Week 9, "H20" Lose 20 Pounds by Halloween Challenge.

pink_and_shiny

Hey everyone! Here's our Week 9 thread! Silly me - I never paid attention to what forum these threads were started in. :embarassed:

We're nearing the finish line...keep up the great work, stay inspired, and let's make our goals happen!

elmct57

thanks--bumping for the end of week weigh-in...

RushinBruisette

We're home after our wonderful day at the Missouri Botanical Gardens and Zoo. Beautiful weather and scenery and my gorgeous hubby to stare at all day, what more could I ask for

Update on Grandpa, he is speaking now and understands mostly what's going on. The last memory he has is of last Friday (not this past). He has fought off almost all infections and pneumonia and will be out of ICU hopefully tomorrow, depending on when a room opens up and could possibly be home by this coming Friday. After the beautiful day we had, this news just makes it even better. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and dealing with my moods this past month. Love you all.


Sorry to overload the thread with pics, but here's just a few:
Botanical Gardens



and Zoo:
running loose

yea, I was actually that close to him

newest baby, born 6ft 4in tall

achbarrow

Bru-Looks like you had a great time! Great news about grandpa *hugs*

Happy week 9 everyone!

deanna324

SW for H2O Challenge 223
CW 207

4 pounds to go

mollybeslimmer

yay!!..
my weight went up and down so much I got dizzy!!-lol-
I did not make the 20 ..yet..
but I do not quit.
slow and steady.

fitterpam

Adding myself to this one - I'm starting to move again on the scale so fingers are crossed for a great Thursday weigh in!!

cstibbe

Week 9 woooo! Only two more weeks. Weigh in this morning =155.5 I am .5 lbs away from my first Halloween mini goal I set for myself when I started mfp in august and 3.5 away from this 20 lb challenge. I think I can do it!! Good luck to everyone and push yourselves in these final two weeks! We are almost to the finish line!

nursee67

Have a great week everyone!

Certified_Femail

Be4 I say how much i lost i wanted to say how utterly awesome that first flower is. I have never seen such a thing in my life. Gods creations are o so beautiful

Now for the exciting part I can finially add 2 more lost lbs woohooo. I am so very excited. I only have 3/4th of my lbs to lose. Aiming for 30 and lost 8 so far. I didnt want to get on the scale but i forced myself and to my surprise it was a great feeling to know all this hard work we are all doing really pays off.

pink_and_shiny

bru - wonderful pictures. Hope your anniversary was nothing but great.
mollybeslimmer - don't you hate seeing that fluctuation? It is amazing how much our weight changes throughout the day/week.
fitterpam - fingers crossed for you!
cstibbe - congrats on being so close to the goal!
certified_femail - go you on kicking 2 pounds to the curb!

I'm still amazed that we've already reached Week 9. We're awesome. I'm planning on having the website and weigh-in log fully updated and uploaded tonight. I'll have to do calculations to see total poundage lost as of last week. I'm sure the number is stunning!

AprilVal

Hey everyone.. im finally back from captivity.. Im sick AGAIN!! blah.. My luck this cold season has sucked horribly so far..

Had a wonderful time on Saturday. We went out to eat on the way to Fort wayne.. Went to Snickerz, the comedy club.. There were two great comedians.. I drank an full pitcher. BIG pitcher of Frozen Strawberry Daq.. After that we left and went to Shangirl la West, a stripclub.. tons of fun.. While there we were out on the patio so my husband and friends we were with could smoke, I had a woman who came up and asked me to sit on her lap. It was a dare. Im like ok.. and made me kinda give her a lap dance.. haha.. she lifted my boobs to see how heavy they were.. haha.. she said.. yep they are heavy than mine.. they gave me 2 dollars.. it was fun.. Then we were up at the stage the one time and the guy that was with us had me give him a semi lap dance.. hah. i did for a sec.. he tucked a dollar in my pants.. haha.. then another time we went up to the stage.. all of us had got a dance but my friend jess.. and the stripper says to jess in her ear 'tell your friend to dress appropriately next time' Im in a freaken strip club.. haha.. I guess all the attention was on me because of how i dressed and my chest.. its one of those are you freaken kidding me type moments... Then we left there around 2am, went to Ihop for some food too re-cooperate a little bit.. then went to our hotel.. boy was it NICE.. Very nice hotel for the 99 dollars i paid for it.. Spent some time together.. only slept like 4 hours..

