How to Lose Weight by Thinking It

We live in a world where everything we need is at our finger tips. We logon to the internet and we can learn whatever we need to. Products can be ordered online and shipped. We are very much used to getting everything that we need quickly, efficiently and with very little effort. You can even do your grocery shopping online and have them delivered to your front door. It is not surprising that we find ourselves overweight and suddenly trying to find ways to lose those extra pounds quickly, efficiently and with little effort.

So what do we do? We go on our favorite search engine and search for "quickest way to lose weight" or some similar term, expecting to find out how to quickly burn off all that extra fat by taking some miracle pill, or follow some "30 day fat to thin" eating program. The weight loss companies give you exactly those promises, while saying (in the fine print) that there is no guaranty that you will actually lose any weight. We still buy the product or the program, and when it doesn't work, we try another one.

The biggest reason that these "weight loss" methods don't work is not because we are lazy or stupid, or because they tell you to eat the wrong foods or whatever. They don't work because they do not address the reasons we are overweight to begin with. We are not overweight because we don't take enough amphetamines, or because we aren't counting calories, or not drinking "low fat" meal replacement shakes. We are over weight because we are not focusing on being healthy. Diet plans, weight loss pills, and meal replacement shakes are not addressing that issue.

Another reason is that these weight loss gimmicks require that you either memorize, or count, or pay attention to something. Let's say I tell you that at precisely 7am every morning you need to pick up a certain book and read exactly 237 words from that book. Then you need to shower, dress, and be at a book store by 9am. There you must buy 3 books, each having to do with the topic of purple ferret sweaters, and each being between 1000 and 1100 pages long. Each day, you must read 237 words from one of those books, alternating the books every day so that all three books are completed one after another alphabetically. How likely are you to be successful?

Here is where I am going to tell you everything you need to know about weight loss. I am not going to charge you anything for this information, nor am I going to try to sell you anything. You don't have to count anything or memorize anything. All I am going to do is give you a word, the meaning of the word, and tell you why this word is so important. The word is "context".

Context basically means "that which surrounds and defines". If something is taken "out of context" it means that it was removed from those things that gave it its true meaning. Whether you realize it or not, people also have a context, and that context defines who you choose to be and what you choose to do at any given time. It is who you are right now.

People are contextual beings. Once we have defined ourselves, we automatically act according to that definition. We are not into memorizing details. I will show you how this ties into losing weight and you will get the picture.

Okay, yes, that was a bit hyperbolic, but I did it on purpose. If your context is that you are fat and want to lose weight fast, you must first find a way to do it. You must find rules to follow and remember and abide by those rules. If you don't see it work right away, you may get discouraged and quit. If you are somehow successful, you will stop what you're doing and go back to what you were doing before that got you fat. You'll consequently get fat again and have to start all over.

Let's say, instead, that you decide that you are a person that wants to be healthy and live a healthy lifestyle. Picture in your mind what it would look like if you were healthy and in great shape. How would you look? How would your significant other view you? What things will you be able to do that you cannot comfortably do now? Whatever that looks like, put that picture in your head. Associate that picture with the words "me healthy". From now on, compare everything that you do in your daily life with that picture. Do they compliment that picture or do they conflict with it? If they do not match the picture, they have no part in your life.

This works with the foods you eat, how much you eat, your daily activities, and everything else. Look at a Big Mac. How does it compare to your picture? How about that head of broccoli? If you are half way through a meal, and you feel full, look down at your plate and compare the rest of the food to your picture. Do they match? Of course not. You are on your way to the grocery store and you pass by a gym. Does the gym match your picture? Of course it does. Is it healthier to drive to your child's school that is about 4 blocks away or to walk? I think you get the idea. If you ever have a problem getting that picture in your head, use the words "me healthy" to get the picture back.

When we set a context (picture) of what we want, the details become clear on their own. You don't need to know how much of what to eat, you just need to know to eat healthy. You don't need to exercise in a certain way for a certain amount of time, this many times a week, you just need to be active in a healthy way. The details work themselves out by just comparing what you do to your context picture.

The bottom line is that people who are looking for the "quickest way to lose weight" are fat, and will most likely stay that way. People who want to "be healthy" and are willing to live a healthy lifestyle never have to worry about their weight. This is probably not the easy weight loss tips that you were looking for, but it works. It is the ONLY way that you can be guaranteed to lose weight and keep it off.

To your health!