One of the main keys to reaching and maintaining your ideal weight is forming good habits. I am sure that you have seen someone go a diet and lose weight only to put that weight back on within a few months after losing it.

There are many reasons for this; the most common being they did not change their mindset by forming good new habits. If you decide to “go on a diet” you immediately begin training your subconscious mind that you are only going to be successful during the timeframe of the diet. Soon you start believing that while you give up chocolate, pizza and cream cakes, you will lose weight.

Then of course when the diet is over you start to gain weight because you have trained your mind to believe that is what will happen.

In order to stop this process we need to form good habits. When we do this we train our minds in a different way, we start to see what we are doing as a lifestyle change not a temporary fix. You want to start doing things that you are going to do for the rest of your life.

This is not something that is terribly difficult to do; it is just a matter of making the decision to develop a healthy lifestyle. You can start by getting into a route. Doing the same things daily helps you to develop a pattern and soon that pattern becomes ingrained and a natural part of whom you are.

Scientists say that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. So if you are want to make a positive change to your life, don’t go on a diet. Instead read through the list below and make the decision to develop some new healthy daily habits.

1. Use Affirmations
I know that when the word affirmation is used many people tend to run screaming in the opposite direction. This is because they are often mis-understood and used incorrectly. Therefore they are dismissed as new age nonsense. Affirmations simply help you to remember why you want to achieve your goal and help you to feel in advance, what it will feel like when you achieve that goal.

Simply write a short list of why you want to live a healthier lifestyle and what are some of the things you are going to do when you have lost some weight. Then be sure to spend at least five minutes each morning and evening looking at that list. This will serve a constant reminder.

2. Eat High Energy Foods
I can’t stress the value of this one enough. In the western society we often look for the quickest easiest way to resolve our problems; however when it comes to healthy eating, “quick fixes” are only temporary. For instance we get up in the morning and we feel lethargic so what do we do first? We head to the coffee shop. Then in the afternoon we feel a slump coming on so what do we do? We go and buy something sugary.

Unfortunately these foods do give us a high, but it does not last more than an hour or so and worse than that, the crash that occurs when the sugar or caffeine has worn off is often worse than the slump that we felt originally.

If you are on it, get yourself off this unhealthy merry-go-round. Instead treat your body to high energy foods. These include fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and non processed food. If you feel tired in the morning, try drinking Earl Grey tea or Green Tea, these contain natural caffeine which will lift you gently and keep you feeling alert, and best of all there is no crash later. Cut the white sugar from your diet and start using cane sugar, raw honey or Agave Nectar instead. I personally love Agave, it has a wonderfully rich sweetness to it and it is all natural.

3. Drink Plenty of Water
I’m sure I do not have to explain the health benefits of drinking plenty of water; there has been enough talk about this for many many years. However there are one or two benefits that you may not be familiar with that can help you to shed some of those unwanted pounds.

Drink a glass of water (not ice cold) about 10 minutes before you eat. There are two reasons for this; the first and most obvious one is that it fills you a little so therefore you will not eat as much at mealtimes. But more importantly it will help you to discover if you are truly hungry and not just thirsty.

It may surprise you to know that we often mistake thirst for hunger. I am sure that you are probably shaking your head right now and wondering how anyone could possibly make that mistake. I used to say the same thing until I started drinking a glass of water 10 minutes before eating. I soon realized to my horror that often I just needed a drink and not food.

In my next post I will talk a little more about how you can incorporate more water into your daily diet.

4. Visualize Your Success
Visualization is a great way to buy into your healthy eating lifestyle. By simply spending 10 minutes a day visualizing how you want to look and feel, you will begin to powerfully train your subconscious mind that this is what you really want.

If you do this for 21 consecutive days your mind will find ways to support you in achieving your goal. Top athletes and even the astronauts at NASA use visualization simply because it works.

Find yourself a quite space where you can be alone of at least 5 minutes. Breathe deeply in through your nose and slowly out through your mouth. Relax! When you are calm and your breathing is deep and even, picture in your mind what sort of life you will have when you are fit and healthy.

