How Visualization Works for Weight Loss
Can you see your weight loss goals when you close your eyes?
Maybe it’s time to visualize your weight loss goals for greater success at achieving your leaner self. We have a tendency to focus on food, exercise and achieving a number on the scale when it comes to weight loss, but what if I told you that you can achieve so much more with a simple visualization technique?
Visualization, when it comes to weight loss, is a technique where you picture your ideal body. You imagine yourself (often) looking many pounds lighter and feeling free from your body image crisis. Using visualization for weight loss allows the time and space for your mind to work with your body in order for you to overcome any potential or unknown mental barriers on your weight loss journey.
Weight Loss visualization helps create a subtle shift inside of your body. Sometimes this shift is craving healthy foods or wanting to eat less. But more often than not, this technique will help make your body slowly adjust to what you're visualizing in a more organic way, not forced. It can be applied to many other things aside from weight loss but today I want to teach you how to use it specifically FOR weight loss.
I’m going to give you an amazing visualization technique that you can use each and every day (several times a day!) to start your weight loss journey using your mind, body and soul. Please keep in mind,It won’t occur right away, so don’t expect to shed 50 pounds in a month. Instead, this technique is meant to help you continuously lose gradual weight so you don’t hinder your weight loss journey.
Step One: Relaxation
This step is fairly simple. Well, most of the time.
For any visualizing you are trying to do, you need to be in a state of deep relaxation. One method to reach this state would be meditation. You could also take some time to yourself whenever you aren’t working and play your favorite music while eating some good nutritious food. Whatever works best for you! I have even heard of some using this visualizing technique while they were drifting off to sleep or taking a break while going to the bathroom. Your visualization. Your way.
Each step relies on you and what is comfortable for you! So once you find a good way to relax and calm your racing thoughts, or even in a state of daydreaming, then move on to the next step.
Step Two: Solidifying Your Goal
This is a very important step. It helps to set intention!
During this stage, remain focused on the positives of why you want to lose weight. It can bar hard, but positivity and positive reinforcement are the best motivators to function and to accomplish our goals. You are essentially creating a statement in your mind of what you would like to do.
Typically, the more explicit and exact your goal is, the better. But keep in mind that you should still be realistic. For example, saying “I want to lose 40 pounds by this time next year so I can walk the stairs without effort” is better than just think “I want to lose 40 pounds.” It really solidifies what you are working to do and what you are working towards. Visualization is working to help counteract that urge to give up by promoting more internal motivation that is realistic and attainable.
Step Three: The Image
This third step is where the crux of visualizing begins! Once you are truly relaxed, then you should begin imagining a very vivid image of your ideal body. This can be anything from how you looked 2 years ago to just yourself in a leaner body.
There are two main things to think of during this step:
Does the image you have in mind match what you are aiming for?
And how vivid is this image?
The first is fairly easy to answer. If you’re only trying to lose 40 pounds to start after being overweight at 260 pounds, you won’t be a size 6 next month – at least naturally you wouldn’t be.
The second is a bit more difficult to explain. So I will instead reference an article by Jon Gabriel, who wrote about his weight loss experience with the visualizing technique. In “5 Tricks to Visualize (And Get) The Body You Want,” he writes about what exactly he pictured himself as: very thin and fit with a defined stomach and tighter skin. So picture the fine details of your future self:
Is your face thinner?
Do you have muscle definition?
Do you just want to feel firmer?
Step Four: The Ideal You in The Future
It’s time now to imagine yourself over the next few days and months. Picture you and your ideal body doing your typical day-to-day tasks. Picture your new self in your leaner you having conversations with friends. How does that make you feel? This helps cement the fact that you and your ideal body can, in fact, become a reality.
It also gives you an idea of how your weight loss should naturally progress. You can’t expect to be 200 pounds today and 125 pounds next week. There’s just no possible way for that to occur without surgery or unnatural methods.
Step Five: Begin Working!
Once you have your visuals of your future self, it’s time to come out of that state of relaxation and visualizing. It’s time to let that image motivate you. It can motivate you to eat better, workout more, or begin working on creating healthier habits if you feel as if it is an achievable image with enough effort! BUT the most important part of this technique is that you will have a visual and positive feeling about your goal. Not just a NEED to lose weight. These are two very different things.
What A Great Technique! I’m Going to Try It Out for Myself Now!
At least that’s what I hope you’re thinking now. As with everything in life, from weight loss to getting your to do list checked off, you need to put effort forward to see results. This technique, as I mentioned in the beginning, is only to help you on your weight loss journey and to give you inspiration to move forward without food and exercise the main focal point.
Remember: relaxation, healthy habits, and motivation go a long way towards achieving what you have set out to do. It applies all the more when it comes to weight loss!
References:
http://www.healyourlife.com/7-easy-steps-to-visualize-your-weight-loss
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12931/5-tricks-to-visualize-and-get-the-body-you-want.html
