This is part IV in the series titled, Weight Loss Motivation: How To Hit Your Weight Loss Goals With Absolute Certainty.
Read Part I here.
Read Part II here.
Read Part III here.
“Hold a picture of yourself long and steadily enough in your mind’s eye, and you will be drawn toward it.”
- Harry Emerson Fosdick
Some time ago, a now famous experiment was conducted with a group of basketball players. Each player took a number of free-throws to determine their shooting percentage. The players were then divided into three groups.
The first group was instructed to practice shooting free-throws for one hour each day for thirty days. The second group was asked to refrain from any practice for that same thirty-day period. The third group was asked to practice for the same one hour for thirty days. However…
They were limited to using their imagination only. Instead of physically throwing the ball at the basket, all they had to do was sit in a chair, close their eyes and imagine themselves stepping up to the free-throw line and putting the ball through the basket every single time.
At the end of the thirty days, each player’s shooting percentage was tested again. As expected, the control group who didn’t practice at all made no progress. Group one, which physically practiced every day for one hour improved their shooting accuracy by 24 percent. But here’s the incredible part…
Group three – the group that practiced using only their imagination – improved their free-throw accuracy by 23 percent. That’s without setting one foot on a basketball court or even picking up a basketball.
The technique used by these and thousands of other high-level athletes to improve performance is known as visualization and can help you…
- Lose weight more quickly.
- Break limiting habits and create positive new habits.
- Perfect your exercise technique.
- Eliminate food cravings.
- Improve self-esteem.
- Develop a new positive self-image.
…In other words, it can help you achieve whatever you can imagine. And it’s so easy to do.
First, let’s get clear on what visualization is, then we’ll look at how to use it to reach your goals.
Visualization is the process of consciously using your imagination to create mental images. Note the word “conscious”. You are in complete control of your actions and thoughts. It has nothing to do with mind control or being in a trance. You can’t even call visualization positive thinking since you can visualize negative thoughts and events just as easily as positive ones.
How To Use Visualization To Reach Your Fitness and Weight Loss Goals
Like any other skill, the more you practice visualization, the better you become. With that said, patience is key. Unlike most exercises you’ll read about on this site, this exercise requires only that you sit down in a nice comfortable chair, keep an open mind and follow these steps:
- Relax
- Create detailed images of exactly what you want
- Practice, practice, practice
Relax
While you can visualize any time you choose, you will get more out of it if you take a few miutes to become completely relaxed. When you feel completely relaxed, the electrical activity in your brain actually slows down and enters a highly suggestive state, sometimes referred to as the Alpha state. Being in the Alpha state feels just like a good daydream. At this level, you can quickly form new habits, absorb new information and alter your beliefs. Even on its own, relaxation can produce amazing results. It can help…
- Lower blood pressure.
- Slow your heart rate.
- Reduce stress.
- Reduce feelings of fear and anxiety.
- Improve moods.
- Relieve muscular tension and pain.
The easiest way to relax is lay down on the floor with a pillow under your knees and your hands at your sides. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. With each breath, feel your body becoming heavier and imagine it’s sinking into the floor. Then just breathe naturally, keeping your eyes closed.
Once you’re completely relaxed…
Create Detailed Images
We may speak and think using words, but our brains operate using images. When you hear the word elephant, in your mind you see the image of an elephant, not the letters e-l-e-p-h-a-n-t. So when visualizing, you want to create an image or series of images that represent the achievement of your goal. To help you, here are a few guidelines:
Focus on what you want – not what you don’t want. After experiencing one failed attempt after another to get fit and lose weight, you may find it difficult to focus on success; expecting to fail may be a habit to you. Seeing yourself the way you want to be may be difficult at first, but you must persist. Your focus determines your direction. If you continue to see failure, you keep failing, so you must practice seeing yourself as successful. See yourself wearing the new clothes you’ve never been able to buy. Imagine yourself walking down the beach, looking exactly how you want to look.
A great exercise is to imagine standing naked in front of a mirror and taking your time to see yourself exactly as you want to be. Start by really looking at your face. Notice how much thinner it looks – no more “turkey waddle” under your chin. Then move down to your chest, and so on. Next…
Incorporate all five senses. Don’t just see something the way you would if you were looking at a photograph. Experience it as if it were a movie being projected on a screen in front of your eyes. Make your picture three-dimensional if possible. Incorporate movement and sound into your image.
Imagine running into people you haven’t seen for a long time and actually hear them telling you how wonderful you look. Imagine running your hands over your flat, firm stomach. How does it feel?
In every vision, add as much sensory detail as possible. When you’ve done that…
Add emotion. For every imaginary scene you create, you want to feel exactly as you would if it were actually happening. See yourself in the store and feel the excitement of being able to buy that perfect little black dress. Really feel the confidence as you stride out onto the beach in your new sexy, stylish swimsuit, looking and feeling your best. Get emotional about reaching your goals.
Using Visualization To Smooth Out The Rough Spots
If you’re like most people, you have certain people, places or events – triggers in your life that, in the past have create stress and led to you overeating and being thrown off course. Visualization can help you neutralize these triggers once and for all.
Let’s say, in the past, you used parties as an excuse to eat and drink too much. Now, when you know you have such an event coming up, use your visualization time to see yourself at the party, moving with confidence and purpose – seeing the food, but feeling unaffected by it. See yourself laughing and dancing; having a grand time without food. Hear the music and feel yourself dancing to it, knowing your burning calories by the minute. Feel the pride that comes with hearing your friends tell you how great your look.
As you’ll discover, there are no limits to how you can use visualization. You can even use it to increase your strength and fitness levels just like personal development and self-help guru Steve Pavlina did.
But just like Steve, you’ll need to…
Practice, Practice, Practice
Visualizing something once will make little or no impact. To turn your thoughts into reality you must practice your visualization exercise on a daily basis – even a couple of times each day. The more you do it, the more natural it will feel. The best part is, you can do it anywhere: standing in line at the grocery store, sitting in traffic, or in the shower.
More than any other weight loss exercise you do, visualization has the power to quickly transform your mind and body. I consider it invaluable to any fitness or weight loss program. If you’d like to learn how to use visualization to its fullest potential, I would recommend
- The New Psyco-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz and Dan Kennedy
- Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain available at Amazon.com in the U.S. and Amazon.ca in Canada.
- The Secrets of the Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne Dyer