Most of my old friends can tell you that I used to be the eternal optimist. I was always a "glass half full" kind of girl. After gaining weight and failing at so many diets, my optimism slowly faded away, I became self confident about the way I looked and I had developed low self esteem. It wasn't until I decided to focus on me, and not everyone else around me, that I began to think more positive and lose weight.
I started by taking that scary naked look in the mirror. I didn't like what I saw at first, but I stood there naked, for about 15 minutes. I looked at my hair, my neck, my breast, my stomach and my thighs and I began to cry. How did I let my body get this way? I am my own worst critic and that was a long critical 10 minutes in front of the mirror.
Then the light bulb went off and I realized that I did this, not anyone else and I knew I had the power to change my life. The lyrics to the Whitney Houston song "Greatest Love of All" came to mind. Learning to love yourself; it is the greatest love of all.
I tapped into my self love and started to see myself in a different light. I believed that I could lose this weight and get back to being the positive, "glass half full" girl that I used to be. I spent the last 5 minutes in front of the mirror smiling and being thankful for a chance to get my body back in shape. As I put my clothes back on I began to be thankful that I still had clothes that fit. Then I was thankful for being able to walk on my own two feet, and that I had two arms that worked and the list goes on.
I didn't feel like the positive thinking was helping at first until I found out that there have been numerous studies showing that over weight people who believe they will lose weight, have been more successful at losing weight and keeping it off. The studies also showed that the confident weight loss participants lost more weight than their negative dieting partners.
Arlene K. Unger, PhD, a Wellness Coach at The Center for Empowerment in Dana Point, CA says that "The basis of a positive attitude in a weight loss regime is the belief that no matter what, I will succeed. This is what supports positive behavior change and discourages negative habits." Knowing that I will succeed has helped me change my bad habits and live a healthier life style.
Maya Angelou says "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." She is absolutely right. It wasn't until I stopped complaining about my weight and made up my mind to change my life style that I started to see positive results. I began to believe that I could lose this weight and I started working toward my goals. It is really a life style change. If you change your mind, then you can change your life.
Then the light bulb went off and I realized that I did this, not anyone else and I knew I had the power to change my life. The lyrics to the Whitney Houston song "Greatest Love of All" came to mind. Learning to love yourself; it is the greatest love of all.
I tapped into my self love and started to see myself in a different light. I believed that I could lose this weight and get back to being the positive, "glass half full" girl that I used to be. I spent the last 5 minutes in front of the mirror smiling and being thankful for a chance to get my body back in shape. As I put my clothes back on I began to be thankful that I still had clothes that fit. Then I was thankful for being able to walk on my own two feet, and that I had two arms that worked and the list goes on.
I didn't feel like the positive thinking was helping at first until I found out that there have been numerous studies showing that over weight people who believe they will lose weight, have been more successful at losing weight and keeping it off. The studies also showed that the confident weight loss participants lost more weight than their negative dieting partners.
Arlene K. Unger, PhD, a Wellness Coach at The Center for Empowerment in Dana Point, CA says that "The basis of a positive attitude in a weight loss regime is the belief that no matter what, I will succeed. This is what supports positive behavior change and discourages negative habits." Knowing that I will succeed has helped me change my bad habits and live a healthier life style.
Maya Angelou says "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." She is absolutely right. It wasn't until I stopped complaining about my weight and made up my mind to change my life style that I started to see positive results. I began to believe that I could lose this weight and I started working toward my goals. It is really a life style change. If you change your mind, then you can change your life.
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