Mental

Chatter
EXERCISE

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 Mental Chatter
EXERCISE

Changing the way you think WILL change the way you live... and the way you lose weight. Your
thoughts create your reality, therefore when you change your thoughts, your reality shifts.

Here’s your 3-step plan to star t changing your thoughts...

1
Track

Keep a journal of your mental chatter, both positive and negative, for one full day. (Be sure to
pick a typical day.)

Don’t analyze your thoughts; for now just jot them down in a notebook or on a piece of
paper. And tr y to be as specific as possible:

• Write down how often you beat yourself up or criticize yourself and the exact phrases or
words you think or say.
• Write down what you think and say about yourself, your body and your weight.
• Record the times and circumstances where you are most critical or most suppor tive of
yourself.
• Write down your thoughts and your words about eating, food, and meals.
• Also jot down any positive thoughts you have during the day.

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 2
Review

NOTE: Before you work on Step 2 prepare your environment: Light a candle, put on calming music,
and find a quite space—make this YOUR time. And be sure to do this exercise with a lot of self-
compassion – be curious, but not critical. We are not here to judge; we are here to understand and
grow.

Remember : You can’t get this wrong. Also remember : You are worthy and awesome exactly the way
you are. We all are.

Spend at least 30 minutes carefully reviewing and reading your one-day thought journal, and
then contemplate or write by hand the answers to the following questions:

HOW OFTEN DO YOU SAY CRITICAL OR ABUSIVE THINGS TO YOURSELF?

HOW OFTEN DO YOU PUT YOURSELF DOWN?
HOW OFTEN DO YOU CRITICIZE THE WAY YOU LOOK?
AND HOW DO THE CRITICAL AND ABUSIVE THINGS YOU SAY
TO YOURSELF MAKE YOU FEEL?

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 WOULD YOU SAY THE CRITICAL THINGS YOU SAY TO YOURSELF
TO SOMEONE YOU LOVE?
AND HOW WOULD SOMEONE YOU LOVE FEEL IF YOU DID SAY THOSE THINGS
TO THEM (REPEATEDLY AND INCESSANTLY, NO LESS)?

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ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT FOOD, WEIGHT,

AND EATING HELPFUL OR HARMFUL?

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 HOW OFTEN DO YOU SAY SUPPORTIVE THINGS TO YOURSELF?
HOW OFTEN DO YOU FORGIVE YOURSELF, PRAISE YOURSELF,
AND CUT YOURSELF SOME SLACK?

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CAN YOU SEE HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT YOU INVEST THE TIME AND
ENERGY INTO SHIFTING YOUR THOUGHTS INTO SUPPORTIVE PATTERNS?
AND HOW THIS WILL POSITIVELY CHANGE YOUR WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY,
YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR BODY, AND YOUR LIFE IN GENERAL?

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 3
Reprogram

(NOTE: Adapted from the Louise Hay Exercise: I Approve of Myself)

For the rest of the Summer Session, choose one Mental Chatter Affirmation (see list below)
daily.

You can use the same affirmation for all 3 weeks of the Summer Session, or you can pick
a new affirmation each day… or anything in between. Do whatever works for you; just
remember to pick affirmations that FEEL true to you.

Before you star t your day (or even before you get out of bed), clear your mind and just
consider the affirmation that you will use for the day. Allow the idea to really soak in, and then
set the intention to make this your mantra for the entire day.

Also set the intention to pay closer attention to your thoughts throughout the day, and ever y
time you catch yourself saying or doing something unsuppor tive, just forgive yourself, repeat
your affirmation, and move on.

Throughout the day, use your affirmation often. You can use it as a mantra while you drive,
walk, or do housework. You can post your affirmation to your computer or place it on a
mirror. You can also set alarms on your phone to remind you to tune in and use your mantra
throughout the day.

You can say your affirmation three or four hundred times a day. Nope, it’s not too many times.
When you’re worr ying and over-thinking and stressing out, you go over your problem at least
that many times.

Doing this exercise is a guaranteed way to bring up ever ything buried in your consciousness
that is in opposition.

So when negative thoughts come up, such as, “How can I approve of myself when I am so fat?”
or “How can I change when I always fail.” Or “It’s silly to think this can do any good,” or “I am
no good,” or whatever, this is the time to take mental control.

Give these thoughts no impor tance. Just see them for what they are—another way to keep
you stuck in the past. Gently say to these thoughts, “I let you go; I choose to approve of
myself.”

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Doing this exercise will help you... 1) raise your awareness around your thoughts (often our
critical thoughts are so habitual we don’t even notice them), 2) shift your perception to a
much more conscious (and conscientious) perspective, and 3) open your mind and prepare
you for the deeper work we will be doing in week two and three of the Summer Session.

NOTE: Please keep these 2 tips in mind while you work on tracking and transforming your
thoughts...

1) DON’T BATTLE YOUR ATTACK THOUGHTS

After you complete the Mental Chatter Exercise, you might be ver y surprised (or even horrified!) to
realize how negative much of your thinking has been.

But don’t worr y—this is totally normal.

When you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts about your negative thoughts (ha, also totally
normal!), just forgive yourself and replace the attack thought with your mantra, and move on.
Please don’t tr y to battle your attack thoughts with more attack thoughts.

2) DON’T WORRY ABOUT EVERY SINGLE THOUGHT

Paying attention to your thoughts does not mean you have to be paranoid about ever y single
thought you think (remember, we have over 60,000 thoughts a day!).

Keep in mind that this is a gradual process. You are retraining your thinking, and awareness of your
general thought patterns is an awesome first step.

But it’s impossible (and totally unnecessar y) to worr y about ever y single thought.

We will always have fearful thoughts—what’s important is how we respond to those thoughts. As
often as possible you want to train yourself respond with love, understanding, and forgiveness.

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 Mental Chatter Affirmations
I’m willing to change.

I choose to see this differently.

I choose to treat myself with respect and kindness from today forward.

I choose to find hopeful and optimistic ways to look at this.

I am gentle and forgiving with myself and others.

I am in the process of making positive changes in my life.

Every day in every way I’m getting better and better.

I choose to feel good about myself. This a new habit for me to practice.

I accept myself and create peace in my mind and heart.

I choose to approve of myself.

I trust in the process of life.

I am strong and I can take good care of myself.

How I treat myself is how I am treated.

I always have a choice.

I am willing to forgive myself and release this thought.

I am willing to take responsibility for my life and my health.

I am walking a path towards happiness and success.

I choose to see the best in myself and in others.

I am kind to myself and I know that I am doing the best that I can.

Every day I appreciate myself more and more.

All is well. I am exactly where I need to be with this.

I release negative thoughts about myself and replace them with love.

I am worthy of joy and happiness.

Today I choose thoughts that make me feel supported.

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I am willing to accept myself exactly as I am. I no longer wait to be perfect in order to love myself.

Today I am willing to trade my shame and guilt for understanding and compassion.

I have the power to support myself. Today I accept and use my own power.

I am constantly discovering new ways to improve my life.

Today I am willing to release my patterns of criticism.

I am doing the best I can, and every day it gets easier.

I am responsible for my thoughts and my life.

I am willing to accept myself where I am right now.

Today I choose to make my self-care a priority.

I am free to take care of myself. It is safe to be me.

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