If you've been trying to lose weight, and have not had success then you have found the right place. This is the method that I used to lose over 50lbs. Every person that has ever lost weight uses this method to accomplish their goal, whether they realize it or not.
When I got married in 2001 I would categorize my body as "a couple pounds overweight." Looking back, the proper categorization was "fat tub of goo." I believed that I was only a couple pounds overweight, and that I just had a lot of muscle or something, which is why the scales said I weighed so much. I didn't realize how badly I needed to lose weight, a lot of weight.
On my wedding day I was tipping the scales at an elephantesque 230lbs, which is quite impressive for a guy that's 5′10″ and was 160lbs in high school. I got married 3 years after I graduated from high school, when I was 21, which means I gained 70lbs. in 3 and 1/2 years. How I thought I was just a "couple" pounds overweight I'll never know. Today, it's been 5 years since my wedding day, and I now tip the scales at 174. That's 56 pounds of lard that I've trimmed off my frame.
I didn't struggle, starve, work myself to death or use any form of diet pills.
How did I do it then you ask?Simple, I lost weight the easy way, by using my brain.
It is impossible to lose weight if your brain is not along for the ride. If your brain thinks you look fine, and that there is no need for you to lose weight your body will not lose weight. It's really that simple. But, just like everything that seems simple, it's really much more complicated than that.
This is a picture of me from 2003. My wife and I went on a cruise to the Caribbean, this picture is of me standing on the ship at port in St. Thomas. As you can see, I look as though I've been pumped full of air, especially my face. It was these pictures from this trip where I realized that I was in need of losing weight. BAD. I realized for the first time that I wasn't "a few" pounds overweight, I was a fatbody. My clothes might hide it here a bit, but I had a full fledged dunlap. (dunlap = my belly dunlapped over my belt)
I started losing weight on this trip, even though Carnival could have accused me of being a cow the way I would graze the buffet lines. I was finally able to establish in my mind that I was fat. This was the first step to me losing weight. If you fail to take this step, you will never reach your weight loss goals. You will fail every time. This step is the most important.
The second step in this weight loss plan is to set your goal on how you want to look, not how much you want to weigh. This is another critical step that is often overlooked. Most people say how much weight they want to lose, but never state how it is that they want to look. I used to think if I lost 10-15 pounds I'd have six pack abs. I know it sounds crazy, but that's what I thought. If I had held myself to those goals I'd still be fat. I'd still weight 215-220, and I would still be unhappy about how I looked. So decide how you want to look, which folds, creases, curves and wiggles you want to eliminate. Really think about it clearly, once you can do that we can move on to step 3.
Once you've realized that you NEED, and I mean really NEED to lose weight, and you've decided exactly how it is that you want to look-then-and only then you can put your plan in motion. Next you must form a very clear mental image of your new self. You must see yourself enjoying life in your new body. See the new clothes that you will be wearing, see yourself enjoying outdoor activities, enjoying everything that you want to enjoy, and most importantly, see how much pleasure you have because you have lost weight.
Many people struggle with the idea of picturing themselves in their new bodies. If this is you I recommend you do it this way. Imagine yourself seated in a movie theater. The entire room is empty, except for you. You're seated in the middle row, in the middle seat, looking forward to the movie screen. Once this movie begins, you realize that it's a movie of you.
Put yourself on that screen, make the images that you are wanting to experience flash in front of you.
Simply imagine that you're watching a movie of you! Once you've got that down you will come to enjoy it, I promise! I would recommend that you spend a couple minutes everyday putting clear mental images of yourself enjoying all the experiences that you want to in your new body.
Most importantly I want you to feel these experiences, make them as real as you possibly can. If you do this before you go to bed at night, you will soon begin to dream in this fashion, of yourself in your new body. It's great!
Now that you are experiencing the pleasure of your new body, you need to turn the idea of remaining the way you are into a feeling of pain. Know that all the mental images you have of your new body, and all of that pleasure you feel will not be yours, if you remain the way you are. By remaining in your current body you will lose out on so much, you will miss out on so much fun and enjoyment in life that the very idea of maintaining the status quo causes PAIN.
Let's take a moment to review.
You MUST lose weight. You are fully aware, and have a full understanding of your need to trim down.
You have decided how exactly it is that you want to look, not how much weight you would like to lose.
You are forming mental images of yourself, and enjoying all the benefits, experiences and pleasures you desire from your weight loss in your mind. You can see the clothes you wear, the things you do, everything you want in life in your mind. You can see it clearly, and you can see that it brings you great pleasure.
You understand that by not acting upon your new desires, and choosing to stay the way that you currently are, you are going to bring pain upon yourself. Not losing weight will bring you pain, whereas losing weight will bring you all the pleasures that you have imaged in your mind.
I lost 56 pounds, and I will lose the little bit more that I still have to lose because I embraced these principles. I stopped eating as much. Why? Because by eating less I would bring pleasure to my life, and by pigging out I was bringing only pain. I exercised. I didn't exercise enough, I could have lost this weight faster had I put myself in a strict exercise program, but I didn't spend all my time doing nothing anymore. I went to the mall and found clothes that I was excited to fit into. I encouraged myself to keep pressing along by looking ahead, and seeing myself in clothes that were flattering on me, not fattering on me.
You can see now that I have lost a lot of girth. My old clothes do not fit anymore. I have no desire to ever wear them again. I do not want to be "big boy" anymore. I like the trimmed down version of me much better. By the way, this picture of me speaking is from December 2006.
Of course if you want to lose weight you're going to need to diet, exercise and make life changes that allow your body the fuel that it needs, not the fuel that you want. Losing weight is not entirely about your diet and exercise though. You must have a desire to lose that weight, and a reason to lose it if you are going to persist when things get tough.
I used to hate running. I hated it. Today when I run I go out and run around a lake near my house, it's 6.5 miles, and for some reason the vast majority of the run is uphill. I actually enjoy this run because it clears my head, allows me time to think, and moves me closer to the pleasure that I desire from being in great shape. I do not look at running as a burden, or as an experience of pain. I view it as a pleasurable one.
When I go out to eat I do not stuff myself anymore. Typically now I eat less than 1/2 what I used to. I hardly ever drink soda, and I never touch alcohol. I do my best to put healthy food in my body, and I enjoy doing it. All of these things bring me pleasure, and stuffing my face full of fast food, or fattening unhealthy crap brings me pain.
Losing weight is that easy. You can form the image of your new self in your mind, and the pleasure that you desire from that can drive you toward your goal in a totally unstoppable way.
Josh Bickford wants a magnificent life. In fact, he wants all people to escape from the pain of mediocrity and live in the pleasure of greatness.
His desire is to inspire, encourage and use his life as an example to everyone so that they can REACH FOR MAGNIFICENCE! If you don't want to settle for everything in life, but would like to live the life of your dreams come over to http://www.magnificenceblog.com and learn how!
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