Successful weight loss doesn't just happen. It took more than a few days to reach the point where you are at right now. Give yourself a break and expect it to take awhile before you see measurable results. Take a leap of faith and follow some basic principles.



Begin with your ?self talk.? This is the conversation that runs through your brain continuously. What kind of conversation do you have when you talk to yourself? What type of negative self talk has kept you from reaching your goals in the past?

If you had a chance to do it over again, would you change the dialogue? Of course you would! Well, the good news is that you can turn the tide of negative self talk beginning right now.

A good starting point is to begin with positive affirmations. Positive affirmations spoken aloud with authority and belief, positively affect your attitude, focus your thinking and lead to a course of action that will help you become the person you want to be and have the things that you want to have.

Begin by writing your affirmations on paper. You need to take some time for this exercise. You can begin with something like, ?I want to lose 10 pounds before summer.? That's a worthy goal and attainable, but we need to put some work into structuring the affirmation.

First of all, ?I want? gives the impression that what you desire is always in the future. In order to re-program your self talk, you need to trick your mind into believing that you have already achieved success. This is how your subconscious mind functions.

Your subconscious mind has no capacity for understanding the concept of time. Everything is in the moment . . . here and now. When you tell your subconscious mind you ?want?, that is exactly what you will get ? want. You will ?want to lose 10 pounds? for the rest of your life unless you change your self talk.

If your weight is 150 pounds and your desire is to weigh 140 pounds, then you need to ?be? 140 pounds from the moment you make the decision to change your self talk. What if you write your affirmation to read something like this: ?I am healthy and fit, and I weigh 140 pounds.?

What are you telling your subconscious now? It's extremely important that you phrase your affirmation as if you have already accomplished what you desire. Work on writing it out until you have it precisely as you wish to become. It is particularly important that your affirmation is crystal clear because what you affirm is exactly what your subconscious mind will bring you. Remember to use the present tense.

Try this exercise. Make a decision today, right now, to spend the rest of the day contributing to your self talk in a positive way.