Picture it as clearly as you can, see the sights, sounds, colors and even smells if you can. Really get into it and enjoy it. Continue for as long as you want and as long as you can. When you are finished simply go about your day and do your best to maintain those high vibrating good thoughts during your day.

5. Get Some Fresh Air
Take yourself outside and get some fresh air, this is particularly important for people who work in offices where there is air conditioning. This is not clean air, and can contribute to that tired feeling that comes over many people mid afternoon.

When you have a break, get away from your desk and go outside, even if it’s just for a five minute walk around the building. This will take your mind off work for a few minutes, clear your head and wake you up. So that when you do go back to work you will feel invigorated and alert. I have some of my best ideas when I am sitting in my garden after I have had lunch.

6. Spend Time with Positive People
This is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. Negative people are literally toxic to your mind and body, and it is vital that you minimize your time with them. You know the kinds of people I mean; those who are always complaining about their lives but never do anything to improve it. Those who are always suffering from some sort of illness, and constantly want you to empathize with them.

And my personal favorite, those who try to sabotage you the moment they realize you are changing your eating habits. They are the most dangerous of all because they are Mad As Hell at you for doing something that they feel they cannot do. Have you noticed the moment they see you eating a salad or refusing a doughnut the first thing that fly’s out of their mouths is “what’s wrong with you?” or “everyone else is having one, why aren’t you?”

These people are more dangerous than walking amongst landmines, because they slowly and slyly try to undermine your good intentions with very subtle, suggestive words. Unfortunately what they are really doing is showing their own feelings of lack of self worth, but rather than deal with that they instead try to drag you back down to their level because it is easier to drag you down than lift themselves up. STAY AWAY FROM THEM!! Instead seek out positive people, events, books, courses and workshops that will uplift you. Fill your mind with positive influences that help you to stay on track


If you follow the suggestions about for at least 3 weeks I guarantee that you will be well on your way to a slimmer, fitter, healthier you. If there is anything I can do to help you please feel free to comment here or email me. And do remember to get some form of exercise 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes.


Love Always
Carol xx

A few weeks ago I started a 12 video series on YouTube. This new series is called the Law of Attraction for Weight Loss Quick Tip Series. Each week I will be posting a new video offering tips on how to best utilize the power of the law of attraction to lose weight.

In Part 2 the Weight Loss Tip was…
Decide how you want to go about achieving your weight loss goal

It is my belief that in order to lose weight successfully it is necessary to engage our mind, our bodies and our soul.

It is simply not enough to change our diet and begin exercising as that only includes one of the necessary components. This is why so many people lose weight and then gain it back within a few months.
If you want your weight loss journey to be a successful one then you need to include your whole being in the process. So, how do you make sure that all of the components are utilized?

By having a plan.
You need to decide in advance how you are going to go about achieving your goal.

You can start this process by choosing a diet plan to follow. There are a number of good diet plans available online, such as the plan I used to lose 54lbs in just 4 months. This plan is described fully in my new book called ‘I Talk to My Body’.

I also recommend The Diet Solution Program by Isabel de Los Rios, which is available at http://www.thedietsolutionprogram.com

The next thing to do would be to choose the type of exercise you are going to do.

If your fitness level is quite low then I suggest you start with walking or swimming. Both are great low impact exercises and they can be highly effective for anyone at any fitness level.

I took up line dancing as a form of exercise because it looked like fun. This is the most important factor when deciding what type of exercise you are going to do.

If it isn’t fun or enjoyable you will soon start finding excuses not to exercise and you may even quit altogether. So be sure to choose an activity that you know you will enjoy doing, and then your sessions will not feel like a chore.

(But please be sure to check with your doctor before you begin any diet or fitness plan)

Finally, engage your soul in your weight loss journey by surrounding yourself with positive influences. Be sure to only tell people who are going to support you in a positive way about your plans to lose weight.

Post positive weight loss affirmations around your home or work space to help you stay focused on your goal and motivated to achieve it.

And or course you absolutely must join my weight loss support group at http://thinkthinfamily.grouply.com Here you will find a growing number of like minded folks dedicated to uplifting, educating and supporting each other on their weight loss journeys.

