Mind Control

So, I'm not going to lie... We had a really rough week this week. Crystal was the only one with a loss... Whoops! Here are the results:

• Jerusha - maintained. I guess that's better than gaining.
• Rebecca - only gained 0.2. Not bad!
• Crystal - lost 0.8. Yay for our only loss!
• Clarissa - gained 2.8
• Jason - gained 5.8

I've definitely been lacking on the motivation scale lately and I'm not sure why. However, it led me to do a lot of reflecting, searching, and reaching that led me to the following thoughts.

I was remembering back to when I was consistently losing weight. What was I doing to help keep me on track? Then it dawned on me... I had so many people constantly telling me that I was "the healthiest person they knew", that I was such a "determined person", that I was "strong", that I actually started to believe them. Did I originally feel that I was any of these things? Absolutely not. It was the constant pounding of these thoughts into my brain that led me to believe they were true. Believing that they were true, I started making healthier choices, I felt stronger and more determined to prove that I was the things people said I was.

It's funny... We have so many areas of life that teach us that if we're overweight, we're inferior, we're weak, we don't deserve the best in life, etc, etc, etc. When in actuality, these very thoughts and labels make us feel inferior, weak, and undeserving and probably keep us from losing the weight that we so desire to lose. Are these facts? Absolutely not! So why do we believe them? Because they've been pounded into our brains our entire lives... Not only from media, but from weight-loss support groups, co-workers, people on the street, and sometimes even friends and family. There is something seriously wrong with this picture!

We have the power to train our brains. Sounds like a ridiculous thing to say, but it's true! So why do we allow these negative thoughts to remain in our brains? Again, reflecting back to when I was losing consistently, I actually led myself to believe that I didn't really like chocolate. I love chocolate, but every time I ate it, I would tell myself it wasn't that great and I would try to find things about it that would gross me out... even if they weren't true. People lie to themselves all the time and eventually they believe these lies to be truth. So, I say lie to yourself! Just kidding, but not really. 

So you may not be a healthy person currently, but if you start telling yourself 20 or 30 times a day that you are a healthy person, you truly will start acting like a healthy person. I've tried, tested, and passed this experiment. Recently, I have trained my own brain to believe that I'm a failure based solely on the fact that I've gained over half my weight back... So, what has happened? I've started failing... a lot. I have no will-power because I don't believe that I'm strong or determined anymore... I believe I'm a failure. Therefore, I need to re-train my brain to believe that I am a strong and determined person. It's the truth. I've endured a lot and have still remained positive, for the most part. I am strong! I am determined! I will repeat these things to myself over and over and over, until I've surpassed the amount of times the world is telling me I'm the opposite.

It is time to re-train our brains! Convince yourself you don't like your favorite foods that aren't healthy for you. It is absolutely possible! Is it difficult? Heck yes! Is it worth it? Absolutely! You are a deserving, strong, resilient individual and you deserve to know this about yourself!

"The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." - William James

"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality." - Plutarch