Yesterday.. my husband called me at 11am.. and I went with him to haul scrap for his work all day.. While out hauling scrap we stopped an got some food from speedway.. such a romantic anniversary lunch.. haha.. it was ok.. its how it works sometimes.. then we went to the movies later on in the evening.. Watched RED.. and then we went to buffalo wild wings.. When we came home and spent time together.. we had a much needed talk.. i was a little upset during the talk but it was worth it.. I found out that he has been wanting to have a baby.. so maybe now i can try a little harder.. so just maybe!

I have yet to weigh myself.. lol im sure it isnt good.. after all the going out to eat and alcohol.. I still have one more day full of alcohol.

RushinBruisette

Sounds like an interesting anniversary April! Welcome back

Good luck TTC, now that he's given you the 'go' for the most part. I think we are going to see what happens by this time next year and if I'm not preggers by then, we're headed to the doc to see if there's something wrong with either of us.

bjshooter

Howdy people, happy aniverseries Great pics
Well done on everyones losses also.

I lost again this week 2lb, never saw that coming

SW169
CW162

7lb down, puts me 30lb overall though.

Really want to be at 10lb for this challenge by 29th (my bday) 30th (baby's 1st bday).

iluvwdw

My weight as of Aug 31 was 206.8
Sept 26 - 202.
Week 6 - Sept 29 - 201.52
Week 7 - Oct 6 - 202.4
Week 8 - Oct 11 - 201.3
Week 9 - 197.56

total loss - 9.24/20 - 70.76 to go!

AprilVal

Any suggestions on relaxing while ttc?? Anyone.. Im always soo stressed out and my husband wants me to work on not stressing as much.. his job makes it hard.. Im always stressing whether he will make it thru the day alive.. my job is stressful.. I just gotta find a better way to manage it.. I want a baby sooooo badly.. youd think id be pregnant by now.. but nope.. but its not tom time yet either.. next week. blah.

pink_and_shiny

Welcome back, April! Awww I got all warm and fuzzy about you guys TTC.
bjshooter - well done on the loss!
iluvwdw - congrats! WTG!

Weigh-in day tomorrow for me. Decided to get on the scale today to get myself ,mentally prepared for the actual weigh-in, but, my scale decided to be a brat. Sometimes it likes to report a ridiculously low weight that is entirely impossible and today was one of those days. I stepped on, and it reported back with 171.4. :laugh: Silly scale. I stepped on again and it said 184. Usually when it does the too-low-to-be-true weight it is about 9 pounds lighter than reality, so let's hope that is actually the case. But if it is a gain, it is what it is.

AprilVal

I need help breaking free out of my shell.. and lowering some of my walls i have around me. I need to let my hair down and actually allow myself to have fun..

pink_and_shiny

April just pretend you're back at that strip club giving lap dances. A good way to get yourself to have more fun...fake it until you make it. Act like you're enjoying life more, and act like you're ready to take more chances. The more you pretend, the more it becomes a part of you and the more you actually truly be enjoying life more, taking more changes, and breaking free of whatever is in your mind that is holding you back.

fitterpam

April, take some time a couple of times a day - especially when you're feeling stressed to remove yourself from the situation, get somewhere quiet and just focus on your breathing. I do this a few times a day (even a bathroom stall at the office works). Just forget whatever is stressing you out and breath - deep breathing 5x. When you finish that ask yourself if there is a different way to approach the situation.

I have the same issue and have found that a concerted effort to reevalutate a particular situation works well. If it's about a feeling,figure out what caused the feeling (what was happening right before you started to stress). Do the deep breathing and evaluate that situation.

Sometimes we need that reminder I used to stress eat a lot when these things would happen but I find that refocusing the energy and reevaluating the situation really helps. I have something small that I can grab and just start working on (in my case, I'm knitting a blanket, but only ever pick it up when I'm more stressed than can handle). It's progressing faster than I would like :winking: but it's a coping mechanism that is more productive than eating.

pink_and_shiny

April, take some time a couple of times a day - especially when you're feeling stressed to remove yourself from the situation, get somewhere quiet and just focus on your breathing. I do this a few times a day (even a bathroom stall at the office works). Just forget whatever is stressing you out and breath - deep breathing 5x. When you finish that ask yourself if there is a different way to approach the situation.

