Janet Thomson - Think More, Eat Less: Use Your Mind to Change Your Body

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Text Janet Thomson, 2012

Mabel illustrations Luke Martin, 2011

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or otherwise be copied for public or private use, other than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews, without prior written permission of the publisher.

The information given in this book should not be treated as a substitute for professional medical advice; always consult a medical practitioner. Any use of information in this book is at the readers discretion and risk. Neither the author nor the publisher can be held responsible for any loss, claim or damage arising out of the use, or misuse, or the suggestions made or the failure to take medical advice. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-84850-712-8 in print
ISBN: 978-1-84850-854-5 in Mobipocket format
ISBN: 978-1-84850-855-2 in ePub format

For me this is perhaps the most significant page in this book. You cannot underestimate the value of a strong supportive network when striving to achieve a goal. What you are about to read is the result of 25 years of working with clients to help them lose weight. There have been many highs and lows along the way, as I have learnt and refined my craft so that I can share it with you now. There are people in my life who have truly gone out of their way to support me in achieving my vision of transforming as many minds and bodies as possible. In no particular order, Nicole Barber Lane, Deirdre Randall, Ramona Barretto, Nikki Malone, Caroline Sheridan, Clare Pykett, Louise and Stephen Fordham, Joy and Gerry Martin, Sophie Thornton and Pam McLoughlin have all extended love and friendship to me above and beyond the call of duty, and for that I am truly grateful.

I would like to also express my deep appreciation to Michelle Pilley, Carolyn Thorne, Jo Burgess and the team at Hay House. My vision was for a completely different diet book, bringing together mind and body, and they totally supported this vision. Thank you also to Luke Martin for the wonderful drawings of Mabel.

And lastly thank you to Mabel you know who you are. Your true story will inspire, so thanks for sharing.

Lets get straight down to it. You are fat and you want to be slim. Maybe you are a few kilos overweight, or perhaps you are obese either way, I will help you to help yourself. I wont do it for you, though and believe me, youll be grateful for that, because the sense of achievement you are going to get once you have changed how you think and feel, and look, is priceless. Now that youve decided to take this step, the feeling is coming your way!

The title of this book is Think More, Eat Less, but it could just as easily have been Eat Less and Think Differently or Eat Less, Think More. In a way, all of these titles imply that you are not thinking, but in fact, you are never not thinking! You may let any old thought come and go, without actually controlling it, but you are always thinking. Your thoughts are the way that you communicate with yourself, so you are never not communicating with yourself. Let me say that again:

You are never not communicating with yourself.

So how good is your communication with you? We spend so much time thinking about how we come across to other people, but have you wondered how youd come across to yourself? If youd just met you, what would your opinion be of how well you look after your body? What score would you give yourself out of 10 in that category? Im guessing it wouldnt be top of the class, otherwise you wouldnt be overweight, but (dont worry, its a good but!) you can be top of the class in fact you can be top of the school.

Once youve read this book, you can be so good that you become the teacher and inspire other people, because youll probably want to share what youve learnt with everyone you know who can benefit from it. Not only will you feel good, but you will help other people, too, and thats one of the most rewarding feelings in the world. So, are you hungry for it? Pardon the pun, but as youll discover, a sense of humour is very helpful for instigating change. If its fun, its easier!

Im guessing that some aspects of your communication with you are already pretty good. Ill bet, for instance, that you are great at communicating excuses, at procrastinating, and at telling yourself what you should do and then creating a thousand reasons why you cant or dont do it! If youre nodding as you read this, then Im probably right! Thats a good start. At least were agreed that on some level you are already a good communicator its what you are communicating thats the problem.

The good news is that its easier than you think to change negative self-communication. When you change what you communicate in the way that Im going to show you, you automatically change to positive self-communication. In fact, its so easy that its a little scary this book could actually be a one-page leaflet! But if I told you it all right now, you might question it because of its simplicity. Youve been putting so much energy and effort into doing the opposite that its going to be much more fun for you to read the book and begin to find it for yourself.

I wonder how far into the book you will be before you get it? When you do reach that point, whether its in the first chapter or the last, every word, sentence or paragraph after it will enhance everything you can learn. Youll be amazed at the simplicity of it all, and wonder why other people cant see it too.

There are exercises for you to complete throughout the book. You can either write your responses straight on to the page, or keep a journal of your progress. Its important that you complete these exercises, because research has proven time and again that people who write down their experiences are more likely to learn from them.

The Canadian psychologist Paul Bloom says that The mind is a product of the brain. The mind is what the brain does. So, what is your brain doing? And would you like to change it?

As you progress through the programme, youll start to notice how you can change your mind psychologically and emotionally in the way that you think and at the same time, physically change the way you look and feel. Try to identify which techniques in particular are working well for you; notice what your lightbulb moments are, and when they occur (as they certainly will!) In doing so, youll learn how to adapt and change even faster; this is all part of you creating your