Lastly, document your journey by keeping a weight loss journal; I cannot express enough the value of doing so. Journaling can be such a great motivator and will also help you to keep track of how far you have come and how well you are doing. Just be sure to keep your entries positive, do not fill your journal with what you have not achieved. If one day you find you do not have anything positive to state then do not write anything at all. Your journal is not meant to be used to beat yourself up; it is a tool for uplifting your spirit.

Getting yourself ready by planning your journey in advance can be the difference between success and failure. So take your time and map out a feasible rout to your goal. I promise you will be so glad that you did.

And remember if you are looking for a step-by-step lifestyle plan that will teach you how to utilize the power of the law of attraction to reach your perfect weight, check out my new book “I Talk to My Body”. All the juicy details are available on this website.

You can watch the Law of Attraction for Weight Loss Quick Tip Series on YouTube

Love and Light

Two weeks ago I started a 12 video series on YouTube. This new series is called the Law of Attraction for Weight Loss Quick Tip Series. Each week I will be posting a new video offering tips on how to best utilize the power of the law of attraction to lose weight.

In Part 1 the weight loss tip was…

Decide What You Want
It may seem pretty obvious; you want to lose weight right. But with the LOA we must be very clear and specific about what we want if it is going to manifest it.

Saying that you want to lose weight is not really getting clear. It is generalizing, wishful thinking if you like, and that will not help you to manifest your desire.

You want to be crystal clear, with a believable objective in mind so that you can hone in and really focus on your goal.

To get clear about your weight loss intentions ask yourself these three questions…

#1. Why do I want to lose weight?
#2. What is my ideal weight?
#3. When do I want to achieve my goal by?
Asking yourself these questions will help you too…

a) Discover if you want to lose weight for the right reasons.
If for instance you want to lose weight because your spouse is nagging you to, chances are you are not going to be successful. Losing weight should be for you and you alone.

Utilizing the law of attraction requires taking responsibility and if we are to be responsible we must take action for ourselves.

b) Get motivated
When I began my weight loss journey it was because I had high blood pressure and I was at risk for a stroke.

That was my reason!
That was my motivation!

So when things got tough I would think back to why I wanted to lose weight, and what the alternative was if I gave up. That was always enough to get me back on track.

c) Focus on the Outcome
If you have a specific weight you want to be, you can focus on it during meditation and visualization. You could also write it on an index card and carry it with you.

I created an image of the number 160, because that was the weight I wanted to be, and used it as wallpaper on my cell phone and laptop.

d) Set a Believable Goal
Sometimes we make the mistake of setting goals that are not believable. This is the fastest route to failure when on a diet.

Your goal must be to your standard, not someone else’. In other words, don’t think that losing 20 lbs in one month is unrealistic because someone else said it is. Or don’t think you should lose 1lb a week because some so called ‘guru’ said so.

Decide based upon what feels believable to you.

I lost 12-13lbs a month even though most “experts” say that is too much. I lost the weight because I honestly believed with all of my heart that I could do it, and so I reached my target weight very quickly.

You can see my before and after photos by clicking the “About Me” link at the top of this page.

In my new book called “I Talk To My Body” I describe in detail how I used the law of attraction to lose 54lbs in 4 months. You can check it out HERE!

Your decision about when you want to achieve your goal by should be based upon what you truly feel you can achieve.

If you are happy to aim for 2-3lbs per week then go for that. If you believe you can lose 5lbs per week then go for that. Just be sure that you are being 100% honest with yourself. You want to be able to say beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are setting a goal that is believable to you.

And that’s it for today.

Be sure to go to YouTube to check out Part 2 and Part 3 of the Law of Attraction for Weight Loss Quick Tip Series.

Blessings

I am sure that your immediate response to the title of this article was “I do want to lose weight or of course I want to lose weight” and I am sure that deep down inside that is the case. But it is possible you have not succeeded in using the law of attraction to create your ideal body because of one simple mistake.

It is common knowledge that the universe does not respond to words of negation such as ‘don’t, not and no. But it is my experience that we often forget that little fact during our daily lives. Somewhere in the back of our minds we forget that our words are creative and what we think about we bring about.