I have the same issue and have found that a concerted effort to reevalutate a particular situation works well. If it's about a feeling,figure out what caused the feeling (what was happening right before you started to stress). Do the deep breathing and evaluate that situation.

Sometimes we need that reminder I used to stress eat a lot when these things would happen but I find that refocusing the energy and reevaluating the situation really helps. I have something small that I can grab and just start working on (in my case, I'm knitting a blanket, but only ever pick it up when I'm more stressed than can handle). It's progressing faster than I would like :winking: but it's a coping mechanism that is more productive than eating.

You've got great advice, Pam. Just wondering, do you have plans with the blanket once you've finished it? Will you keep it to let it be a reminder to breathe and think? What if you take the lemons (stress) and made lemonade with it, and donated the blanket to a battered womens shelter or something. Give the fruit of your thoughtful moments to someone else who could use the same comforting.

jsecret

SW: 206
CW: 188.2
H2O GW: 186

2.2 to go!

mommaski4

Week 9 already!

Can't believe how close some of you are. Not me. I still can not make the scale hit that 'official' 15 pounds that my profile says. It's only 14.6 lbs! But I did have a busy weekend with lots of company so I can not be too hard on myself!

So, start weight: 228
Current weight: 213.4 as of last Friday, 10/15
Still to go: 5.4lbs

Only 2 more weigh-ins for this challenge.

AprilVal

So.. I dont understand why people get made when things dont work.. Such as facebook games and apps.. Is that seriously a thing to get upset about. There is more to life than FACEBOOK.. But then.. thats probably why the person im speaking of does nothing about there weight issues.. It upsets me to see someone I love not care about how they look. Why can you allow the internet take over your life. i did for a period of time, but I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.. I saw what it was doing to myself and I changed my life.. Youd think when you have 2 young kids and your pushing over 400 pounds youd want to do something with your life. But I guess not.. Sorry I had to vent about that.. It drives me nuts.. People *****ing about facebook games and apps in there status.. Its FREE.. so why *****!

RushinBruisette

Just wanted to put this out there in general:

Don't quit!! This is not the end!! Remember, this journey isn't about a certain size or weight, although I'm sure everyone has an ideal goal, but it's about becoming healthier, doing things you couldn't do before, and feeling wonderful! Keep your head up. Think back to before you started your journey, what could you not do before that you are noticing you can do all or some of now? If you feel like quitting think about before you started this journey.. what can you do now that you couldn't then? Be it big or small, it's something!

For me, I honestly 'jogged' for 30sec and fell to the ground out of breath in May... I ran/walked my first 5k in Sept after completing Couch to 5k! I started 30 day shred and only could do the first 10min, today I did my first day of level 3 and never stopped! It's great to have others praise you for the things you have accomplished, but don't forget to praise yourselves!!

pink_and_shiny

Up one pound this week to 181.8. I didn't exercise as much, nor did I keep my food as in-check (things like decadent afternoon tea and the hubby bringing home Tommy's double chili cheeseburgers and chili fries *drool*), so I knew I had this coming. One goot thing is that my measurements were still down as of this Monday, so the extra pound is just that chili sitting like a brick in my digestive system. :laugh:

I still have a little more time - I WILL be in the 170's by Halloween!

AprilVal

Concidering Meditation?

Mind Body Medicine for Obesity

Mind-body techniques offer a powerful set of strategies to lose weight easily, and for good. "As a man thinketh, so is he." It has been proven over and over again that what you are imagining right now will be what your life gives you in the future. Very often our mental image is in conflict with what we want to accomplish. We fill our mind with doubts and negative thinking. This does not help us in accomplishing our goal of a healthy, fit body. When you mentally prepare yourself to lose weight, your body responds to this subconscious coaching by learning that it wants to be thin. Fattening foods become less enticing, you begin to crave healthy foods and to desire to move around more, enabling you to reach the weight loss goals you've been yearning for for so long.

