The image has stayed with me.

A woman in a department store looking at clothes grabs her stomach and says to her friend, “This is why I want to lose weight.”

That one statement dripped with disgust and disappointment in herself, and frustration that she wasn’t where she wanted to be.

She was focused on what she DIDN’T want.

Probably most, if not all of us, have looked in the mirror and said something similar to ourselves.

Of course having a stomach that you judge as too fat is an obvious reason to want to lose weight.

And it is extremely helpful to get clear on what you DON’T want so you can figure out what you DO want.

But what trips so many women up is they stay focused on what they don’t want.

This is a key reason why so many women struggle to lose weight—and to keep it off.

Here’s why.

You’re fighting the laws of the Universe.

And the law always wins.

To get the body you want you have to work with the laws instead of fighting against them.

Think about the Foundation Principle that “Energy Attracts Like Energy,” also known as the Law of Attraction.

When you are focused on the fat, angry about the fat, desperate to get rid of the fat—you are stuck in the energy of fat. Ultimately you are attracting more opportunities to be focused on, angry about, and desperate to get rid of fat.

At its simplest, you get what you focus on—whether you want it or not.

Because you carry your body with you wherever you go, it can make it extremely difficult to shift your thoughts from What Is to What You Want.

• You are faced with “What Is” every time you dress.
• You are faced with “What Is” every time you look in the mirror.
• You are faced with “What Is” every time you see someone who has the slim and fit body you don’t.

This focus on “What Is” gets you more of “What Is.”

Is it any wonder so many women struggle with their weight? Doesn’t it make sense that you can have mastered every area of your life–and still struggle with your weight?

How do you begin focusing more on what you DO want rather than what you DON’T? More on what you like rather than what you hate? More on what you judge to be good rather than bad?

While it may seem counter-intuitive, accepting where you are is one of the fastest ways to accomplish your goals.

You have to stop fighting your body and judging it as bad and just accept that you are where you are.

It may feel like letting go of the struggle and the discomfort of where you are will leave you content with a situation or condition you really want to change.

This is especially true with releasing weight. There can be a lot of fear around accepting your current body weight, shape, and condition.

Calories count, right, so won’t you just go and eat everything in sight if you accept where you are?

Without that desperate desire to change, where’s the motivation to get up in the morning to work out?

Doesn’t losing weight require constant control and discipline, and you’re a slacker if you slip up?

Here’s the kicker.

It’s exactly these kinds of thoughts and beliefs that are keeping you stuck in the rebound weight-gain cycle.

If you want the Law of Attraction to work for you, you have to ease up on the negative thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about your body, yourself–your life.

It is the negative energy generated by those thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that is truly holding you in your current condition.

Letting go of the fight, self-criticism, and the desire to have the end result right now acts like a release valve for all that pent-up negative energy.

It enables you to shift the momentum you have generated that is moving you towards more of what you DON’T want, so that you can begin to move towards the body you DO want.

When you ease up on yourself and put down the internal lash, you can begin:

• Focusing on the reasons you DO want to make a change
• Envisioning the body that you DO want
• Celebrating each tiny step that you DO make towards achieving your goals

The more you surrender and focus on your success, the more you build positive momentum that will be like a tidal wave moving you towards your goal. With that momentum, the actions you take become easier and have more impact.

And you feel excited and inspired–or other positive emotions–which are your indications that you are working with the laws of the Universe rather than against them.

What can you do today to accept that you are where you are? When you feel a sense of relief, you will know you will have successfully hit the energetic release valve and will more easily move towards your goals–and the body you DO want.

Together we can do it!