Yet it is still challenging to keep this in mind when we are looking at our bodies and not seeing what we want to see. In fact we often sabotage our chances of successfully using the law of attraction for weight loss by forgetting this one little fact.

So when you are poking at your body saying ‘I don’t want to be fat’ or ‘I don’t want to be a size 20 anymore’ or ‘I’m not eating junk food anymore’ or ‘I’m not going to be overweight after this year’ you are creating a situation where you attract exactly what you said you do not want.

For instance the statement ‘I’m not eating junk food anymore’ in the realm of the universe becomes ‘I’m eating junk food’, and the words ‘I don’t want to be fat’ become ‘I want to be fat’.

It is important to become mindful of the words that you use on a daily basis, it is not enough to get up in the morning and visualize your goal and then spend the rest of the day telling people what you don’t want.

Aside from the metaphysical aspect of how the universe perceives our words thoughts and vibration there is also the human aspect of ‘I don’t’. If I walked up to a group of people sitting at a table and placed a platter with a large selection of cakes and cookies on it, in the middle of the table along with some napkins and walked away, what do you think would happen?

Some people would take a napkin and help themselves and some would not.

Now imagine that I do exactly the same thing again but before walking away I tell everyone on the table very sternly, DO NOT eat anything from the platter. What do you think would happen then?

I’ll tell you…

Every single person on the table would want something off the platter.

It is human nature! When we have a choice we are happy that we can do what ever we like. But when our choice is taken away we become annoyed, agitated and suddenly we desperately want to do the thing that we have been told not to do.

When we have choice we can say yes or no and be totally happy with whatever we decide. Without choice our focus settles on what ever it is we cannot have and that thing consumes all of our attention.

If you are walking around saying ‘I’m not eating junk food’ guess what happens? That’s right, all of sudden you cannot stop thinking about junk food because you have lost the ability to choose whether to have it or not.

So what is the alternative?

Speak only of what you do want and speak those words as though you have already created what you want. It should be your intention to hold yourself in the position of having already manifested your desires.

For instance; instead of saying ‘I don’t want to be a size 20 anymore’ say, ‘I am a size 10 now’. Instead of ‘I don’t want to be fat’ say, ‘I am sexy and slim’.

I know at first it will feel like a lie and part of your brain will say, ‘oh come on, you know that’s not true’. But persistence is key here. You cannot change a bad habit over night because you did not form it over night. You did not wake up one morning fat, it happened gradually over time.

Therefore changing your thinking patterns is going to take some time too. How much depends upon your commitment to form a new habit. Scientists say it takes approximately 21 days to form a new habit.

So why not conduct an experiment. During my weight loss journey I conducted a positive thinking 30 day challenge where I challenged myself to speak my positively to and about myself for 30 days. The out come of that challenge was that I formed a new positive habit, I started losing weight and began writing a Law of Attraction for Weight Loss Book which is now available online and will soon be available offline also.

So here’s the challenge, I challenge you for the next 21 consecutive days to remove the words. ‘I don’t, I can’t, I’m not and I won’t from your vocabulary. Now there is no need to go over board, just apply this task to what ever it is you want to manifest in your life.

If you want to be a size 12, stop saying ‘I don’t want to be a size 20’ and start saying ‘I want to be a size 12 instead. When ever you catch your self saying or thinking something negative in terms of your weight, stop and correct yourself and change the statement.

I would love to hear all about your experiences so be sure to come back and share your story with us.


Peace be yours

The Lone Ranger, Superman, Wonder Woman and Cat Woman were all one man/woman shows.

They were folks who liked to do things alone and relied only on themselves to put the world to rites. Although this behavior obviously worked for them, it may not necessarily be the best method for us mere mortals.

When on a weight loss journey, we often tend to want to go it alone and do everything ourselves, the super woman/man syndrome. But it is not always the best way to go about changing your lifestyle to a healthier one especially if you have a family.

