Phew! It’s been a while. Too long, really. Much longer than I intended. I am so sorry. No warning, I just poof, disappeared! I apologize.
Where did I go? I was working quite on a contract for about two months, then I went on vacation and just got back. When I’m working full time or even close to it, I have zero, and I mean zero energy. My kids are way above and beyond a full time job and adding extra work to that leaves no creative juices flowing.
Where were we? I don’t even remember…diet talk! Well, more like anti-diet talk. I don’t even have any particular quips this fine evening, I’m just so glad to be back to my Substack writing, ahh, it feels so good!
I remember wanting to discuss the question of whether or not you can manifest weight loss. And for me, the answer is…I have no idea.
Let’s dig in!
What is manifestation? If you aren’t familiar with it (I’m not sure how one could escape it, it’s everywhere, but just in case, let’s explain), manifestation is the idea that your thoughts create real things. If you have generally positive thoughts of wanted things, then they will come to fruition in your life. If you have overall negative thoughts and energy, your life will reflect that. It goes much deeper than this, but this is just a simple overview.
I do believe you can manifest anything. I’m talking cars, money, a career, love, anything. I am kind of fully on board with manifestation. If you’re wondering why and thinking I must be crazy, I actually would argue that it’s a really rational decision to make. When you manifest anything, you need to call on all the good feelings. You practice new thought patterns, you act as if you already have whatever it is you’re longing for. You step into the end, so to speak. And, you really have to feel into gratitude, feeling good, doing things that you want to do, following your intuition, etc.
Personally, I see no downside to this whatsoever. Correct me if I’m wrong, but feeling good, well, feels good. I find myself caught in very negative feedback loops in my mind. Something happens, right away I go into a script in my head like, “here we go again, this always happens, my life sucks, when will this be over,” etc, you get the picture. It really brings me down time and time again.
And how does this serve me? It absolutely does not. It does nothing for me. It makes me feel like crap, it makes me want to cry, it makes me not want to live my life. The worst part is, it happens multiple times a day. I have three small kids, shit hits the fan ALL. THE. TIME.
This vacation, I basically watched as many manifestation videos as I could, binged them, really. This was sadly prompted by a comment of “Oh, did you gain weight?” and then, “It’s just a question”. No. No it is not and we all know it. While I preach loving yourself and body positivity, I am human and it’s difficult to internalize that you can look good no matter your size.
As I sat there sobbing on the couch, I took out my phone and looked up, “how to manifest weight loss.” We already know diets don’t work, and we already know we should be more accepting of all body sizes and types, of course! But that doesn’t stop one from feeling like crap about themselves because society puts a lot of horrible things in your head.
But here’s what I found.
In order to manifest anything, including weight loss, you have to feel good about what you have right now. WHAT?! As in…you have to love the body you’re in in order to get the body you want?
Yep. That’s correct! There are a ton of videos about this and techniques, but in my search, I discovered one channel in particular that I really connected with, Free Tea (hey, look at that, I’m drinking tea as I write that!) She sticks to one technique in particular, and explains why it’s so good.
Affirmations.
If you aren’t familiar, affirmations are things you repeat to yourself daily. In theory, they are supposed to make you feel some sort of way. As in, you say them enough and start believing them.
For me, affirmations were always the last technique I would turn to. I just didn’t get them or feel them. They annoyed me because I felt like I was just lying to myself. The only way I felt was irritated when saying them. But, Taj, the Youtuber behind Free Tea, explains that you’re already doing affirmations all day every day. The thoughts you think are affirmations. They’re there on repeat making you miserable. So you might as well change them to something that feels good. Yes, at first it may feel like a lie, but the point isn’t to believe them right away. The point is to make them your new thought patterns.
I’ve been applying this, a lot, lately. All the crappy situations, like kids yelling while I’m cooking and the baby is in my arms while I try to fold laundry with one arm. I’ve been catching myself before thinking all the normal stuff I think and thinking things like, “I have everything I want. I am so grateful for my kids.” Etc. Do I believe it? Not necessarily. But does it make me feel better? Shockingly, it does.
How does this relate to our original topic of manifesting weight loss? Taj talks about affirming what you want. “Damn, my body is amazing, it feels so good to have my ideal body! Wow, my butt is exactly how I want it, look at these abs, ooo, I look good!” Okay, she didn’t exactly say that. But what’s stopping me from making up my own affirmations?
Now, will this get you to your ideal body? According to Taj and other Youtubers, absolutely.
Do I have evidence? Not at the moment. But…is it harmful? What if it doesn’t work? What if you’re getting your hopes up for nothing?
I say, no. It is not harmful. It’s downright amazing. Worst case scenario, you remain looking exactly as you do but feeling fine as hell. That’s not a bad side effect, am I right? What if every time you look in the mirror you delight in your fat rolls and wrinkles and think, “F*ck, I’m hot”. Maybe you won’t believe it at first, but the more you say it, the more it seeps into your brain and starts playing on an automatic loop replacing, “I’m so ugly!”. How will you carry yourself when you stop thinking, “I’m so ugly” and thinking “I’d do me if I could, hot mama” instead?
So yes. I am 100% all into this manifesting technique. The worst thing that can happen is I say really great things about myself and start to believe them.
Have you tried manifestation? If so, for what? Let me know in the comments below,
Love,
A really happy, awesome writer who’s life is just perfect and wonderful! (That’s an affirmation. Go with it.)
Asya
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