Are you concerned that you’re not at your Perfect Weight? You’re not alone. Being overweight is a problem for 2 out of 3 American adults over the age of 20. For some, it is 5 pounds overweight and for many others, it is 100’s of pounds overweight. How did this happen? And, why did this happen? It is not like we woke up one morning and we were 40 pounds overweight.

The medical and diet industry have spent millions of dollars trying to sell us on this diet, that diet, this exercise contraption, that exercise program Just do a little of this, a little of that and presto, the weight is gone!

You and I know that what they are telling us isn’t working or two-thirds of us wouldn’t be overweight or obese, we would be at our Perfect Weight if what they sold us worked. So why are we overweight? There are several answers to this question and let’s take a look at some of them.

Thought Process

Believe it or not, we give ourselves permission to be overweight. Now, you’re saying, wait a minute, I never wanted to be this heavy. I always wanted to be at my Perfect Weight. I’ve been trying to lose weight for years and I keep putting the weight back on plus more. You see your body is an expression of your mind. The picture you have of yourself in your mind manifests itself in your body. The body is an instrument of the mind. Whatever picture you have of yourself in your mind, reveals itself in your body.

Think about the dialogue that goes on in your mind when you see a slice of delicious looking chocolate cake. Probably the first thought that comes to you is, “I’d like to have that piece of cake…it looks like it would taste delicious”. So our first thought is to indulge that first thought and emotion that comes to mind. But if the image you have of yourself in your mind is that of a slender person, your first thought would be that that cake looks good but by eating it, it would change the image you have of yourself in your mind and you will automatically reject eating it.

So the dialogue that you have in your mind is what directs your actions. You are having literally thousands of conversations with yourself every day. This is the reason that whenever you decide to make a major change in your life….be it weight issues, financial issues, relationship issues….the dialogue in your mind is the first thing that must be altered for any change to take place. This is the piece to the puzzle that the weight loss industry is neglecting. That is why the failure rate is so high.

Bob Proctor, world-renowned motivational speaker and contributor to the bestselling DVD and book, “The Secret”, and soon to be released “Beyond The Secret”, goes into detail on how to exactly do this in his newly published book, “The Science of Perfect Weight”. Bob says “what most people are doing, they are trying to change their results without understanding the mind. It won’t work”.

Body Changes

As we grow older, our body chemistry changes. We all know that. But do we change our lifestyle and habits so our body runs at optimum efficiency? Our metabolism slows down, our digestion changes, gravity starts to take hold of our body, etc. Every body has its own way of alerting you that it is changing. Your body is telling you that you’re not at your Perfect Weight.

Many times as we get older our activity level changes as well. However, we don’t change our eating habits to go along with it. With increased portion sizes, more processed foods and a more sedentary lifestyle, we are consuming way too many calories and we’re eating many foods that do not provide the nutrients our body needs.

If we put on an extra pound here and a pound there, over a period of time this adds to up 10, 20, 30 or even 100 pounds. This puts us at risk for serious health problems such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, breast or colon cancer or many other diseases.

Stress

Americans are living with more stress in their lives like no other generation. Indeed, stress symptoms can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. Stress may be affecting your health, and you may not even realize it. When it comes to being overweight, stress may cause us to eat unconsciously, to indulge ourselves with foods that do not help our body run at maximum efficiency and many times we eat on the run.

For many people, stress has become so commonplace that it is a way of life. This type of person becomes agitated when they are alone…because they are addicted to stress. When you’re persistently running in emergency mode, your mind and body pay the price.

The body cannot differentiate between physical and psychological threats. When you’re stressed over a busy schedule, an argument with a friend, a traffic jam, a mountain of bills or just being overweight, your body reacts just as strongly as if you were facing a life-or-death situation. If you have a lot of responsibilities and worries, your emergency stress response may be in the “on” position most of the time. The more your body’s stress system is activated, the easier it is to trip and the harder it is to shut off.

Stress over a long period of time can lead to serious health problems. Continual stress will eventually disrupt nearly every system in your body. Too much stress can raise your blood pressure, restrain your immune system, increase your chances of a heart attack and/or stroke, contribute to infertility, and speed up the aging process. Long-term stress can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

The good news in all of this is that you can control the way you respond. Managing stress is all about taking charge of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your surroundings, and the way you deal with problems. Stress management involves changing the stressful situation whenever possible, and when you can’t change the situation then shift your reaction to it, taking care of yourself, and making time for rest and relaxation.

So the next time you see that piece of chocolate cake, by using the new way of thinking you will be able to say no without feeling deprived. In the newly published book, "The Science of Perfect Weight, you will learn the secret to weight loss. You will learn that your body knows what your Perfect Weight is. You’ll be amazed at how easily the pounds will come off. You’ll hear yourself saying, “I’m so happy and grateful, now that I’m at my Perfect Weight.