You know there is no magic way to shed pounds or become fit.

The only way to get there is

through hard work and eating right. Yet you can give yourself a leg up in the process by
changing how you think about food, weight loss and eating healthy. By changing how you think,
youll also change how you act and hopefully impact your health for the better.
Meditation can play a key role in helping you overcome food issues and create the body you
want to have now. Awareness, consciousness, focus and concentration developed through yoga
practice and meditation will help you to embody these key points.
ere are !" tips to help you learn some tricks to get your mind ripe and ready for weight loss.
#eneral
These general tips will help you learn to adapt your thoughts to healthy weight loss.
$. Be patient. %osing weight in any kind of healthy way is going to take time. #ive yourself a
break and rela&, and the weight will come off.
'. (ont stress. )tressing about weight loss will likely only make it harder to lose.
*. Be realistic )etting unrealistic goals for your weight loss isnt healthy for your body or mind.
#et your mind set on more realistic accomplishments and youll be happier and healthier.
+. ,reate a routine. )uccess with any weight loss program re-uires creating a routine and
sticking to it in what you eat, when you work out and how you think about your progress.
!. %isten to your body. .t will tell you when you arent eating enough, youre eating too much, or
youre pushing yourself too hard.
/. 0se your imagination. 1ur imaginations are powerful things and you can use yours to picture
your body and your life the way you really want it to be.
2. Take it slow. You cannot e&pect to change your mindset or your body overnight. Take the
process slow and steady for the best results.
3. Be honest with yourself. Being honest might be more difficult or more painful, but you cannot
move forward in changing your body or how you think about it without facing some hard truths
about yourself.
4. 5ind out what you truly want. The reality is that you might not be ready to lose weight or
commit yourself to the work that it takes. 5ind out what you truly want in your life. 6nowing
that you really, really want to lose weight can be a huge factor in motivating you.
Mindset
%earn how to change your mindset with these tips.
$". Always be accountable. There is no one else who is responsible for you losing weight. You
have to be accountable for what you eat and how often you work out.
$$. Break the cycle of e&cuses. 7e all make e&cuses to try to 8ustify our behavior, but these
kinds of e&cuses arent doing you any favors when it comes to weight loss. 5orce yourself to
accept your failures and work to improve them.
$'. (eal with your emotions. 5or many people, food is an emotional thing and a coping
mechanism for other things that arent right in their lives. .f you want to change your mindset
about your body, youll first have to deal with these powerful emotions.
$*. Make the decision to be thinner. )ometimes all it takes is a firm resolution to make a change
in your life. .f you want to lose weight, make the choice to do so and let your actions follow suit.
$+. Take responsibility. 9o one is forcing food down your throat or keeping you from the gym.
1nce you reali:e that and can take responsibility for your own actions regarding your health and
fitness, youll be one step closer to meeting your goals.
$!. Think clearly. 7eight loss, body image and personal health can be emotionally charged
issues. 7hen you think about these things it is important to separate them as best you can from
your emotions and make logical, thoughtful decisions about what is best. 5or instance, our
emotions might tell us we need a piece of cake after a hard day, but our logical thinking would
tell us it will only make you feel worse about yourself.
$/. ,hange your programming. Many of us have programmed our brains to think we are fat,
unhealthy and will never look or feel like we want to. Thinking this way is often a self;fulfilling
prophecy, but by changing your mental programming, youll change what youre capable of in
weight loss.
$2. )tay positive. There is no upside to negative thinking when it comes to losing weight.
)taying positive will help you feel better about yourself, keep you motivated and reduce stress <
all of which will help you lose more weight.
$3. Train your mind to think in your best interest. .f you want to lose weight, focus on replacing
your unhealthy thoughts with healthy ones. After a while, you will think less unhealthy thoughts
and be a step ahead in reaching your goals.
Motivation
#ive your mind some motivation with these ideas.
$4. =ick out a motivational photograph. 7hether you want to look more like you did '" years
ago or have the physi-ue of someone else you admire, choose a photograph you can look at
when youre struggling to help keep yourself motivated.
'". )et smaller daily goals. 7hile your larger goals are important, focusing on smaller,
individual goals will give you more of a sense of accomplishment and change your mindset on a
daily basis.
'$. 0se support from friends. There are few things that can change how you feel about yourself
and your progress like motivation from friends around you.
''. >eward yourself. 7hen youve worked really hard for something its only fair to reward
yourself. #ive yourself an indulgence, though not a food;related one, that youve really been
wanting.
'*. Tell yourself you can do it. ,hange your mindset about weight loss by constantly reminding
yourself that no matter how hard it is that you can and will do it.
'+. 9ever stop thinking about your goals. 6eeping your goals in mind throughout the day will
help motivate you and keep you on the right track.
