Affirmations are a mainstay of New Age philosophy. In fact, Louse Hay's book "You can Heal your Life", which has many affirmations that purportedly have allowed people to transform their lives through affirmations and visualization, gives us a powerful tool in the quest for weight loss. Affirmations, whether you believe in them or not, really seem to work.
What are affirmations? They are simple statements that you repeat to yourself, out loud, looking in a mirror if possible. They are present tense statements starting with "I" - for example, "I lose weight quickly and effortlessly". Over time, they tend to 'come true' with amazing frequency.
Be prepared to feel a bit silly at first - even a bit 'fake', if you like. The trick is to keep on saying them, regardless of how it feels. Fortunately, you don't have to believe in affirmations in order for them to help you lose weight, or change anything else that you need to change about your life. As such, they are very valuable tools. Often, affirmations can help you get over a mental block, and accelerate or jump start your weight loss.
The mystery, of course, is why they work. Our best guess is that they are similar to hypnosis - except, of course, that you 'hypnotize' yourself, and you stay in control of the entire process. Affirmations probably bypass the conscious mind and speak directly to the subconscious, which is much more effective at 'getting things done' than the everyday conscious mind. After all, many of our barriers to weight loss also originate in the subconscious mind. The subconscious, therefore, is the only place in which they can be changed and improved.
Beyond that, why affirmations work is anybody's guess. There are many philosophical explanations, to be sure. For example, many people assert that thoughts and beliefs are the most powerful thing in the world, in terms of human motivations, abilities, and actions. There is a famous quote that speaks to that; it is attributed to Henry Ford. The quote is as follows: "Whether you think that you can or that you can't, you're probably right". That is, if you think that you are capable of doing something, you are most likely correct, and you will succeed. If you think you can't, however, you're right again. That belief will stop your from succeeding.
The fact is that most of the reasons for people's weight problems are mental or psychological. They fall into one of two categories, however. Some of us have psychological issues that make it seem safer to carry extra weight. For example, women who have been abused in the past might feel safe, and invisible, if they are overweight. Men don't look at them the same way. The women feel physically bigger, and more able to look after themselves. All that is fine, in a way, but it comes at the expense of one's physical health. If your psychological need to keep weight on is at odds with your need to be physically healthy, something has to change. Something has to 'give', in short. Affirmations can help you over that hump.
The second psychological reason for people's weight problems is less deep, but no less problematic. This cause is the development of bad habits, which are, of course, all too easy to develop given the preponderance of fast food and packaged foods, and the mega-portions of high fat food that most restaurants seem bent on serving us, whether we want them or not. Affirmations are very effective in helping people bread destructive eating habits. For example, you could affirm "I resist unhealthy foods" or "I choose mainly fresh, healthy foods". Chances are, you will soon see results. These may be subtle at first - you may hesitate before picking up that chocolate bar - but quite quickly, new habits will be formed and you will be able to resist unhealthy foods more strongly.
A word of caution, though - affirmations should always be phrased in the positive. Don't say "I don't eat junk food", for example. Phrase them positively - "I eat" or "I choose" - and phrase them in the present tense. That's the best way of making sure that your affirmations will speak to your subconscious mind quickly and effectively, and that you can begin establishing healthier eating habits.
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