There are several mind-body techniques such as imagery and visualization that are very effective in your weight-loss journey. Hypnotherapy, guided imagery, and yoga may help with weight loss by altering the way you relate to food.

We become what we think or say. Picture yourself looking thin and wearing a sleek black cocktail dress can make that dream come true with proper actions.

The mind-body connection centers in the hypothalamus, the section of your brain that regulates the autonomic nervous system, which controls automatic processes such as breathing. The hypothalamus regulates two branches of the autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic, which responds to stress and gets the heart pumping, and the parasympathetic, which calms the body's responses. These parts of the brain are set up so they'll respond to our thinking and feelings. So if your brain regulates your body and your thoughts regulate your brain, it only makes sense that you can affect many of your physical responses.

Roadmap to Losing Weight and Staying Healthy

Debbie Johnson, author of "Think Yourself Thin: The Visualization Technique that will make you lose weight without diet or exercise" recommends the following steps to lose weight and to stay "thin." It provides a great roadmap.

Use the unconscious to Push You forward

When you consciously control your thoughts, you can change your self-image and body. What do you want to achieve? Imagine it constantly. Pretend like a child that it is true now.

Accept and Love Yourself Just as You are Now

Write down your five best qualities and read them whenever you feel your self-image is waning.

Focus on Your Key Image (Remember to Relax)

Write down your key image for thinking thin. Focus on it daily.
Repeat your Key Phrases as much as Possible. Examples of key phrases:

"I am happy; healthy, and slim!"
"People are beginning to notice my new slim body."
"I love my new slender, graceful figure!"
"The more I think thin, the more I eat, exercise, and am thin."
"Every single thing I eat makes my body beautiful and slim."

Make a personal tape recording of your key image and phrase. Listen to it right before you go to sleep, in your car, or when relaxing.

Believe Only What Your Images Inside Convey to You

No matter what your outer circumstances may convey, you will become thin by believing that you are thin now. It has been proven over and over again that what you are imagining right now will be what your life gives you in the future. Do whatever it takes to convince the mind. Every cell in your body reacts to your thoughts. How do you want them to respond?

Be Grateful for Every Single Bit of Progress You make

Write love notes to God, or just say thank you inside for the progress you have made just by putting the effort forth with love. Accept every compliment as true. You will see results by doing so.

Remember Who You Are-and Have a Ball With This!

You are a glowing, loving being called Soul. No matter what happens, you have become a brighter light already, just by recognizing your own sovereignty over the mind, emotions, and physical self!

Make thinking thin as fun as you can, and you will automatically be operating from the highest perspective, that of Soul. The joyful, playful, childlike state will bring you best results. Play at imagining your key images as if it were a simple game. See how far you can go. You may be very surprised!

Source: http://www.holisticonline.com/remedies/weight/weight_mind-body-medicine-for-obesity.htm

AprilVal

Ive been doing some researching tonight so Ive been sharing the articles.,.

Imagery And Visualization

Therapeutic imagery usually consists of a 20- to 25-minute session that begins with a relaxation exercise to help focus attention and "center" your mind. Very often it is done in combination with hypnosis, Neurolinguistic programming, and affirmations. These exercises aid in weight loss by allowing people to envision how manageable lowering their weight is and what they would look like.

During a typical session of imagery , you focus on a predetermined image designed to help you control excessive and unhealthy eating (active imagery) or you allow your mind to conjure up images that give you insight into your weight and fat (receptive imagery). Imagery can be explored on your own, with the help of a book or audiotape, or with a therapist's guidance (guided imagery).

Martin L. Rossman, MD in an article "Imagery: Learning to Use the Mind's Eye," described how imagery works for healing:

Visual, auditory, and tactile imagery seem to arise from the brain's cerebral cortex, the seat of higher mental functions, such as language, thinking, and problem solving. (Imagery having to do with smell or emotional experiences may arise from more primitive brain centers.) When researchers have used a sophisticated technique called positron emission tomography (PET) to monitor the brain during imagery exercises, they have found that the same parts of the cerebral cortex are activated whether people imagine something or actually experience it. This suggests that picturing visual images activates the optic cortex, imagining that you are listening to music arouses the auditory cortex, and conjuring up tactile sensations stimulates the sensory cortex. Thus, vivid imagery can send a message from the cerebral cortex to the lower brain centers, including the limbic system, the emotional center of the brain. From there, the message is relayed to the endocrine system and the autonomic nervous system, which can affect a range of bodily functions, including heart rate, perspiration, and blood pressure.

