Written by Diana Robinson, MBA, Esthetician, lecturer, and Professional Blog Writer.
Holistic health is important for progressing in every aspect of life, whether physical, emotional, or social. Body transformation is more than eating less and exercising more. well, this strategy doesn’t even work so let’s start there.
This blog will help you achieve body transformation by using the mind, positive energy, and additional strategies to reach your goals.

5 First Steps towards Body transformation
- The first step is accepting you need to make a change, whether it’s because of health problems, lack of confidence, negative thoughts, etc. Taking the first step is the most important but sometimes the hardest.
- The second step is coming up with a plan – what do you need to get, who are the people you need to call and what should you focus on right now to get started?
- The third step is to look at things that could get in your way and make a solid plan A and plan B for each problem.
- The next step is to invest in a journal that can be used to log behaviors, thankfulness, meals, exercise struggles, and those light bulb moments.
- The final step is putting in the work and maintaining a positive mindset. This is by far the hardest step.
Cognitive control
There are different ways to control one’s behavior when you want to achieve a specific goal.
Self-regulation is important, it is the ability to control one’s attention, emotions, and behavior to respond effectively to what’s happening internally and externally. According to a 2020 research, If a person is better able to maintain self-control they are better able to maintain behavior change and to prevent emotional failure while being motivated to meet standards, self-monitoring, and willpower.
The cognitive process is necessary for starting and maintaining behavior change. This is also necessary for selecting and monitoring behavior to
- attainment of goals
- mental set shifting
- information updating and monitoring
- self-control is of particular importance.
cognitive process allows
Attentional control/regulation
- cognitive inhibition
- inhibitory control
- working memory
- decision-making
- cognitive flexibility
The importance of cognitive control is to provide context for the emotions one will experience on their journey to achieving the goal and understanding how to overcome them.
How do we get to this point?
Attentional control can be further subdivided into attention to task-relevant information (e.g., breath, body sensations), (2) alerting to and successfully sustaining attention and vigilance for unexpected stimuli, and (3) conflict monitoring among task-relevant internal thoughts, feelings, and responses.
Limiting beliefs can be a natural part of our both subconscious and conscious mind depending on a person’s background. It does sometimes require cognitive control to get the mind to be responsive to your goals. Now that we understand the cognitive aspects how do we change our whole life using a powerful tool we all hear about?

Positive affirmations exercise
Everyone talks about being positive, but having realistic goals is also an important thing that is being overlooked in positive thinking. Is positive thinking enough to get you where you need to be? Its not enough but let’s see where to begin. Whatever your belief systems, when pursuing a goal , your main vision is to achieve that goal.
Start small by waking up and saying THANK YOU! Be sure to take note of the small things you can observe around you . For eg, taking a moment to be thankful for your bowl of fruit or for clean water or maybe some growth on your small plant.
Next step is writing positive affirmations on sticky notes and placing them all around your house, on your work desk, in your car. Here are few good ones!
- One moment of pleasure will not prevent me from achieving a lifelong goal!
- One second at a time
- Nothing is impossible with God
- The darkest hours will come just before daybreak
- The biggest journey started with one step
- I am strong
- I have everything in me I need to succeed.
Keep your positive affirmations on your phone, in your bedroom, or on your work desk. read them loudly and take a moment to appreciate them. Choose ones that resonate with you.
CLEAR VISION
Take a moment to create an extremely clear, specific, realistic, and ideal body shape and ultimate goal for your life right now !
- What is the perfect body of your dreams,
- What are some features that make a perfect figure in your eyes,
- When you create your vision board what picture would you place on it when you think of your dream life?