Imagine not telling anyone you are on a diet and then every evening you are surrounded by ice cream, chocolate and fast food. How long do you think you will last before you cave in and start eating unhealthily again? My guess is not that long.

So perhaps the best thing to do would be to get support. In Charles Haanel’s book The Master Key System, Haanel suggests that when we set an intention we should absolutely keep it to ourselves because sharing it weakens our energy surrounding our desire because we are then subject to the opinions of others.

Although I do agree with Mr. Haanel’s sentiments I also believe that one size does not always fit all. Yes there are times when I want to manifest certain things in my life and I do not share my intention with the world for the exact reasons that Charles Haanel states.

But I do not go to the extreme that Haanel suggests, I tend to walk a middle road that has worked extremely well for me so far, and that is I carefully select who I am going to share my intentions with.

For instance earlier this year I lost 54lbs; when I set my intention to change my lifestyle I only told two people and I chose these two people for one simple reason. They are the most positive people I know.

I knew that I would not feel pressured to succeed; I knew that I would not get the endless suggestions or disapproval if I fell off the wagon. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that they would support me 100% until I succeeded, and that is exactly what happened.

So my point is by all means share your intentions with others but be selective about who you share with. You want the right kind of support, you want people around you who are going to uplift you when you are feeling down, who are going to encourage you to keep going and who are going to cheer for you when you succeed.

This is exactly the kind of support you can expect to get at my new weight loss and law of attraction support site.

Think Thin Family was created so that you have the security of knowing that someone has always got your back. This way if you do not have any strong positive people in your life, you can still get the support you need.

Think Thin Family is totally free to join, and you can even remain anonymous after you join if you wish. There is no pressure to reveal your true identity but you will be free to ask questions, post to the blog and forum, upload videos and photos and share your experiences with like minded people.

So come and join us at Think Thin Family, we are consciously making the world thinner, one member at a time.


I Got Your Back!

EFT Not Working for You?

Perhaps you are making this common mistake!

Whilst doing EFT people often think that their words have to be perfect. This may sound odd to some of you but you would be surprised how many people I hear saying that they gave up tapping because they felt they were not saying the right words or did not know what to say.

EFT is a very personal technique, doing EFT often reminds me of using affirmations. Many people think that affirmations do not work but it is my experience that people who are not having good experiences with affirmations are simply not using them correctly. But that’s another post entirely.

The words that you use when tapping are based upon how you are feeling at the time. When I first started tapping I used to follow many different tapping scripts on a daily basis. I would make time each morning to do some tapping. Unfortunately I was making a serious mistake that cost me a great deal of time and quite a lot of frustration.

I was using someone else’ words to describe my emotions!

When you are feeling strong negative emotion, how likely is it that someone else will be able to describe exactly what you are feeling at that precise moment? No very likely!

That is why tapping along to a pre-recorded tapping sequence is just as unhelpful as using a pre-written affirmation lists. Although the recording may be great and was probably created with the best possible intentions, it will still more often that not, miss the mark when targeting the negative emotions you experience during a trying situation.

So what’s the solution?

Use your own words! No one can express what you are feeling better than you. There is no such thing as ‘the perfect’ words when it comes to EFT. The only thing you have to do is describe how you are feeling. If the words that best sum up what you are feeling are “crappy, craggy or saggy” then use those words.

You are not compiling Shakespearean prose; you are just stating how you feel. That is what makes EFT work.

OK, so perhaps you need an example; imagine you have just finished reading my new book “I Talk to My Body” and you have decided to follow my lifestyle plan. You are raring to go and you feel confident you will succeed.

You tell your spouse about your decision and ask him/her to support you. All is going well until one day you prepare a chicken dish from my book and you are about to sit down to enjoy it when your partner turns up with a large deep dish pizza with 6 of your favorite toppings.

As good as my chicken recipe is it suddenly falters in deliciousness when compared to your all time favorite junk food. So you immediately start a tirade about how un-supportive your partner is for bringing home this huge pizza the day after you start your healthy eating plan.

Soon everyone is mad and you have a serious pizza craving developing, you storm upstairs and start pacing your bedroom. Luckily you notice my book on your nightstand and you remember the section on EFT so you start tapping.

