Does thinking about weight loss help me lose weight?

• How do I view myself? Healthy, Unhealthy, or "In Process"?
• When it comes to food do I eat with a plan or base my food choices on hunger, convenience and feelings?
• When it comes to my food choices, I consistently tell myself that "I will do better tomorrow?"

• What am I eating?
• What time will I eat it?
• Why will I eat this?
• What will eating this do for my body and mind?

YES! But it's HOW you think about it that makes all the difference.

Let’s say that you want to lose weight and love your healthier body more than you do right now. So, you would ask yourself the question, as if you are ALREADY In the desired state, “why am I in such perfect and healthy shape?”  That immediately sets the brain in motion to try and answer that question sending signals to the rest of your body that you are ALREADY in perfectly healthy shape. Now, say that is too big a leap of faith for you to take at the moment, then, while creating your intention using this ancient and ages old recipe for success you might want to ask yourself, “what do I need to do to shift myself to release fear, resistance, judgement, excess baggage, extra weight”…etc., etc. That will also set energies in motion.

At this stage you are now seeking resolution from within and therefore will actually and absolutely INTEGRATE the changes in your brain and, then, into your being. Once you have asked yourself the appropriate question regards the INTERNAL state, the one that you you wish to shift, the one that will then also attract an appropriate external response as well, THEN and ONLY THEN are you allowed and even encouraged to go ahead and create YOUR intention.

According to Yoga Nidra (and most of the other empowering traditions that I have studied as well) an intention is a timeless intangible and is always, ALWAYS written in your own hand in order to ground and solidify the energies. In Feng Shui we say to write your intention (and then recite it aloud) nine times, three times a day. Once in the morning, once again at the midday and, then, once again in the nighttime. Write it nine times. IN RED. Say it nine times. Aloud. And always, always, always, in the present tense as if the desired state is ALREADY manifested:

“I completely and totally and unconditionally love every part of my body.” 

“Why am I so filled with joy and happiness right now?”  “I am filled with joy and happiness right now.”  Set the question, set the brain in motion, affirm or ground the intention. Get it?  Great right?

Your turn.

“What you think about, talk about, and do something about is what comes about.” -Larry Winget

I think that says it all.

In order to be successful at losing weight you need to have a goal. In fact, just the act of thinking about a goal and formulating a plan of action will excite you.  Who wouldn’t be excited about losing weight and feeling great?

The goal setting process is very powerful. This is the time for planning your course of action and getting that mental picture of what you want the end result to be, how you want to look and how you want to feel when you reach your goal. The author Stephen Covey refers to this as, “beginning with the end in mind.”  Think about it, write it ALL down, how much you want to weigh, what you want to see in the mirror, what clothes you want to wear, where you will exercise, what food you will prepare, and whose help will you need. That is day one, thinking about it and talking about it. Day two is when you need to do something about it.

So yes, thinking about weight loss is important at the beginning however, if you do not execute the plan, if you do not take action, then nothing will occur.

If you set a goal (losing x amount of pounds) and then affirm in your mind constantly the benefits you will get from reaching your goal (losing weight) then

Yes thinking about losing weight can help you reach your goal.

Remember that where your mind goes your body will follow...if you focus on it.

So see yourself as having already lost the pounds.

See yourself with the body you want.

Think about weight loss in a good light and it will help you to reach your goal.

It depends on what capacity you are thinking about weight loss. I believe strongly in how our thoughts play a role in dictating the world we live in. If you are constantly worrying about your weight and becoming anxious each time these thoughts enter your mind then you are doing more harm than good. However, I think a positive mind set regarding weight loss can definitely help. If you focus your thoughts on staying motivated and pushing through the obstacles, you are going to be more likely to succeed. If you let each small setback snowball into thoughts like, "I can't do this anymore" and "It's just too hard, I give up", then you are destined to fall short of your goals. Don’t allow yourself to succumb to excuses. Although a positive mind set plays an important part in meeting your goals, it is by no means a comprehensive approach. A positive mind set should complement the actions you take each day to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle. The bottom line: Complement your workouts with a determined, positive outlook and focus on weight loss one day at a time!

That's an interesting question.  If you are thinking proactively and positively about changing behaviors that will help you achieve a healthy weight, then thinking about weight loss can help you lose weight.  If you are rehashing diet failures and feeling negative about your potential to eat healthfully, then I would say no, it will not help you lose weight.  Bottom line -- if thinking about weight loss moves you in a positive way toward adopting healthful eating behaviors, then spending a limited amount of time thinking about weight loss will help.  No one should spend a lot of time thinking about weight loss, because you will end up missing opportunities to think and participate in all that life has to offer.

Thinking about your weight and your diet is not exactly a productive way to spend your time - at least not more than say an hour a month. Next time you're starting to wonder how many fat grams are in that box of Twinkies or Hi-Ho’s, stop, breathe, and try something else. From now on, your only responsibility is to enjoy life. Get a hobby. Fall in love with yourself. Write a screenplay. "Skip to my Lou." I don't care what you do. Just do not think about weight or food or calories or fat grams or cellulite or Let it go. Trust the universe.

You've probably heard that old Bible verse about man not living on bread alone. For those of us on a diet, this really doesn't compute. Pretty much everything in life as we know it revolves around the next meal - what it's going to be, what time we're going to eat it, how many calories it's going to have.

Unfortunately, this is not a very good life strategy. One of the ways I "feed myself" is to go on adventures. They don't have to be big ones - I mean how many times can you climb Pikes Peak in the course of the average lifetime - but something that shakes me out of my normal rut, some little activity that reminds me that life is more than a piece of cherry cheesecake. If you're one of these people who thinks of little else but food and all its possibilities, then you need to - how can I say this politely - "get a life."