Tag: Visualization

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Start with why

The best reasons to lose weight are the ones you can visualize. When going on a weight loss journey, start with a why. We wrote elsewhere about the importance of smart goals and expectations. While a certain weight by a certain date can certainly be smart, it is important to support your overall weight loss goal with a why. 

All roads lead to Rome, but only if you want to get there.

Ask yourself “Why do you want to lose weight?” Is your or a loved one’s wedding coming up? Is it to improve your health? Your sleep? To relieve joint or back pain? To be able to attend a graduation ceremony? To look good at the beach this summer or just to fit better in your favorite pair of jeans? Mine was simple, I wanted to enjoy many more years of snowboarding with my family. And now my new weight loss related goal is to do pull-ups with decent form.

Define your aspiration

At the beginning of your journey and along the way, take a moment to find your why. Use this reason to define your aspiration, the overall goal you want to achieve, the changes you want to see. Imagine the changes, what choices, in particular food choices, does the new you make. Think about it and visualize it.

Visualization is underrated. 

Once you found your why and used it to define your aspiration, you can start visualizing. Imagine the new you, the changes you want to make, what you do regularly to attain this goal. Imagine yourself performing and enjoying the steps necessary to achieve your aspiration, for example eating healthy or exercising. Engage your senses, sense the smells, sights, colors, sounds, while you visualize your goal or the process to get there. Feel the new you.

Fake it till you make it.

The brain does not distinguish between what is real and imaginary, the same regions are activated during both activities. Be it because of confirmation, commitment or consistency bias, the mind has a way to prove what it thinks. Think yourself healthy, exercising and you may find yourself proving that you are. Make it a new habit.

Whatever your reasons to lose weight, remember the journey is more important than the destination. For weight loss as well. Please check our e-book and 30-day New Habits pack for weight loss, now also available on Gumroad here.

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For this year’s resolutions, think process over outcomes, system over goals

Habits to lose weight start with a goal. New resolutions season is upon us. Most popular among these: get in shape, exercise more, lose weight, reduce stress. These are classics and pillars of a healthy weight. Making a resolution is good as it orients us in the right direction. Recent research also confirms that writing down goals increases the chance of achieving them. 

Process over outcomes

However, having a goal alone will still not get you there. The process, made of your habits, will. Also, too much focus on goals is not always fun. As long as the goal is not reached, a lack of success can be discouraging and once the goal is achieved, a sense of purpose can disappear. 

System over goals

Focusing on the process, thinking in terms of system, changes that. When you do something regularly to move you in the right direction (for example eat healthy, exercise, meditate) you are applying your system. Each time you do that, you win, you are making progress and succeeding. Progress and success then contribute to motivation. Adding something to the done list on a regular basis also feels great. And what you do initially, the first steps you take, can be as small and easy as eating an apple, taking a short walk or a few deep breaths.

“We are what we repeatedly do”

Having a goal is not enough. Results come from actions, from behaviors we implement daily, and these habits form the system to reach goals. As Aristotle famously said “we are what we repeatedly do”.

Visualization

Once you have a resolution in mind, take a minute to reflect on what would change when you achieve it. What difference will it make to you? What will improve? How do you feel? Take a moment to bring to life how achieving the resolution feels.

Implementation intention

Finally, for this year’s resolutions, let us formulate them specifically, detailing action, time and location. For example, get in shape, exercise more, become: If it is Monday or Wednesday then I will hit the gym in downtown Geneva over lunch. Formulating “if then plans”, called implementation intentions, is shown to help weight loss and healthy eating. Such plans build associations between cues (in this case a time of day) and a behavior (working out). They make us aware of logistical issues (block calendar, prepare gym bag, plan lunch afterwards). They are commitments and commitments are knowingly hard to break. 

Once formulated, share your resolutions with supportive friends. Use an accountability partner to further increase your odds of reaching your goals in 2020 and beyond. To help you lose weight check our e-book, New Habits for Weight Loss here or available on Gumroad here. At Habitlauncher.com, working on habits to lose weight, we help you build a system to reach your goals.