Your best life, now...

Is this you too?

When I:

• reach my goal weight

• stop binge eating  

• have toned my thighs  

• stop emotional eating- have a six-pack

• stop overeating  

• find the perfect diet for me

• have the willpower to have forbidden foods in the house

Then I will:

• accept myself

• start studying

• go for my dream job

• feel lighter

• start dating 

• be happier

• enjoy exercise

• never have to worry about food again

For so many of us, we are holding out on the life we want until we have reached what we feel is required of our body or our eating habits. This can set us up for failure, for if we do in fact reach that goal after working so hard, we don't know how to enjoy it, we end up fearful that we will go back to the way we were and we aren't able to keep healthy, loving rituals and routines in our lives.

A great exercise to assist with setting us up for success is to begin to put those things in place now.

Take a moment to write down all the things in your life that will change when you get to where you want with food and body. What will that ideal life look like? Describe it all:

• how will you dress?

• how will you hold yourself?

• what will your thought patterns look like?

• what will you begin doing differently then?

• what will you stop doing?

• how will you interact with others?

• how will you eat?

• how will you move your body?

• what will you enjoy more?

• how will you feel and how will you know that you're feeling that way? 

The more detail you can write down the better. The act of writing this down allows you to visualise what it will look and feel like and putting it down on paper is a great way to articulate what it is that you want. This helps twofold, firstly in the releasing of what you really want into the world and the universe. If you are spiritual or religious, this is where you are asking for what you want and putting your trust and faith into a higher power to provide it.

Secondly, writing this all down gives you a chance to look over at the habits, rituals, thoughts and beliefs that you intend to have and decide what is in your control to have right now. If, on your piece of paper, is that you are going to apply for a dream job when you lose weight, why not begin to apply for jobs now and see what you can learn from that experience. If you've written that you are going to feel lighter, what are the ways that you can begin to feel that way now. If you've written that you are going to do more pleasurable and fun forms of movement for your body, can you begin to incorporate more of these activities now?

Being able to start behaving now in a way that you will when you reach your goal allows you to learn whether those habits and behaviours will actually fit your life, and for those that do, allows you to begin to enjoy all those things for longer.

Give it a try and see how you feel.