Your Excuse: "I Don't Love Myself!"

The Excuse Buster: How often do you say, "I love you" to yourself? If you're like most people, probably not that often - or maybe never. Yet, this is one of the most powerful things you can do to aid your weight loss or any other personal development goal you have. Perhaps you already know how powerful self-love is, but do you know how powerful saying the words is? Think about the last time someone told you they loved you. How did it make you feel? More than likely, such a proclamation made you feel warm and happy inside.

Believe it or not, you can do this same thing for yourself. You don't have to wait for someone else to tell you they love you - tell yourself! Here's a simple way to get started. Every morning when you wake up, look at yourself in the mirror and say, "I love you (name)". At this point you will get a big clue about whether you have been lacking in self-love or not. If you can say that to yourself and mean it, and not look away or feel weird about it, then you truly mean what you just said. However, if you have trouble meeting your own eyes in the mirror or you feel guilty or embarrassed about what you just said, it means you definitely need to do some work on your level of self-love.

Begin saying this to yourself every day, even several times a day if you can. As you get more comfortable with the process, you will gradually begin experiencing genuine feelings of love for yourself. That's a good thing, it means it's working! Keep going.

The more you can do this on a regular basis, the more you're going to notice big changes in how you feel each day. You'll notice that you feel a bit more centered, calm, and peaceful inside. Over time, you'll have no problem speaking and thinking kindly about yourself, and this genuine self-love will translate into everything you do, including your health and fitness habits.