Weight Loss without Worry

     We carry ideas around in our head of who we are.  Left unchecked, these ideas about ourselves will determine how we interact with the world.  And when these ideas about who we are become distorted in a negative way our self-image is damaged.

     Marilyn Migliore wrote a wonderful book about compulsive eating called The Hunger Within.  In it she has the reader conduct an informal experiment to reveal if the way you perceive your true size is accurate.  If you take a minute to conduct this experiment on yourself I know you will find the results intriguing.

     She explains the exercise like this – take two pieces of string, each about five feet long.  Now, take one of them and put it down on the floor in the shape of a circle.  Imagine that the circle is the size of your waist, and using only your imagination, adjust the size of the circle to the size you believe your actual waist to be.

     Now take the second string and put it around your waist to measure the real circumference.  When you’ve got it, lay this string down next to the first one.

     What did you find?  Surprised?  I’ll wager that the waist of your imagination is bigger than your actual one.  This is because virtually everyone carries around mental distortions concerning their bodies.  If you perceive yourself or your body in a negative way you are setting yourself up for low self-esteem which makes improving your condition even harder.

     Solution:  Start today to focus on the good things about your body and diminish the thoughts about things you don’t like.  You will be happier and you will free yourself to reach your goal.