Go to the dollar store and pick up cardboard, glue, and anything you need to make a vision board beautiful. Print these pictures you cultivated in your mind from the internet, apply them to your board then write some timeframes. when it comes to time frames do not be too general but do not be too specific in terms of a specific day in a month Go for a time range such as the end of the month or beginning or even mid-month, you will use these time frames to check progress and mark off where you are at, what’s next and the problems you are facing.
Doing the work
Earlier we talked about mind shifting, now let’s put it all together.
The first thing is to find a trainer, life coach or just someone motivating, or even an influencer. This person could be on YouTube/ Instagram or TikTok or even in your community. Look at their content to ensure they have the personality that will motivate and uplift you.
Next is your financial obligations-Based on your financial choices and budget you will have to decide what will work . Joining a gym, buying a peloton, or some exercise machine, buying workout shoes and gear. Even if you choose to have a trainer or coach you will need to do your part in eliminating bad habits. You will need to adopt habits that will lead you in the right direction and move you the quickest way to better health.
Taking long walks, doing cardio on the weekend, riding your bike for 15 minutes after dinner when your food digests, stretching when you feel down, and deep breathing when negative thoughts start to arise. These are real-life changes ,that are crucial to living the new life you are creating.
Negative thoughts
Understand that this will be hard work but it will be worth it. negative thoughts will start to roll in but do not give in. This is where you will need to start writing in your journal and pulling out the positive affirmations.. There will be thoughts such as
- I am already fat or I am already the way I am why change
- I do not deserve to be healthy i love food too much
- I am the worst
- I have always been fat or lazy who am I kidding?
- This is the only way to live?
- I love bad foods too much
- It is what it is

Journaling
When you write in your journal be brutally honest about what you are feeling then look at why you could be feeling that way.
- are you drained and need to nap, do deep breathing or just stretch?
- Are you really hungry or just thirsty
- Are you lonely? if you are lonely join a well-established meet-up group, a book club, a hiking club, or even a fishing club.
- Whatever you are feeling address it. even if you are hungry after just eating try eating a crunchy fruit or vegetable and go for a walk.
At the end of your journal entry write 3 things you are thankful for and why. Gratefulness helps with vibration, you’ll find yourself starting to appreciate the small steps and wanting to go further.
Food plan
You are gradually creating a new version of yourself which will take time. Being thin is overrated, being strong with a healthy body is a great way to approach this. your current situation cannot dictate your future. Every single day is a new day to make it right make the most of your life and choose to steer your life to a better place.
- First, look at your food plan this is crucial. This is a process and will require you to choose more vegetables to make meals more filling.
- Next – incorporate a somewhat vegan diet- Not every vegan diet is healthy. Stay away from over-processed foods. Sugar, fat, and gluten when consumed in excess will cause you to crave more. The idea is to eat and be satisfied. Some vegan foods are just fatty carbs. Stay far away from those foods and choose whole foods
- low-carb diet- Low carb diet could just simply mean less starch that’s not plant-based such as bread, pasta, or rice instead go for oats wrap, cauliflower rice, sweet potatoes, millet, quinoa, etc
How does the laws of attraction work
- law of assumption– It’s about attracting what you want by assuming its existence and manifestation. This will help you manifest your new body by believing 100% that this body has no choice but to be yours because you will do what’s needed to get it . No matter what shows up you hold fast to the goal.
- Vibrational frequency is understanding that nothing rests, everything moves, everything vibrates. Our thoughts, and emotions, will send vibrations or waves into the universe. These waves when positive, return in a positive way. When you decide to transform your body, you are positive about your journey, not to harm anyone but to be your best self, and be healthy and help others around you, that positive energy keeps coming back to you
- Positive emotions – Having positive emotions is crucial. It keeps you energized, upbeat, and motivated. Do not just get caught up in the idea of positivity with no work. keep working hard, keep showing up and your reward will be sure.
- Inner world – ensure you spend time finding inner peace, appreciating nature, deep breaths, taking a nature walk, and sitting still with your eyes closed in nature it helps you to stay calm and focused. Most importantly be patient with your process.
- Manifestational journal – The same energy that we use for the law of assumption is similar here. Writing down the things you desire, writing them down with time frames helps you to identify them as real and has no option but to be real.
Sum it up
Nothing is impossible if you have a clear plan and work hard using the strategies which include daily steps and understanding the cognitive process.
References
Schuman-Olivier Z, Trombka M, Lovas DA, Brewer JA, Vago DR, Gawande R, Dunne JP, Lazar SW, Loucks EB, Fulwiler C. Mindfulness and Behavior Change. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2020 Nov/Dec;28(6):371-394. doi: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000277. PMID: 33156156; PMCID: PMC7647439.