The Secret to Weight Loss - Shed Pounds by Shedding Thoughts

Your body is simply an extension and reflection of your mind. That statement took less than three-seconds to read, but could take lifetimes to fully understand. Nonetheless, it is a fact; and it is a fact that you would do well to try and understand. Of course, you don't have to; but it will make your life happier and more rewarding if you do. Books and books - including the Bible - have tried to teach and explain this fact; but it is still up to each individual to come to understand it and apply it in their own lives.

The good news is that there is no time limit; so don't get in a hurry and don't be anxious about outcomes - or your current situation. Take your time and relax. Be patient with yourself, and be good to yourself as you try to understand how your body is created and re-created on a daily basis - actually moment-by-moment - to reflect the status of your mind. When things disappear from your mind, there is nothing to keep the physical reflection in place; and, in time, it will fall away on its own.

You see, the more old, stagnant thinking you hold onto fears, worries, resentments, etc, the more you are holding onto in every area of your life. There is what appears to be an exception to this, but it really isn't. Some people who hold onto old grudges, etc, seem to waste away rather than put on the pounds. But the metaphor holds true: If you let your thoughts eat away at you, your body will be eaten away by your thoughts. These folks simply process those thoughts differently. Overweight people "stuff" their old thoughts and emotions, and "hold onto them" for some sort of protection, security, or identity. On the other hand, people who waste away don't suppress the thoughts they are holding onto; they chew on them, and their minds chew back.

You can e-mail me your "Yeah, buts" and "What about's" later; but for now, if you haven't figured this weight thing out yet, don't simply assume I am wrong, crazy, stupid, etc, because I am saying something different. What you are looking for is something different, is it not? A different body, perhaps - or a different life? I promise you there is a book coming that will give you more foundation; but, right now, I'm just trying to give you the FIX. If you've read any other posts on this blog, you have read all the applicable quotes - from a variety of authorities - over and over. I kind of beat the "As a man thinketh..." thing into the ground; but, if you are overweight, I bet that's what you think. And I bet you think about your weight a lot - and in a not-so-positive light. And so it is done unto you.

There are two basic things you should understand about fat:

1. It is not bad, it's your friend and protector

2. Food doesn't make fat, and it doesn't make you fat, your mind does. And it does for very good reasons - mostly. For starters, understand that your body makes fat, and without it you'd die in any of a number of ways -- depending on your circumstances. That's the main reason your body makes fat - to protect you from dying. Thanks to our DNA, our fearful, stressed-out, overweight ancestors were even able to pass some of these tendencies down the line; but the underlying reason is, nonetheless, the same -protection.

So, even if you blame your weight on your genes, you'll be happy to know that those "codes" are pre-programmed tendencies - a sort of default setting, if you will - and they can be overridden -- or rewritten. Even when you were dealt a bad hand, in other words, you can discard and draw again. You can even choose which card you will draw - if you are able to adequately understand the first sentence of this post, that is.

There are also two basic ways your body decides to manufacture fat. The original process begins with a perceived threat, or a reason the body needs protection. The reasons are usually pretty simple: Starvation, Climate, Falls/Impacts/Trauma, and Attack. That pretty much covers the threats on this planet -- and fat protects us from all of these things in a variety of ways. Brilliant! We'll talk about some of those ways and reasons later; for now, on to the other way fat is created - it is "copied." Indeed, it is done unto you as you "thinketh" and, even after you have lost your reason for needing protection, you may still have an image in your mind of you with too much weight. Focusing on your weight, listening to others comment on your body, staring into the mirror with any emotion other than love, and talking negatively about your weight or body, are just some of the ways we re-create fat we no longer need.

So, your body is a masterpiece - a work of art. It was created from an idea, according to a plan. Now that you have an image, however, you can continuously change by copying what you see and adding to it. This is not unlike drawing a picture and making a photocopy of it - then drawing new elements on the copy. Of course, you can add to the original, as well; and where the body is concerned, that is indeed what you are always doing - adding to the original. Even if you are "photocopying" fat, or ideas about being fat, the copies are being used to change the original. How? Because being fat, seeing yourself as fat, thinking you're fat, or worrying about your weight, are all enough to stress you out.

When the body is under stress (fear of attack, starvation, injury, or the elements, for instance) it naturally slows or stops digestion and releases the stress hormone cortisol to convert undigested food into fat which will keep us warm, pad our bones and organs, give us reserve energy, and make us look bigger, or unattractive, to anyone who may want to act aggressively towards us. Stress is stress; and even if you are just stressed about your weight, the stress response is still on. And when you are in the stress response, you are producing fat.

So, there is really just the original reasons for making fat; but our culture and our ways of judging ourselves have just added to the list of things we need protection from - like judgment and rejection, for instance. It is an unfortunate truth that the judgment and rejection is usually coming from ourselves - as the result of our thoughts. We can change this as easily as changing our minds. Even when the judgment and rejection comes from an outside source, it is still our choice whether or not we dwell on such things - and whether we "spin" things in a positive direction, or a negative one. "Sticks and stones," as they say; your judgments can't hurt me if I don't really care about them. And I don't; and neither should you. Let go of all judgment - even the judgment that there are judgmental people in the world. Seriously, that's their problem. There are worse things to be than overweight; and being harsh and judgmental is certainly on that list. If being afraid causes fat, just imagine what the acid of anger and hatred do to people. You don't really have to imagine, by the way; just find someone who's been that way a while and look at the reflection of their mind.

If you can let go and free your mind of excess baggage, you will free your body of excess baggage. Release all that no longer serves you; release all that you are no longer enjoying. Any time you think a thought that makes you unhappy in any way (angry, afraid, worried, mournful, sad, etc) use your powerful mind to choose a different thought -- one that makes you happy. It is just like changing the television channel with a remote control; channel surf in your mind for a happy thought - and then stay there. Continue to affirm what you want, regardless of what you see in the mirror. Time doesn't stop; and change is continuous. We shape change -- gradually and instantly - with our thoughts. And we can even change our perception of outcomes and situations: "I guess that wasn't so bad after all..."

You have to do this for yourself; you have to take control of the thoughts you choose. I promise you the thoughts the television provides you with are not helping; start choosing your own thoughts. Stop picking up magazines in the check-out lines, stop watching and reading bad news, and remove yourself from commercial programming; all of these things are specifically designed to make you discontent and stressed-out. If you have to write down a list of good thoughts and memorize them, then do it. But if you want your outer world to change, your inner world must change first.

So far, I have been speaking of thoughts and fat in a very physical, clinical context -- about the very tangible relationship between your thoughts and your body. But what about prayer? Can you pray to lose weight and have it magically disappear. Read The Belief Formula. You cannot pray without thinking; the physiological effects of thought are just part of the way your desires are made real and your prayers are answered. The simple fact is that you just have to wake-up to the fact that your thoughts create your experience, including your experience of self, and you first have to change your thoughts to change your experience.

Pete Koerner, author of The Belief Formula
http://www.ExploreExpandEvolve.com