'!. )urround yourself with good role models. You wont do yourself any favors when youre
trying to lose weight if you surround yourself with people who practice bad habits and influence
you to do so as well. )pend time with friends who motivate you to be healthy instead.
'/. ave a mantra. 5inding your own personal weight loss mantra can be a great way to help
keep yourself positive and focused on your goals.
'2. %ook at the bright side. )etbacks dont have to ruin your motivation for weight loss. .nstead,
think of them as a chance to work harder and prove your commitment to your goals.
'3. ,reate a map to your health and happiness. )pending some time laying out your goals,
collecting photos that motivate you, and planning out your steps along the way can help make
process easier, more real and something youre more motivated to do every day.
5ood
,hange your relationship with food by changing your thoughts using this advice.
'4. Think yourself out of bad habits. Bad habits with food dont have to take down your weight
loss goals. .nstead, use the power of your mind to fight these bad habits. .t will take some doing
but you can overcome them.
*". %ook at food differently. 5ood isnt your enemy or your friend < its neutral. %earn to look
at food as a source of nourishment rather than a reward or a way to deal with emotions.
*$. =icture what food is doing for your body. 7hen you look at what youre eating, picture what
that food can do for your body and how the nutrients will help you feel.
*'. Allow yourself to eat when youre hungry. %osing weight should never mean starving
yourself. %isten to your body and feed yourself when your body tells you its hungry. ?ust make
sure its actually hunger and not boredom or thirst youre giving into. %ikewise, stop eating when
you are full.
**. @at foods you crave. You can have foods you crave while youre trying to lose weight if you
can do so in moderation. 6eeping things totally off limits could cause you to binge.
*+. Be conscious. Always be aware of what youre eating. @ating mindlessly while watching TA
can lead to a lot of unwanted and unneeded calories.
)elf;.mage
ow you see yourself can make a big impact in how much weight you lose. Try these solutions
to feel good about yourself no matter how much you weigh.
*!. ,hange how you think about your body. .f you think you are a fat person, youll likely stay
that way. Train your mind to see yourself as attractive at any weight and youll see more weight
loss progress.
*/. #et control over your thoughts. 7hen your thoughts are out of control its easy to think cruel
things about yourself and put yourself down. 7hen you start to feel your thoughts heading in
that direction, take the wheel and steer them somewhere positive.
*2. )top looking at the numbers. 7eight isnt everything when it comes to health. )ome people
look super skinny and feel healthy at one weight while another person might be totally different.
7e all have our own comfort :one, so listen to your body, not the scale.
*3. 5ocus on how you feel. You might not have met your goal weight yet, but focusing on
changes in how you feel can help keep you motivated and feeling good about yourself.
*4. )top berating yourself. 9egative thoughts arent going to help you lose weight. .f you have a
misstep or arent progressing as fast as youd like, never berate yourself. )imply get up the ne&t
day and start again from a positive standpoint.
+". 5ill yourself with love. .f you want to get the most out of your weight loss 8ourney, make part
of the process learning to truly love yourself. 9o one is perfect so get a handle on accepting and
appreciating your faults.
+$. Take pride in your appearance..t doesnt matter how much you weigh, you can look good
and feel good about yourself. )hower, put on a fragrance, style your hair, and wear your favorite
clothes. .t will change how you see yourself and how others see you as well.
Meditation
%earn how to turn your meditation practice into a reflection on your personal weight loss goals
with these tips.
+'. .magine yourself eating like you should be. The more you imagine it, the more likely it will
become reality.
+*. =icture yourself thin. .f you believe that you can and will be thin, then you give yourself the
motivation and drive to actually make it happen.
++. Think about activities youll do when youre thin. .f youre too overweight to do things you
love right now, picture yourself doing those things as the new, thinner you.
+!. >ela&. You cant take control over your thoughts and your mind if youre stressed out and
distracted. )imply rela& and let go the problems of the day.
+/. =icture yourself wearing something youve always wanted to wear. A big reason many
people want to lose weight is to fit into the clothes and style that they love and admire. #et a
mental picture of how youll look sporting something youve always wanted to wear to give you
some motivation.
+2. .magine that you love to e&ercise. >ely on the power of imagination to help give yourself the
initiative you need to get fit and in shape.
+3. (ont let negative thoughts interfere. .ts easy to think negative thoughts about yourself when
youre tackling a big and difficult obstacle like losing weight, but you have to make sure to keep
these kinds of thoughts out during your meditation. >eplace them with happy, supportive ones
instead.
+4. 6ick all unhealthy habits and foods out of visuali:ation. (ont let your mental fantasies
include unhealthy foods and behaviors. You might really crave them but the purpose is to retrain
your mind to let them go.
!". Breathe deeply and calm yourself. 1nce youre calm, rela&ed, and in control of your mind
and body, youll be able to start thinking clearly about who and where you want to be.