It’s the possibility that we are control of our health and fitness. The possibility that eating healthily is but a series of conscious choices… It is easier to blame metabolism, diets, science, restaurants, the festive season, supermarkets, advertising, your ex, work, the past, money, time, the weather and even a higher power. To do otherwise would be take responsibility for failure. Self Esteem falters until one spirals into a calorie fuelled depressive episode. Understandable then why the idea is terrifying to some. The idea that our personalities, thoughts and decisions can be subliminally manipulated is equally as scary.

Both ideas are scary the more you think about them. Both ideas are true. Subliminal perception has been twisted by pseudoscientists and hijacked spectacularly by science fiction. It’s no wonder then that there is a lot of poor information on the internet. Rather than reading this or anything else, why not peruse in the halls of the US National Library of Medicine? Therein you will find volumes of work, testifying to the reality and efficacy of subliminal messaging. Science is learning when subliminal messaging works best, and how to make it more powerful. Until then, you are forgiven for thinking subliminal messaging is an urban myth.

The conscious mind is so vital in helping us to navigate the world and protect our sense of self. It is logical and critical but it is also fallible and vulnerable to self-serving justifications. “I will eat better or exercise better next week.”
Deeper within resides your subconscious mind which you are (by definition) unaware of until your conscious mind rests. A part of you bears witness to a powerful subconscious genius as it leaps around weaving dreams. In this subconscious mind may also reside deeply held attitudes and beliefs. You may unconsciously believe that no matter what you do, you will always be overweight, that you are not worthy of looking good, healthy eating is ultimately ineffective and your willpower is too weak so you will fail. If you’re lucky you might have insight as to how those crazy ideas arrived. Regardless, you have had no other choice but live the reality which has been created for you.
A good example of this dynamic is how the mind attempts to negotiate with the negative messaging found in most advertising. Here normal conscious messages are repeatedly used to convince us we’ll only feel and be good enough when we buy the named product or service. However, these messages are so pervasive and repetitive in the Western World that these unhelpful attitudes and self-beliefs can naturally and over time bury into our psyche. Certainly there are many circumstances when our attitudes and beliefs become outdated and self-limiting.
This is not to say subliminal messaging is an instant cure. It does not make you lose weight or supercharge your metabolism. (There are many programmes out there which claim to do just this.) On closer inspection, they attempt to work beyond the bounds of what the technique is capable of. There are other subliminal cds out there which work within the workings of what is possible to achieve. They slowly open the door to your changing the relationships you have with food and exercise.

These subliminal messages only seek to prime healthy decisions by raising your awareness of what you desire for yourself. They can link present decisions to future aspirations, motivating you with a renewed sense of purpose toward a long term, sustainable approach to weight loss.

It is here where this technique comes to the fore. By influencing our feelings, thoughts and behaviours with life affirming suggestions, the subconscious mind can support achievement. When the mind feels good about success and realises that one can make good choices, it can support us toward a healthier lifestyle. Not magically – or by tricking us, but decision by decision. In hindsight, maybe it isn’t so fantastical or terrifying when you realise that your greatest barriers are all in your mind. Taking charge of the messages your subconscious mind accepts is the most important step toward your ideal weight. Soon you will have no other choice but to live the reality which you have created for yourself.