To relax, for instance, you might visualize a restful beach scene. Then you could incorporate the surrounding images through your senses: Hear the waves. feel the breeze. Smell the salt air.

Keep your eyes closed while you take a few deep, easy breaths, and imagine yourself in the most peaceful, beautiful, serene place you can conjure up. Think of a time when you felt relaxed and peaceful- perhaps a walk in the park, a day on a sunny beach, or an evening at a concert-and focus intently on the sights, smells, and physical sensations associated with that event. Focus on this image for about five minutes.

Or you can start with the following imagery for seeing your way to weight-loss success.

Sit quietly and comfortably.
Once you are in position, start breathing deeply.
Close eyes. Keep it closed during your visualization. Keep your belly soft. Let that softness spread from your belly into your legs and upper body.

These exercises will relax you. Being relaxed helps you to concentrate on the images that you visualize. Now you are ready for some visualization for weight loss. Here is an exercise recommended by Gerald Epstein, M.D. author of " Healing Visualizations."

Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Picture yourself standing before a mirror, seeing a noticeably thinner you. Imagine entering the mirror and merging with that image, becoming that slimmer you. Feel your clothes hang more loosely on you.

Now separate yourself from the image and step out of the mirror, but keep your eyes on it. Open your eyes.

Each time you sit down to eat, take a minute or two to practice this exercise. It can help you eat more sensibly and reinforce your commitment to losing weight.

Seeing yourself losing weight programs the subconscious mind to do what you want. Imagine how your body will feel and what it will look like. See yourself wearing the kind of body-hugging outfits and doing the kinds of things-such as proudly walking across a crowded beach-that might not feel comfortable for you quite yet.

Here is a visualization recommended by Debbie Johnson, author of "Thinking Yourself Thin - The visualization technique that will make you lose weight without diet or exercise."

"I am walking on the beach, feeling slim and beautiful/ handsome. I feel people watching me as they notice how lean and lovely/ strong I am. I feel the warm sand move under my feet as I walk barefoot. The salty ocean air fills my nostrils. I breath deeply, loving the feeling of health and vigor. The waves roll in, their majestic sound enveloping me. I hear children playing and screaming with delight at finding shells or building castles. I am so happy to be alive in this moment and grateful for the new body I have. I feel more confident, healthy, vital, relaxed, and serene. I am at peace with my body and myself."


Keep forming these pleasant mental pictures, and you'll find yourself motivated to make them a reality.

You can also use visualization to turn it against the fat in your body by envisioning yourself avoiding the pitfalls of overeating.

Visualize a situation that makes you feel vulnerable to cravings. For example, you are at home alone with half a cheesecake left over from a dinner party. Imagine smelling it, looking at it, letting the craving develop, and not fighting it.

Now see yourself destroying the food or putting it away in the refrigerator, out of sight.

Now when an appropriate situation similar to this arises, your mental imagery will keep you from devouring the food.

Practice your craving-control visualizations two or three times a day for about five minutes.

You can also use imagery/visualization to make tasks such as doing exercise a more pleasant experience. Psychologists call this technique, "Dissociation." It is a form of controlled daydreaming in which you consciously direct your mind away from the task at hand and onto more pleasant thoughts. The result is a more enjoyable workout-one that you'll look forward to instead of one that you dread.

Researchers at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, studied the effects of dissociation on women exercisers. Students cycled for 15 minutes while their heart rates were monitored. Some were asked to concentrate strictly on their exertion levels during the exercise, while others were asked to try to remember the names of every teacher they'd had since kindergarten. While the actual exertion was similar for both groups, those who were busy conjuring up schoolmarms of yore rated their level of exertion as significantly less than did their self-focusing peers.

Here are a few good good distractions to take your mind off food craving for high fat food

1.Take a walk.
2. Splash cool water on your face.
3. Take a bath.
4. Go to a movie.
5. Take a nap.
6. Have sex.
7. Meditate.
8. Eat some fruit.
9. Call a friend.
10. Walk up a few flights of stairs.

