Love Your Reflection
A Mind, Body, and Soul Approach to Weight Loss
Abraham Hicks told a great story of Ester and Jerry having dinner with a friend in San Francisco. She was thin and attractive, like a model. She ordered two complete meals and ate them herself, then ate dessert, and then ate Ester and Jerry’s leftover dessert too. Ester turned to her friend and said, “I hope you understand that we can no longer be friends.” [insert laughter here] And her friend replied, “Food is my friend.” Ester joked back and said, “Well, it hates me.” The point of this story is that it’s not food that makes you overweight or even the lack of exercise. It’s what you believe about your body and the actions you take because of those beliefs. And the more you yearn for change while holding onto those beliefs, the more resistance you create, resulting in either no change or sometimes making things worse.
The flip side of resistance is flow.
It’s the difference between going upstream versus downstream. One is clearly easier. For any change to occur, you must get in the downstream flow of your desires. When it comes to your physicality, it can be tough because you’re never not with your body. You’re feeding it, dressing it, and moving it, so if you’re feeling bad about your weight day after day, that’s a lot of focused negative energy towards your body. With this much negative vibrational thought on what you don’t want, guess what? The law of attraction reflects your vibration by sending back more of what you don’t want: being overweight. So, no matter how much you cut calories or spend time exercising, losing weight will be a struggle because your focus is feeling fat, this food will make me fat, and when will I not be fat. Once you change your vibrational thought about your body, the pounds will begin to fall off.
The First Step to Losing Weight is to Love Your Body Just as it is Right Now
Forget the reasons why you gained weight; it doesn’t matter. You can’t change the past, and having regret won’t help. Accept the person that is looking back at you in the mirror. This is you, here and now, and you’re exactly where and who you’re supposed to be at this moment. Your body has carried you through all of your life experiences thus far, and you should be thankful and appreciative of that. And this is where the love comes in.
Say “I Love you” and “Thank you” to your body every day.
And as you shift your vibrational thought from “I hate my body” to “I love my body,” the result is inspired action that leads to improvement, which then leads to motivation from the inside—not the outside. Outside motivation is comparing yourself to others, thinking if you looked like them, you’d be happy. Every person’s body works differently based on their beliefs, so it’s unfair to compare. Inside motivation and loving yourself just as you are is the only path to true change.
The Second Step to Losing Weight is Allowing
As you come into alignment with your body as it is right now, you’ll be inspired to take action that supports the love for your body. In other words, you’ll attract people, places, and events that match your positive thoughts about your body, and it will feel easy, like going downstream. It’s your job to tune into these gifts and allow them to flow. You could suddenly have reduced sugar cravings, or a friend shows up as a walking buddy. Perhaps you discover a healthy recipe app on Instagram, or a new gym opens up close to your house. Things will pop up in your life that match your positive vibration towards your body. You’ll start to feel differently towards food and movement. You’ll want to do what is best for your body. And as you receive these gifts which drive your actions, you will see improvements, such as your weight going down or increased energy. This then increases your motivation, which leads to even more inspired action. This cycle creates momentum and now you’re in the flow.
I want to mention that for many, motivation can get snuffed out by obsessing over progress.
With weight loss, it’s a number game, whether it’s pounds lost or pant size. If, after two weeks, you jump on the scale and only lost one pound, be careful not to let that shift your focus to “What, only a pound?” Instead, be grateful for that pound lost. It’s progress. And remember you’re doing all that you can do, and that’s enough. Even the smallest turn downstream is enough to initiate big change.
The Last Step to Losing Weight is Momentum
Now that you’re in the flow and things feel easy and good, you’ll want to stay in that momentum and your lifestyle choices will begin to support that. For example, you’ll want to exercise more, or with food, you won’t think to count calories or skip dessert because your self-love alignment is at the helm. You’ll automatically choose a healthy item, or simply enjoy dessert without guilt. Either way, food and exercise will be your friend—without even trying. With no resistance, you’ll only attract more of what you want, which means decisions that support weight loss.
I’m sure for some of you, this approach to weight loss may seem too easy or unrealistic. For many, weight loss involves strict food diets, hours of cardio, and tons of stress about the numbers. The law of attraction brings more of what you put your attention on. Most people who are trying to shed pounds focus all their attention on “losing weight.”
If you constantly send out a vibration of wanting to lose weight, then you’ll always need to lose weight.
Whereas, if you constantly send out a vibration of loving your body, then you’ll always love your body. As someone who’s belonged to a gym since I was 15, and struggled with bodyweight since I was 30, I can attest that dieting and over-exercising don’t work. It wasn’t until I changed my beliefs and love for my body that I lost weight and became more confident in my skin.
Recently, due to the coronavirus pandemic, I gained some weight and was feeling bad about it. Unfortunately, my emotional state wasn’t helping my self-love alignment. I mention this because there will always be branches in the water, blocking or slowing down the flow. What’s important to remember is that these branches are there for a reason. They are meant to teach us life lessons and ultimately expand us as living beings. At your own pace, push those branches out of the way and resume downstream—which is all you can do—and it’s enough. Be well.
Tips to Help Get in the Flow
- Clothing. When getting dressed, choose clothes that feel comfortable on your body versus too tight, which can shift your attention to your weight gain.
- Treats. Depriving yourself of sweet and salty treats will only make you crave them more. Remember, food is your friend. Change your belief about food by saying, “I can eat anything I want and still maintain my ideal weight.”
- Movement. Each day your body’s tolerance for exercise changes. When exercising, listen to your body. What is it saying? What does it need? There will always be an ebb and flow of exercise tolerance—that’s OK. Never force your body out of calorie guilt.
- Intention. Every morning, set an intention. Before you get out of bed, put your hands on your heart and say something like, “I am grateful for my slim, healthy body” while visualizing your ideal body. Say this from the heart with love.
- Momentum. Use what inspires you for motivation and continued momentum. It could be music, nature, or yoga/meditation. Find what energizes you to be your best self. Keep your vibration positive.
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