If you have some pounds to shed, it’s easy to get discouraged and beat yourself up about your physique. As ridiculous as Affirmation Girl seems, I happen to like her, because she epitomizes the entire premise of Fit After Thirty, which is to reprogram your brain to think of a new meaning for fat (f.a.t.*-Fit After Thirty), so that you can begin to visualize yourself with the new definition instead of the old one!

The brain is like a computer. If you constantly program it to believe that you are a word that you associate with being a roly poly, it will condition your body to carry out the actions that reinforce that image. On the other hand, if you change your belief system about what that tiny little word means to you - “Fat means Fit After Thirty” - perhaps you can then take the next step of seeing yourself as that fit person. I believe that with consistent messaging, your brain’s circuitry changes so that it will drive you to actions that support that new, fit image of yourself.

And be kind to yourself in the process of making it happen! The rule is, if you wouldn’t say it to a friend, don’t say it to yourself. Whatever you would say to a friend to build her up and encourage her on her path to getting healthy and fit, say that to yourself, because you are your own best friend! (And gosh darnit, you like yourself).