Source: http://www.holisticonline.com/remedies/weight/weight_imagery-and-visualization.htm

AprilVal

Self-Talk for Weight Control

Many of the people who have trouble controlling their weight suffer from poor self esteem. They become their own worst critic. They send negative messages to their brain that have a profound influence on their weight management efforts. Whether you know it or not, you talk to yourself all the time, although not necessarily consciously or out loud.

Let us assume that you see a cake enriched with sinful calories on the counter. You might say to yourself: "I've worked very hard today and I am tired. I deserve this" or "I've been dieting all week and haven't lost a pound, so I might as well eat it." The end result is that you will eat that cake without any feelings of guilt.

Let us examine what will happen if we change the self-talk a bit. "I've worked very hard today and I am tired. But it is not going to do any good to me or my tiredness if l eat this cake. It won't make me feel any better. In fact, it will sabotage my weight control efforts." This kind of self-talk may well prevent you from eating.

Self-talk plays an important role in determining how you'll act and how you feel about yourself. If your self-talk is negative and defeating, you may end up engaging in self-destructive behaviors such as binge eating and nibbling when you're not even hungry. On the other hand, if your self-talk is positive, you can often prevent inappropriate eating and the bad feelings that trigger or accompany it.

Experts recommend a three-step process to turn self-defeating self-talk into empowering talk.

1. Each time you feel that you've strayed from your goals, reflect on your thoughts before, during, and after you ate.

2. Ask yourself if your thoughts are rational, true, or helpful.

3. Come up with more positive, helpful self-statements, such as
"I can wait until dinner; if I wait, the hunger may pass" or
"Eating will not solve the problem."

Source: http://www.holisticonline.com/remedies/weight/weight_self-talk-for-weight-control.htm

AprilVal

Affirmations for Weight Control

Affirmations are simple words or phrases that you can repeat to yourself whenever you feel an urge to eat or to skip your daily workout etc.

When you have an urge to eat, take a deep breath. Now focus your thoughts in a positive, pleasant situation. Now say:

I'm losing weight now. I love the feeling of making progress. I want to stay there.

The more positive messages you send to yourself: the more you'll want to do what's needed to slim down. Your affirmations are to be in the present tense to give them a greater sense of power and immediacy. Don't use the future tense, because it creates an inner mind program which says that you are not ready now. The present tense, in contrast, affirms your readiness and willingness to reach your goal now. Keep the affirmation positive with the emphasis on you at your goal now.

Barbara Hoberman Levine, author of "Your Body Believes Every Word You say" talked about one man who read about hypnosis and began to affirm to himself, "I am not hungry." He actually gained weight. Each time he told himself "I am not hungry," he focused his attention inside to see if he was hungry. He thought about hunger so often that he put conscious energy into being hungry. He was more hungry when he used an affirmation denying hunger than when he didn't think about hunger.

"Telling yourself not to do something, you focus attention on the very thing you are avoiding, making it harder to avoid," says Barbara. The mind and imagination must focus on the positive goal.

The wording you use is also very important. You must use statements that your conscious mind can accept. In order for Affirmations to work they must be reasonable, believable and acceptable to the conscious mind, lest the mind dismiss the affirmation as mere wishful thinking. The mind must hear an affirmation and really believe it could be true or become true.

Given below are examples of affirmations you can use. Develop your own affirmations that you can "own." Each day, write or say aloud your affirmations.

I'm on the road to fitness.
I am feeling thinner today.
I'm losing weight now.
I look and feel lighter today.
I'm enjoying how I'm feeling now.
I love the feeling of making progress.
I love the food that makes me thin.
Losing weight is effortless.
I am going to fit into the next size smaller any minute.
I enjoy being healthy.
I'm making things easy for myself now.
My body is getting stronger, slimmer, and healthier every day.
I feel so thin inside, my outer is just about to catch up.

To help with having your own inventory of nourishing words and phrases, write two affirming sentences on index cards, place them on your bathroom mirror or on your refrigerator. Read them first thing every morning and last thing at night as a reward to yourself for sticking with your plan.

Psychologists recommend that every time you sense yourself giving a negative message, snap your fingers gently. For each snap, make a mark on a piece of paper. At the end of the day, count the marks. If you can remember what you told yourself, write it down, then see if you can come up with a more realistic message.

