How has weight loss affected your self-image over the years?

For some of us, our ideas about ourselves have broken down every positive sentiment we once had. For others, the image of themselves is okay, but they know they can do better.

Losing weight, exercising, eating right, and improving your thoughts about yourself can be challenging. You might even be at the point where you have given up altogether.

It’s time to change your health story for good, and we are going to tell you exactly how to do it.

The Power of Self-Image 

Self-image is how you see yourself physically. Usually, it also has an emotional connection and touches on your thinking, too.

Your sense of self is an important thing because it shapes your behaviors, actions, thoughts, and all kinds of things about yourself.

Looking In the Mirror

Some of us dread looking in the mirror. We don’t want to see that our pants are too tight, that a button is about to pop on a shirt that fit last year, or that we now have a double chin.

These thoughts (and a reflection in the mirror) aren’t what we want to associate with ourselves.

We are challenging you to be brave and stand in front of the mirror. What do you see? Who is reflecting back at you?

Name the things you don’t like about the person in the mirror. Then, name the things you do like.

A Deeper Look

Once you start naming the bad and good that you see in the mirror, in most cases, you will find yourself going beyond skin deep.

You might start with, “I dislike my upper arms,” and then, you could find yourself saying, “They could have been better if I had gone to the gym more.”

Alternatively, you might think this reflection in the mirror: “Could do with losing a couple of pounds, but hey, at least I’m funny.”

Many times, the person in the mirror has physical traits you like or dislike, but what you actually notice about them are characteristics, behaviors, thoughts, or actions.

Those things aren’t actually being reflected in the mirror; they are reflections of your mind or your thinking. It touches on the idea of self-concept and says a lot about your self-esteem, but all of it starts with a physical representation of yourself.

How You Think of Yourself

Let’s consider those thoughts about yourself a bit more.

By looking in the mirror, your thoughts could have gone from your physical appearance to perceptions about yourself and then spiraled to entirely different places.

You could be thinking about how other people see you, which shouldn’t affect how you see yourself, but it does.

Another thing you could be considering is the person you would like to be. Now, that is important: the vision you have of yourself for the future. That’s a powerful image.

A New Weight Loss Strategy

Everything we’ve discussed so far has to do with how you think about yourself; it reveals something about losing weight that you might not have considered before:

Releasing weight permanently happens when your thoughts reflect your desires.

Find out how to do this with our Winning the Game of Weight Loss Training.

Prioritizing Self-Efficacy

In between all these thoughts, you could be wondering: What does this have to do with weight loss?

Quite a bit, actually.

A Self-Efficacy Study

Rhonda Anderson, a researcher, recently conducted a study on healthy aging in women.

Anderson found that many women wanted to lose weight and be healthier but didn’t know how. It came down to effective strategies for healthy living, which few of the women had in place.

It is something Anderson calls self-efficacy: A person’s ability to efficiently commit and see through actions that get them closer to a goal. It comes down to much smaller actions like not eating.

What Does It Mean for You?

Self-efficacy starts with your thoughts. It begins the moment you think, I want to look better, or, I want to lose weight.

Those are only thoughts. You have to see them through, and that requires self-efficacy.

Anderson observed that self-efficacy doesn’t mean a person is spending hours in the gym or eating a restricted diet. It came down to small actions like skipping dessert or going for a daily walk.

Visualizing a Better You 

Self-efficacy can help you maintain positive self-esteem and image of yourself. We already know that it starts with your thoughts and committing to small changes, but that isn’t easy if you have always struggled to take action.

Visualizing Success

One strategy that works exceptionally well to improve self-efficacy is to work on your thinking—that doesn’t sound too bad, and it’s easier to do than you think. But you have to take it a step further.

Many times, you might commit to yourself that you will start a new diet, lose weight, exercise, or meditate but never get that far.

There is something different you can do because, most times, you aren’t mentally ready for action yet.

It requires that you work on your mind and visualize yourself doing what you plan to.

Committing to eating healthier? Imagine yourself making a nutritious meal.

Committing to exercise? Visualize yourself in the gym.

The possibilities are endless, so start seeing it in your mind’s eye.

How John Assaraf Did It

Visualization is incredibly powerful because it trains your brain to think as if you have already achieved your health and wellness goal. Your brain automatically impacts your behavior and makes it easier to get into the shape you want.

John Assaraf, our founder, is one of the greatest examples of this strategy.

A couple of years ago, John created a goal that he wanted to have a six-pack by the time he turned 60.

He created a mental image of him in his best shape yet. John revisited this image daily in his mind, which primed his brain for success.

Shape Your Ideal Body

When you change your thinking about weight loss, your attitude toward yourself changes. You become someone who doesn’t get upset by minor setbacks because you know it’s just a small obstacle.

Shaping your dream body remains your focus, and you will do everything to get it right. Win the Game of Weight Loss with our unique training that will set you up for success.

Improving Your Self-Belief

Losing weight is a breeze if your mind is ready for it. Before you can get to this point, you have to improve your self-belief which affects your self-confidence and self-esteem. It’s also a predictor of your weight loss success.

A Visualization Exercise

The process of visualization is easy. If you can daydream; enjoy watching TV shows or movies; or can tell a story to someone else, then you can succeed with visualization.

In this video, John explains how to do creative visualization.

Visualization is powerful.

Once you get the hang of it, you can use it in any area of your life and for any goal. Just imagine how unlimited your potential becomes if you use visualization for your health, wellness, and career!

Create a Vision Board

Sometimes, visualization can seem a bit daunting, or it may feel like you have lost touch with the image you created for the future. A vision board can circumvent this problem.

A vision board has pictures or words that describe your future in a concrete manner. It’s something you can look at daily to inspire you and keep you on track.

Write down the mental image you have of your ideal shape. Find keywords in this description, and write down those words on cue cards to add to your vision board.

Search for images of the traits you want and actions you have to take to get there. It could be a sample meal plan, photos of healthy meals, or of running shoes.

All of these small things will make your goal more concrete.

Improve Your Self-Efficacy

Visualization gives power to self-efficacy and allows you to progress toward your dreams much faster. It also inspires small actions that create a compound effect over the long term.

There are many ways to be more efficient.

A vision board is just one thing to use for inspiration.

You could use affirmations for weight loss and getting fit. Repeating a positive mantra that confirms your self-belief can keep you inspired on challenging days.

After you have done your visualization, you can also write down a list of small actions that will help you along the journey—things like eating five servings of vegetables daily, going for a walk, or only having one drink over the weekend.

It isn’t necessary to do everything at once. Choose one or two things, and focus on getting them right before moving to your next step.

A Brand New You

Are you ready to Win the Game of Weight Loss?

We know you are!

Use our weight loss strategy to become an entirely new you. Find out how with our on-demand training.

What do you have to lose by trying our strategy?

A whole lot of weight and inches, but the best part is what you will gain: a better sense of self-worth!