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Lose Weight with a Positive Attitude

Decided to lose weight? Looking for a diet plan that suits your lifestyle? Want to ensure that your diet is nutritionally sound and promotes healthy, lasting changes?

Never thought you could use your mind as a tool for achieving your goal, did you? Your mind is one of the most powerful weapons at your disposal. You should make full use of it to get out of the vicious cycle of yo-yo diets (giving up on one to start another), over and over again.

Lose Weight with a Positive Attitude

Americans are exercising less and eating more than ever before. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 65% of adults are overweight, and 23% are obese.

Excess weight has a significant impact on physical and mental health. There may be many causes behind this “horizontal growth,” but there is only one solution to the problem: losing weight.

In addition to making sure you have a well-balanced diet, nutritionists and psychologists recommend using the following techniques to win the battle against obesity:

Don’t dream

Dreaming is free. But having your feet firmly planted on the ground may be even cheaper. Set goals that are easy to reach. If you drink three soft drinks a day, cut down to one a day rather than trying to cut them out altogether. You might end up drinking more than the three original ones if you don’t change it gradually.

If your goals are modest, they will be easier to reach. Be honest with yourself. Work out the things in your life you can control. Increase your exercise time by five minutes rather than trying to run a marathon in one day. The same goes for the food you eat. Plan to eat a salad with every meal rather than becoming semi-vegetarian overnight. Concentrate on adding healthy foods to your diet rather than thinking about what you should eliminate.

Adopt a “can do” attitude

Every time you turn down a dessert or walk an extra fifteen minutes, acknowledge your progress. Don’t criticize yourself for not doing more. To improve your self-esteem, talk to yourself. Hold an internal conversation and congratulate yourself on your achievements. A recent study by the University of Illinois showed that people with a positive attitude who constantly reaffirm they can lose weight and stick to an exercise plan, found it much easier to reach their goal than those who complain and dwell on being overweight.

Visualize your success

Practice your success in your mind, like actors that rehearse their roles over and over again. Imagine not only that you are eating roasted chicken with a vegetable salad and doing an hour of exercise, but also that you are enjoying it at the same time. Think of that dress you so want to wear and visualize yourself arriving at a restaurant or a party, and having everyone turn to look at you admiringly. Once you’ve got your longings sorted out in your mind, you can start on a plan of action to turn your dreams into reality.

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