Source: http://www.holisticonline.com/remedies/weight/weight_affirmations-for-weight-control.htm

AprilVal

Journaling for Weight Control

The power of writing is just being discovered by many people. It is very soothing. Psychologists recommends for a variety of conditions. For example, it has been proven to be very effective for stress management. It is a fun way to help us with our weight control efforts.

Debbie Johnson, author of "Thinking Yourself Thin - The visualization technique that will make you lose weight without diet or exercise" recommends journaling as one of the techniques to "keep you thin." She suggest that you pretend you are your greatest admirer, such as someone who could be your life mate, who adores you and thinks you are absolute perfection. This will really be the higher, inner you speaking.

"Use your personal journal to write a script of your loved one speaking to the new you: the person you will be after you have accomplished your goal. He/she tells you how wonderful you look, how glowing and healthy and slim (or what ever words you feel responsive to).

Your admirer goes on and on about your good qualities and how becoming your new image is. Go into detail about what you are wearing, and how well it fits and flatters your new figure. Comment on aspects of your body that have changed positively."

Now write a scene from the play of your day-to-day life. The play is set in your future. Here is a suggested script:

"You are wearing a dress or suit that is the size you would like to be. It fits perfectly and is the most flattering type of clothing you can think of for your body type. You are walk ing through a crowd of people, most of whom are your close friends, relatives, or business associates, at a warm gathering of some kind. People begin to recognize you, and as you pass by, they stop you and make comments such as,

"My, I hardly recognize you! You are so much thinner!"
"Congratulations on your new figure!"
"How lovely/handsome you look in that new outfit."
"What did you do to get so slim?"

As you mingle, eyes turn admiringly, noticing your healthy, glowing shape. You feel wonderful. You have ac complished your goal and feel at peace with yourself Someone begins to talk about diets, calories, and how much weight they need to lose. You simply listen neutrally or turn your at tention to something else. You have absolutely no interest in the conversation because it doesn't apply to you. You are exactly how you want to be and you got there. The gathering goes on as people continue to shower you with compliments. You accept them with gracious thanks."

Debbie suggests that you rewrite the above script using the words "I am" instead of " you are." Add any personal details you choose to better describe the occasion, clothing, people present, comments, and the way you feel.

Involve all your senses as you write your "I" script. Smell the perfume and aftershave, taste the food or beverage, feel the warm touch of your friends, hear their laughter and the sincerity in their voices as they congratulate you. See the colors of the clothes, makeup, and furniture. Describe all this in writing, from the first-person, or "I," point of view.
A final script may look like the following:

"I am walking on the beach, feeling slim and beautiful/ handsome. I feel people watching me as they notice how lean and lovely/ strong I am. I feel the warm sand move under my feet as I walk barefoot. The salty ocean air fills my nostrils. I breath deeply, loving the feeling of health and vigor. The waves roll in, their majestic sound enveloping me. I hear children playing and screaming with delight at finding shells or building castles. I am so happy to be alive in this moment and grateful for the new body I have. I feel more confident, healthy, vital, relaxed, and serene. I am at peace with my body and myself."

Read your "I" script daily before falling asleep or upon awakening. Post it on your bathroom mirror or on your refrigerator. Put a copy of it in your purse or wallet or briefcase.

Make a tape recording of your "I" script on an audiocassette. Add some soothing background music to the script that helps you relax. Tell yourself to relax and listen.
The sound of your own voice is very influential upon the subconscious.

Debbie recommends that when you make the tape, replace any "I" with "you" in the script and remove any negative statements such as "I am not," or "You aren't." Be sure all your sentences create positive, firm, and accurate images to feed the subconscious.

Listen to your tape before falling asleep, while you're driving, or anytime you feel relaxed. The subconscious will be most receptive as you fall asleep. if you are awake, use your imagination to smell, see, feel, and hear the scene as much as possible. Close your eyes (not while driving!), and put yourself right there in the scene.

This technique that combines journaling, affirmations, self-hypnotism, and relaxation is very effective to accomplish your goals. It is especially powerful because you hear your own voice and your own reality.

Source: http://www.holisticonline.com/remedies/weight/weight_journaling-for-weight-control.htm