I was on the fence about discussing this, because I CRINGE whenever someone posts “shortcuts” for weight loss, career success, etc., and, upon reading their advice or listening to their testimony, I find that they don’t actually tell the FULL details of how they accomplished their goal. I also didn’t want it to sound like law of attraction (LOA) is a magic wand that can be waved over our difficulties and *POOF!* the challenges disappear. Don’t get me wrong: LOA can be magical, and yes, sometimes it takes no more than thinking about a particular thing to make it happen. But, this is not always the case.

Sometimes, action is required for law of attraction to work. But for today’s story, the actual “action” was minimal, so I’ll give you the step-by-step story of how I manifested 11 lbs of weight loss in 6 days, with no diet or exercise required. Yes, it’s true: I lost ELEVEN POUNDS using just my mind. Not one moment was spent counting calories or sweating at a gym (or on my personal treadmill!) to make it happen.

This all started with a doctor’s visit. This particular visit was on a Monday. When the nurse weighed me, I was a solid 25 lbs heavier than my goal weight. I’d tried the cabbage soup diet the week before, and, while that helped to flatten my tummy, I didn’t progress beyond day two, because I started experiencing terrible headaches (hence my reason for going to the doctor). Since the beginning of the year, instead of losing 15 pounds (per my 2021 goals list), I’d GAINED an extra 10.

This was discouraging, but I thought, hey, maybe it had something to do with my clothes. I came home, removed my clothing, and found that my home scale only went down two pounds. When the truth stares you in the face, it’s impossible to deny it TWICE. I accepted the weight and vowed to change it without harsh diets or rigorous exercise.

Intuition led me to try using the 55 X 5 method to kick off my weight loss journey. I’d advise anyone else to listen to what their intuition tells them, as it’s often the most reliable internal guidance system that any of us has available at any given time. Intuition doesn’t scream at us, nor is it usually drastic: it’s often a gentle nudge that feels like, “Hmm, why not?” or, “Ooh, that sounds like fun”. In my case, my intuition felt strongly like the former. 55 X 5 felt like an easy way to get my mind on board with weight loss.

If you’ve never tried the 55 X 5 method, I’ll give you a brief explanation of what it is. Simply put, you figure out what you want to experience or create (for me, weight loss) and craft a short, simple phrase that captures what you desire. It helps if the phrase includes gratitude. For me, I came up with, “I’m thankful that I weigh X pounds”. The phrase should be in the present tense, as if you’re experiencing your desire reality RIGHT NOW. Then, you write the phrase 55 times a day, every day for 5 days in the notebook or journal of your choice. At the end of the 5 days, you should have what you want, or see positive traction in the direction of what you desire. (If you want a more detailed explanation, I advise you to look it up on YouTube or check out articles online about it.)

I wrote “I’m thankful that I weigh X pounds” 55 times a day, every day, for 5 days. The weight that I put in my notebook was 15 lbs less than what I saw on my doctor’s scale, but I didn’t care about whether I would drop 15 lbs in 5 days: I just wanted to see SOME results. On day 6, I released my attachment to the outcome. My body didn’t look any different, but I felt better about my weight because I knew my mindset was changing to that of someone that was 15 lbs lighter. On day 7 (exactly one week after my doctor’s appointment), I weighed myself. And I was 11 lbs lighter!

I basked in my success for a few days, then I started reflecting on what else I did, other than writing in my notebook. I think it’s probably easier to say what I didn’t do, as opposed to what I did do. Here’s what I DID NOT do:

• I didn’t count calories. I ate what wanted without guilt, though I will admit that I was a bit more mindful (I chewed a bit slower and savored the flavors more, so I wouldn’t stuff myself unnecessarily).
• I did not do any structured exercise AT ALL. I did start keeping a quick count of my steps throughout the day, but my physical activity was at pretty much the same level.
• I didn’t change my medication or supplement routine. In fact, while I had temporarily stopped my medicine during my cabbage soup “fling” (I was off of my medication and supplements for 3 or 4 days) I decided to get back onto my regimen a day before the doctor weighed me, and I’ve been consistently on them since then.
• I did not shame my body. I sent my body lots of love and appreciation, and took a little more time to treat myself well (moisturizing my skin thoroughly after bathing, consistently doing my nighttime skin routine, etc.,.).

Now here’s the short list of what I DID do (outside of the things mentioned above):

• I reminded myself that I am a person that weighs the amount I put in my notebook. I kept that in my mind, and tried to make decisions from that mindset.
• I recalled Anne Barone’s advice, where she mentioned that any unwanted weight gain could usually be connected to an increase in clutter. I started throwing away some things that didn’t serve me anymore.
• I started paying closer attention to the signals that my body was sending me. If a certain area felt stiff, I’d stretch until I got some relief. If I felt thirsty, I’d drink water until I felt truly hydrated, without obsessing about whether I was drinking too much or not enough. If I felt hungry, I stopped to pay attention to what my body was actually craving: fruit, vegetable, protein, or carbs, and yes, sometimes sweets or junk food. And, I’d give my body EXACTLY what it wanted, without guilt, but only to the point of satisfaction. Anything more would be me behaving as someone that weighs more than my target weight.
• I slept without guilt, including, enjoying multiple midday naps. A well-rested body can release excess weight much better than an exhausted, sleep-deprived one.

At the end of this experiment, I think it’s safe to say that the most influential factor in the weight loss was the mindset shift. Writing my desired outcome 55 times in a row was a great way to program my mind toward being a healthier weight. The more than I insisted that I was 15 lbs less, the more my body conformed with that version of my reality. While I didn’t shed the full 15 lbs, I’m thrilled with the 11 lbs that I loss, and staying happy and grateful for success is another way to keep the weight off FOR GOOD.

I’ll be doing this again in the next few days, to blast through my next weight loss mental barrier. I can’t wait to tell you all how that works out for me!

I hope that you enjoyed today’s post. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!