When women come to see me for help with losing weight, it's often as a last resort. They have been on and off diets for years and it hasn't worked. They know what they need to do to lose weight, but something is stopping them.

That ‘something' is usually their own subconscious, that deep part of the mind that controls much of our decision-making and behaviour. When your subconscious isn't in alignment with your conscious desires, it can feel like you're battling against yourself – and that's exhausting!

So, what can you do if it feels like you're fighting a losing battle with your weight at the moment?

I often notice that when my clients first come to see me, they don't truly believe they can be the weight they want to be. They know how they want to be, but when they focus on this, creeping doubts start to come in. Something deep inside says, ‘You can't do that', ‘You know you won't be able to keep the weight off', ‘Why bother?' This lack of self-belief makes it really hard work to lose weight and maintain it.

I'd encourage you to just check in with yourself now – do you believe you can be the weight you want to be?

To do this, close your eyes and imagine yourself at your ideal weight. As you do that, just notice any thoughts or feelings that come to mind. Notice the kind of things you are saying to yourself – are the words encouraging and supportive, or are you being critical?

Once you have spent a few moments doing this, think about what came to you as you did that exercise. I really hope that you are full of self-belief and only had positive, encouraging thoughts, but I know from personal experience and working with clients that we can often be very hard on ourselves. We can be positive for a while and then those doubts and criticisms start to creep in.

The great thing is, once you start noticing any negative self-talk, you can start to do something about it. Once you become aware of those thoughts and feelings that have held you back in the past, you can start to work with them and change them.

You can create shifts in your mindset and build your self-belief.

This could be a key area where you have struggled in the past. If you have striven to be a particular weight and not been able to get there, or you've reached your target weight and then slipped, it is probably because you don't quite believe you can be the weight you want to be.

So, from now on, start paying attention to your internal dialogue, particularly in relation to food, eating and the way you see yourself. If you notice anything critical or negative, just catch yourself and change it. Simply think of something more positive and encouraging to say to yourself and use those words. So, when you are thinking about losing weight, if you notice a nagging voice comes to mind saying ‘You can't do that!', just choose to replace that with ‘I can lose weight and I am becoming the weight I want to be right now'.

It's likely that you won't catch all of the negativity, but even if you can start to shift some of it, this will make a powerful difference.

Make a decision now to grow your self-belief. I guarantee it will make a difference.

If you would like some extra support to create powerful changes in your mindset and be the weight you want to be, my Forever Weight Loss online program is starting next week. Click here for more details and to sign-up.