Visualize Yourself Thin

Experts agree that visualizing is one of the key factors in obtaining your goals - including weight loss.

Is it really as easy it sounds?

Visualizing takes practice - just like anything else in life. It may be hard to picture yourself 50 pounds lighter - especially if it's been years since you've been at your ideal weight (if ever).

When you visualize it's important that you believe you can achieve what you're visualizing. Visualization isn't dreaming and hoping. It's not sitting back in your easy chair thinking how grand life will be once you're at your ideal weight.

It's best to begin visualizing small changes ...

Picture yourself ten pounds lighter or one size smaller. Clothes that used to be snug are now loose. Imagine how proud you will be of yourself - You've done it! You have lost ten pounds!!!

That wasn't that hard was it?

Now, see yourself sitting in a restaurant. Imagine the waiter asking you if you want dessert. You respond with a confident "No thank you" and feel good about your decision.

Do you have a favorite food that you simply can't say "no" to? Practice visualizing yourself being offered this food and passing it by without a second thought. If this is just too hard for you to imagine right now, then in your minds eye see yourself just eating half of it.

If you are planning on attending a social event, mentally rehearse what you will eat and what you will pass up. Instead of focusing on all the good food that will be served, focus on the friends you'll be seeing. Picture yourself mingling and meeting new and interesting people.

Visualize yourself at the grocery store, you're walking down all the familiar aisles, but now instead of mindlessly grabbing all your high fat - high calorie favorite foods ... You are taking your time. You are reading labels. You are making wise choices about the food you place in your shopping cart. You feel good knowing that you are doing something good for yourself and for your family.

Picture yourself cooking dinner. You're having fun experimenting with seasonings and spices. You are also trying new fruits and vegetables and are surprised of just how good they really are. You grill and bake instead of frying.

Can you see yourself sitting down for dinner? What's on your plate? Half of your plate should consist of vegetables and/or fruits. Picture yourself eating your veggies and enjoying them. You never realized just how good they were.

All of this visualizing may seem sort of silly to you at first. But if you stop and think about it for a minute ... By nature we are constantly envisioning.

Think about the last time you planned a vacation, a party or a dinner? Didn't you visualize how you wanted everything to look? Where you would go? How you would feel? What you would wear? And for any woman who has ever planned a wedding there is definitely a lot of visualizing going on.

Athletes visualize themselves performing at their best. They see themselves passing the finish line first, or making the winning touchdown.

Begin visualizing your goals today. Put aside a few minutes each day to consciously visualize yourself overcoming obstacles. Make it real. When you can mentally see it and feel it, you are more likely to achieve it.

Start with small goals. For example once you've achieved the initial ten-pound weight loss, begin visualizing yourself another ten pounds lighter. Pat yourself on the back for every small achievement. Keep on going one step at a time and before you know it you will be at your ideal weight.

Your weight loss journey is your personal experience. It's about you, every challenge you have overcome and every little goal that you have achieved.