Self Talk and Health

“No matter what I do, I cannot lose weight.”

“I’ve tried every diet but nothing seems to work for me.”

“I don’t have time to exercise.”

These are amongst many others phrases I hear over and over when talking to people about improving their health.  I do not hear many positive self talk statements when talking with people who struggle with weight loss and health change.  How many times have you criticsed yourself when embarking on a weight loss program or a new fitness goal?  Stop for a minute and think about it!   Self talk is not just the words we speak out loud but our thoughts too!  Either way they are words we are saying to us.  Most people do not realise the power of their own self talk.  And these words can make weight loss, or any kind of health change more difficult than it should be.

Self talk is very powerful. By repeating the same thoughts over and over, the mind actually comes to believe they’re true. We tend to act in ways consistent with our deepest internal beliefs. So, what you say and think becomes self-fulfilling.  How’s your self talk? Listen to that voice in your head. Is it positive?  Or is it destructive?  Why not write down your self talk?  The results might scare you!

Positive Self Talk

Positive self talk means that we don’t beat ourselves up when we go off course.  Just because we feel we may be off course, it doesn’t mean you have to give up!  Of course, positive self-talk isn’t going to lead to weight loss or health changes all on its own, but it is an important piece to the complex puzzle.

Affirmations

Have you written down your self talk statements or affirmations?  Go and do it now!   If you have, congratulations!  Now go back and have a read over them!  Are they positive or negative?  It’s time to turn those negative statements into positive ones.  So starting with “I” and in the present tense turn each one of those negative statements into a positive one.  For example “No matter what I do, I cannot lose weight” might become “I lose weight easily, I feel great!”  Now do this for the remainder of the negative statements you have written down.

Weight control and health change is not an easy thing for most people to achieve.   Many people I have spoken to had some doubts about reaching their goals.  But by replacing doubts with positive thoughts, we build belief.  And that belief can help you achieve your goals.  In the words of Margaret Thatcher –

“Watch your thoughts for they become words.  Watch your words for they become actions.  Watch your actions for they become habits.  Watch your habits for they become your character.  And watch your character for it becomes your destiny.  What we think, we become.”