Checking first to see how strong your negative emotion is on the scale of 1-10, obviously you would be a ten :)

Tapping the Karate chop point on the side of the hand…

Even though I could easily kill my husband right now, I deeply and completely love and forgive and accept myself.
Repeat this statement 3-4 times whilst tapping the side of the hand.

Eyebrow point – I can't believe he bought pizza home
Side of the eye – he knows I’m not eating that crap anymore
Under the eye – but he still bought it home
Under the nose – he can be so inconsiderate sometimes
Under the mouth – he has no regard for my diet
Collar bone – I am so mad I could spit
Under the arm – I am so angry right now
Top of the head – I hate feeling like this

Eyebrow point – I was alright till he came home
Side of the eye – I was looking forward to trying Carol King’s chicken recipe
Under the eye – but he had to go and spoil everything
Under the nose – now I don’t feel like eating at all
Under the mouth – I am so mad
Collar bone – this is not fair
Under the arm – I don’t want to feel like this
Top of the head – it’s a good thing I have tapping to fall back on

Stop; take a deep breath and relax. How do you feel, how would you rate your anger on the scale now? If you have not yet reached zero think about how you feel and start tapping again. If you have reached zero congratulations, you can now go downstairs and have a civil discussion with your husband and set down some pizza rules.

As I said before tapping is a technique that is unique to each user, their really is no right or wrong. Simply focus on what you feel and say the words that best describe how you are feeling. If you practice this often you will soon find you become a proficient EFT user and you will be able to quickly and easily diffuse any negative emotions that sneak up on you.

Love and Blessings

A few days ago I wrote a post about how I used EFT for Food Cravings. I did a quick 15 minutes tapping session and it cured me completely of the serious sugar craving I was having at the time. One of the things I often hear people say about EFT is that they do not know when they should use it. So today’s EFT technique is all about using EFT weight loss tapping on a practical basis.

When I first started tapping I used to get up every morning and tap along with one of the many EFT audios and videos that I have saved on my laptop. I would decide each morning what I wanted to tap on and choose a teacher to tap with.

Although I did manage to clear one or two beliefs and raise my self esteem tapping this way, I have learned with experience that there is a much quicker and more effective way of using EFT.

Emotional freedom technique offers exactly what the name suggests, emotional freedom. It is not about intellect, it is about emotion. It is a way to release the negative emotion that is causing what ever discomfort you are experiencing. Whether it’s a migraine a bunion, a rash or severe back ache, all are caused by negative emotion stuck in the body.

EFT weight loss tapping allows you to release that energy.

So tapping the way I was first doing it was really wasting my time. Why? Because each morning as I sat down to start tapping I was perfectly happy and relaxed. What’s wrong with that you might ask? Here’s a better question, how much negative energy would I be releasing if I am happy and relaxed?

Answer…not much!

I found that the going was slow because I was tapping when I was not really feeling any negative emotion. EFT is far more effective when used in the throws of the negativity you are experiencing or soon after.

For instance, if you have just had a huge argument with your spouse and you’re boiling mad at them, go somewhere quite and tap on the strongest emotion you are feeling. If its anger tap on that, if it is frustration tap on that, just tap on what ever negative emotion you are feeling the most.

My recent post on EFT for food cravings describes a perfect example of this. I was having a very strong sugar craving. If left unchecked I would have wolfed down the entire coconut bread that was sitting in my bread bin. I was desperate for something sweet.

Note the emotion, desperation. That was the emotion that needed to be tapped on, I was feeling desperate for sugar so I chose to go and sit down somewhere quite and tap, and within a few minutes the craving was gone and coconut bread was safe.

So if you want to be sure that you are getting the most out of your EFT weight loss tapping sessions, start getting in the habit of tapping when ever you feel negative emotion. Also it does not have to be a major incident either. In fact I would suggest starting with minor disturbances so that you get into the habit of noticing your emotions and handling them correctly as they arise.

Doing so will ensure that you clear the negative energy quickly and efficiently from your body, leaving you light and open to all of the wonders the universe has to offer.

Namaste