short we need to learn the skill of turning wishing and wanting something to happen in to actively making it happen. Now that may seem an over-simplistic and obvious statement and yet as a principle it makes such a profound difference to whether you succeed or fail at the losing weight game. When I work with my clients it is one of the first things we tackle. Together we find out what they truly want; what they've done so far to get that and what they can do from now on to get what they want. Once this is mapped out and some simple strategies put in place to achieve their desires my clients find it much easier to lose weight and live the life they want. Want to know how you can do the same? Follow this Five step plan, developed from working with many clients to help them get unstuck and living the life they love. 1. Get clear about what you do want. So often we get stuck thinking about what it is we don't want. For example 'I don't want to feel fat and frumpy: or: 'I don't want people to stare at me . etc, etc,. . .' Instead take a moment and use your imagination to dream what it would be like to be that slimmer you, doing what you'd be doing. Use all your senses to record what that would be like. That is, what you'd see, hear, smell and feel. Do this a few times until you get it just how you want it. If you start getting negative thoughts discipline yourself to let them go and get back on track to what you do want. This is important work. Now use a pen a paper and note down what it was like and what you enjoyed about it. Particularly what was so special to you about being that you. 2. Then work out a cunning Plan. Now use your mind again to imagine what it was that you did to get yourself there. What sort of things would have had to happen for you to be that way? For example a client of mine said that she had felt particularly at ease with herself. So we looked at what would have had to have happened for her to feel that way. Her answer was that it meant she'd been taking care of herself and needs in ways that she used to but had stopped doing. 3. Creating a mission statement Now take a leaf out of the corporate world and create your mission statement. Successful companies and people know what they want and use a mission statement to keep them on track. Using the work you've done above write a sentence or two to answer: Who am I and what do I want? Now keep this handy in your purse or wallet and refer to it regularly to remind you and help you stay on course. 4. Do what you like to get where you want to be It's easy to think that we have to take care of everyone else and leave ourselves at the bottom of the list. However this is unwise as it can lead to a sense of resentment, frustration and burn out, which means everyone loses out. You need to look after your needs so that you can feel positive and able to cope with everyday demands. With my clients a simple exercise I ask them to complete is to spontaneously list 50 things that they like having or doing. It has to be done quickly to avoid the temptation of editing or giving reasons why they can't be done. Then we look at a calendar or diary and commit them to real dates in the near future. This means there are positive things to look forward to as well as reinforcing all the things that make life worthwhile and enjoyable. 5. Your support team This follows neatly in the steps of the above exercise. If you feel that it's you who does everything in your household or that you're overwhelmed at work then you are more than likely to be feeling resentful and frustrated. There's no reward in this scenario and everyone's a loser especially you. Break this cycle by asking for help. If it's your job that's the source of stress get out your job description and identify and agree with your boss what is essential to get done and what can be delegated or relegated. Then at home work with your partner and family on a similar basis and agree who can do what and based on each person's unique strengths and qualities. Doing this breaks the feelings of isolation and creates a healthier more real and useful perspective. Finally - Now let your mind do the losing weight for you Having done all that work you are now in the right place to start losing weight. To really accelerate the process it helps to learn the art of self-hypnosis. The hypnotic state of mind is highly focused and more open to suggestion. Just by turning your attention to your breathing and deciding to relax can bring you to this magical state or mind where you can suggest to yourself how good healthy food is and how cloying and unsatisfying sweet or sugary food is. Doing this several times a day with different suggestions will make losing weight much easier. You will also enjoy a big bonus in that people around you will notice how much happier you are and that you're much more fun to be with! ---------------------------------------------------------- Liz Labrum Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming and hypnosis helps people who want to lose weight or break habits such as smoking. She also specializes in problems such as stress, fear and anxiety. Visit http://www.Think-rightnow.com - use the free assessments and reports to help you start to understand how to solve your problems.