
Can Thinking Make You Fat? By Sheri O. Zampelli, M.S., CCH
What if your thinking creates your body?
Take the example of Daisy. She always felt like she’d look better if she lost 5 or 10pounds.
From the time she was 16-years-old, she said things like, “I’d like to go swimming but I’m too fat to wear a bathing suit.”
Or, “What guy would want to date a fatty like me?”
At age 31, after 15 years of referring to herself as “fat” she finally became “fat.”
Now she looks at pictures from high school in astonishment.
“How could I ever have thought of myself as fat?
I only wish I were that “fat” now!” She says.
The truth is, our thoughts have a powerful impact on our behavior.
Consider the following example:
Original Thought: “I’ll never lose weight.”
Reaction: I might as well eat this cake. What’s the point of going to the gym?
Result: You eat the cake, skip the gym and prove yourself right!
Perhaps you have a thought such as “I am fat”.
Just because you think it, doesn’t mean it’s true.
You need evidence to support your statement, so you glance down at one of your problem areas or stare at a roll of fat over your jeans.
Now, you have “proof”.
You react.
Maybe you react on a subconscious or biological level, (i.e. you feel bad).
Your body is reacting on a chemical/cellular level.
The longer you hold the thought, “I am fat” and stare at the accompanying “proof” the more real and intense your belief becomes.
Sometimes you feel so fat and miserable that you decide, “what’s the point?” and reach for high-fat, high-sugar comfort food to feel better.
Or, you starve yourself and wreak havoc on your metabolism and set yourself up for future overeating. If you continue this cycle, you are in the process of creating a weight problem.
Here’s how the scenario might play out if you choose to be in control of your mind/body reaction.
You have a thought: “I am fat” but his time you are aware of the power of your thoughts. You refuse to look in the mirror or feel your fat rolls to “prove it”.
Instead, you tell yourself, “I accept my body as it is now and allow it to become thinner” or you tell yourself, “no, that’s a lie, I am actually beautiful, strong and capable.”
Now you are in the process of creating a new self-fulfilling prophecy and you will feel drawn to “prove” your new beliefs.
Some of us feel “fat” because we are comparing ourselves to a thinner person.
In that case we can say to ourselves statements like: “I am doing my best” and “I maintain the right to determine what is attractive by my own standards.”
Other times, the “fat” feeling is triggered by temporary bloating.
In that case say, “I am temporarily bloated but that’s not the same as fat.”
Some of us have a very distorted body image.
Many women I’ve worked with have noted that they feel fat or see themselves as fat even after they’ve reached a goal they thought would make them feel great.
We can take the power out of “I am fat” by stating the facts such as: “I am at my goal weight” or “I’m at the size that’s right for me.”
Choosing these new perspectives over the old, automatic reactions will cause your body to have an entirely different response.
You will have stopped the chain of events that probably triggered overeating or feelings of defeat in the past.
Therefore, slowly but surely you begin creating a new reality.
You no longer fall prey to the old, automatic reactions of beating yourself up or overeating.
If you continue to take charge of your thinking, your setbacks will be smaller, shorter and farther in between.
Gradually, you will gain control of your mind and body so you can find a weight that’s comfortable for you.
It begins with awareness and a choice.
We are all capable of becoming more aware and making positive choices.
Sheri O. Zampelli, M.S., CCH is the author of Donate Your Weight and developer of the Donate Your Weight Program. For details, visit www.donateyourweight.com
I came across this article by a health and fitness professional named Dax Moy.
It applies to anybody that has ever shot down their own ideas because they thought that someone else was already doing it. Here it is:
Thomas Edison’s Great Success Secret by Dax Moy
I used to think that in order to become successful that I had to create unique ideas that no-one, not another soul on the planet had had and then do my best to market them before others had their own ‘unique’ ideas that were the same as mine (think about that for a second)
I used to think that if someone took one of my ideas and used it to make money then they were somehow stealing something from me and weakening my position so that my own success would falter and that if I did the same with theirs that this somehow made ME a thief.
I used to think “I can’t do that, it’s already been done… I’ve missed the boat on this” and quit projects that I’d been passionate about because someone ‘beat’ me to bringing it to market.
I used to.
But not anymore.
Now I realise that no idea is truly unique but that each of us has a unique way of applying (or failing to apply) our ideas to our lives. Because of this, there is more than enough room for EVERY idea any of us ever have.
If this wasn’t the case then there would only ever be one of any type of commodity or item in the world.
One type of car.
One type of TV.
One type of washing machine.
One type of [Insert what YOU do here]
But there’s not is there?
There are hundreds, if not thousands of each of these things.
Why not one more?
Now I realise that every person who came before me and everyone who follows gets an equal share of all the information and ideas of all the generations who precede them.
It doesn’t make sense NOT to use it.
You wouldn’t dismiss reading because someone else ‘invented’ it, would you?
You wouldn’t rid your home of electricity because someone else beat you to it?
You wouldn’t pass up medical help because you had no hand in the founding of medical knowledge, right?
So what if what you want to do is already in existence?
If you want to do it, and do it your way then do it!
Life isn’t like school.
There’s no teacher who’s going to mark you down for copying the kid next to you.
Copy all you want…. then improve.
Now I realise that Thomas Edison’s formula for success is the fastest, surest way to guarantee that you get what you want from life.
“…start where the last man left off.”
See, you really don’t have to re-invent the wheel.
In fact, that’s just not smart.
It’s wasteful.
But…
You CAN paint the wheel the colour your want it.
You CAN use different materials.
You CAN make it bigger or smaller, wider or narrower.
You CAN.
So, if it feels like success has been eluding you and that your ‘unique’ ideas never seem to go anywhere or that others ‘beat you to it’ before you get the rewards, then try Edison’s approach.
Start where the last person left off and add your signature to an existing success.
It’s always easier to improve on someone else’s idea than start from scratch.
That doesn’t mean that the improvement isn’t just as valuable (or more so) than the ‘original’ idea.
The idea you improve upon may change millions of lives whilst the one you insist upon being original may never see the light of day… worth thinking about!
Truth, Joy and Love
Dax
Dax Moy is regarded as the UK’s top fitness professionals and a regular contributor to Health and Fitness Magazine, FITPRO, Trax and other leading UK publications. Dax has built several successful studios, generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in online revenue and has coached thousands of personal trainers to build thriving businesses and achieve their goals through his mentorship programs, coaching and products. For more information about Dax’s programs visit www.daxmoy.com.