Goal:  Lose Weight, Get In Shape, or Improve Your Appearance In General

So many people these days want to lose weight, get in shape, or look better in general - they want to have the body of a hollywood actor/actress.  But very few people ever reach their body shaping goals, or if they do, they yo-yo back shortly there after.   But, people who have goals for improving their bodies often say things to themselves or others along these lines, 'I'm so fat,' 'does my butt look big in these pants,' 'I've gotta get rid of my beer gut,' or 'I hate my arms' and so on.  This mentality will only keep you looking the way you don't want to look, because you keep reliving the same negative thoughts.  You must start focusing only on what you want to look like, not on how you used to look like, not on how you currently look like, and not on how you don't want to look like.  Before you decide that to change the way you look, you should ask yourself "why?"  If you don't have a good enough answer to "why?" you won't care enough to accomplish your new look.  Or you might realize that you don't actually want to change the way you look, but someone else wants you to change, and this will never bring either one of you the happiness you're seeking. 

Most Important for Permanent Weight Loss, Body Shaping, etc:  Thought

Someone once said something to this effect - everything we see today began as nothing more than a thought.  That is a pretty powerful concept when you look closely.  While you may not believe that is true about every single thing, you can at least trace back quite a number of things or events to their origination in thought.  For example, all the furniture you have in your home is there because someone (you or your parents, children, partner, etc.) thought it should be there - it didn't just magically appear out of thin air, and each piece of furniture was created because someone thought it should be created, and same with the tools that were used to make the furniture, and so on and so forth.  Most people are familiar with the Christian explanation of God and his creations - God said, let there be light, and there was light, etc.  All God did was think it and intend it (say/ask) and it became so, immediately.  Getting out of shape doesn't happen immediately, but it does originate in your thought.  Do you know how you got to be out of shape or how you got to look the way you don't want to look?   Maybe you became depressed (negative thinking) after or during a bad relationship, maybe you thought your work was more important than your looks, maybe you thought you'd rather eat whatever you want than look the way you want, etc?  It's not necessarily important that you know what caused you to get out of shape, unless you're still in that situation and need to change your life in other ways first - for example, get out of that bad relationship, or start leaving work on time to exercise and rest, etc.  But if you know what your goal is and you know why you have the goal (and it's a strong enough reason for you), you can achieve it!

Start Losing Weight, Getting In Shape, etc. - Using Visualization

One of the most valuable tools to improving your body is the practice of Visualization.  This is very helpful for changing your body and is used by some of the best personal trainers.  Decide exactly how you want to look - not what you'd settle for, but in a perfect world, what would you look like?  This is important for two reasons.  1) You cannot achieve a goal if you don't specify the goal.  2) In order for Visualization to work, it must be enjoyable, and if you're thinking about something you'd settle for but don't really want, you won't enjoy the process and won't get anything close to what you want!  You can use specific words to describe your goal for your body, like 'I want to be a size 2' or 'I want to be a 30" waist,' but it's not necessary for Visualizing - all you need is a mental image from your own first person perspective, of how you want to look.  This image does not have to appear crystal clear to you, as long as you feel as though it is real... the more you practice, the clearer and more real the image becomes, and the easier the process gets.

Practice your visualization daily before bed (see the "Visualization - ..." article if you want to know why and get more details).  You should be in a somewhat sleepy or dazed, relaxed state of mind/consciousness, and fully enjoying the feelings you get from Visualizing your body in its ideal end result (don't imagine the process, just the end goal).  You shouldn't have to force your thinking whatsoever in order to Visualize - it should come easily and naturally.  If you're trying too hard to consciously picture your body, you're not in the right state of consciousness, so relax and try again later or the following day.  Your mind should almost start to wander as you're visualizing yourself as you want to be and feeling what it feels like to be the way you want to be.  For example, you might picture yourself in a bathing suit at the beach, confident in front of your friends and strangers, happily and easily playing beach volleyball, or you might picture yourself naked with your lover in bed, enjoying intimacy like never before, or you might picture yourself in a new work outfit getting compliments from co-workers, clients, etc. - whatever is enjoyable for you.

Losing Weight, Getting In Shape, etc. - Focusing Only On What You Want & Positive Thinking

Stop ever focusing on anything you don't like about your body and start focusing on anything you do like, what you've accomplished so far, or the feeling of knowing what you will look like.  Start loving your body now, not after it looks the way you want it to look - love your body now and it will love you back by becoming what you want it to be without needing it to be what you want.  When you're focused on the end goal and loving yourself no matter what, your actions will easily support your goal.  It won't be hard to resist that cookie and it won't be like pulling teeth to workout.  You'll enjoy it all, and if you decide to have that cookie, you won't beat yourself up about it - you'll keep focusing on the end goal and knowing that you will get there!  When you combine the visualization technique with the right attitude of gratitude for what you have and what you will have, you won't have to torture yourself with dieting and insane exercise.  But you'll probably find yourself wanting to eat better and exercise some more and more - just keep it at sustainable levels and enjoy the process!  Whatever you enjoy doing you'll maintain and whatever you do not enjoy doing you will not maintain!