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Begin with the Mind and the Body will Follow

By Mary Desaulniers

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 15Feb2006 Word count: 1006 Viewed: 772 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

It is commonplace knowledge in the weight loss industry that just going on a diet or being on a weight loss program does not guarantee permanent weight loss results. You will invariably gain back all the weight you have lost unless you are convinced in your subconscious mind that you will be lean and strong FOR LIFE. This mindset is one area that is missing in most weight loss programs. However, there is a way to fill in this missing link.

Begin with the mind and the rest will follow. This is as true with starting a new course of study or opening a new business as it is with weight loss. The idea is that you have to convince your subconscious mind first of all that you want to lose the weight and that you are in fact a lean and healthy individual. You need to feed your subconscious self these suggestions so that your mind will direct you to the most viable alternatives that will make these suggestions come true.

Scientific evidence shows that our ability to receive suggestions is based on a particular state of mind--a kind of altered state of consciousness. This state of consciousness is a departure from normal consciousness which operates mainly under the Beta brainwave.

Your brain emits electrochemical discharges when it is in function. But there are different levels of function. When you are functioning on your "alert" daytime level such as conversing with friends, talking to someone, teaching, solving a chemical equation or writing an essay, you are in Beta. The frequency of Beta waves ranges from 15-40 cycles a second. This is your normal daytime brainwave level.

The next brainwave level is Alpha which you get to when you take a break. When you sit back after having solved chemistry problems, you are in Alpha state. When you are sitting in the train, watching the landscape flow by, as your thoughts pursue their own journey, you are in Alpha state. Praying or meditating also puts you in this state. Alpha brainwaves are slower, but higher in amplitude. Their frequency ranges from 9-14 cycles per second. In this state, you are relaxed; you feel a sense of calm and security. You muscles feel mellowed and you are open to suggestions. The few minutes you experience when you are totally relaxed before you fall asleep is Alpha state.

Getting to the Alpha level is best for re-programming yourself. Eight-five percent of all medical problems (including overeating and weight problems) are associated with unresolved tension and stress held in the body. Getting to Alpha will definitely help you break up this unresolved tension and move you to a more stable control of your eating. What is more, you can reprogram yourself easily when you mind is in Alpha.

Begin then by taking the time to relax. 20-30 minutes a day of meditative calm would be sufficient. Develop a routine for deep breathing, during which you focus your mind on a word, sound or mantra. The meaning of the sound or word is not as important as the feeling it evokes in you as you repeat it. Once you have loosened the tension in your body, feed your mind positive images. Visualize yourself at your ideal weight. Focus on your slim and slender body, your well-shaped legs. Imagine yourself living a powerful, dynamic life. Would you be bingeing yourself to death?

Make this positive visualization of your ideal self a daily practice until you find it actually easy to see yourself as lean, strong and beautiful. Next time you feel like wolfing down a whole chocolate cake, shift your mind to that slender body and well-shaped legs.

When I gained the extra weight during menopause, it was pretty difficult for me to believe that I could get back to a size 4. I kept thinking: "I am over 50 and my body is different now. The hormonal changes are making it difficult for me to be what I was in my twenties." Then I realized I was using the same excuse that I used after my pregnancy: "mothers are supposed to gain weight."

We tend to rely on commonly accepted assumptions to make our decisions and most of these assumptions are wrong. Do you know that your body can be sculpted the way you want it? You are 99% water and quantum space and the body as you see it is NOT cast in stone or flesh. What's more is that what you see is created by the visual cortex in the rear of your skull from a web of chemical and electrical charges in your brain. And the visual pattern created by your visual cortex is different from the pattern created by mine or someone else's. You do not see things that are out there. You create things in here( your mind) when you see.

Now this physiological fact liberates us--because now we know that we can create what we want. And if our situation is not what we want, WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!

What can we do?

1. We can make a plan to build lean body mass by eating more low-fat protein (not too much animal protein as this comes with fat and calories.) Consume soy or vegetable protein: soy products, legumes. There is no doubt that protein builds the lean body mass that gives your body its youthful firmness. But you want protein without the fat in Meat Protein. Soy or Wheat protein is the best alternative. It gives you the protein without the fat!

2. We can start an exercise program that is enjoyable like tennis, skating, walking.

3. We can love ourselves and feed it healthy, nutritious foods.

4. We can stay away from people who try to sabotage our attempts to be the best we can be.

We are the ones in charge of who we can become. Nothing is tying us to a stake but our own feelings of limitation.

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