Can will power or the law of attraction help with weight loss? For people who are trying to lose weight, these ideas are very appealing. Let us look at how this may be possible. It will also be helpful to point out the important differences between using will power and the law of attraction. Both may be considered forms of "mind power" but they actually operate according to very different principles.

First of all, can the mind alone cause you to lose weight ? This is an interesting question, and not as simple as it may appear. It may seem that your weight is a physical fact that is determined by your genes, the number of calories you take in and how much you exercise. While these are all very important, it's also true that your mind is involved in all of these as well. Let us see how this is so.

Before you do anything, from eating a cookie to taking a walk or run, you have a thought about it. Yet the power of the mind goes beyond this basic fact of determining your actions. Studies on visualization have shown that imagining something in your mind, such as practicing a sport, can improve your performance as much as actually doing it physically! There is even evidence that your mind can influence your DNA, once thought to be a permanent part of you.

Does this mean that your mind is so powerful that you can simply visualize yourself thin, perhaps by imagining that you run ten miles every day? Perhaps, but you probably don't want to test this out in such an extreme way, at least until you've mastered it! However, you can definitely improve how effective exercise is by imagining your perfect body as you engage in physical activities. You can also imagine or visualize (which really mean the same thing) your food nourishing you and going to the places in your body that most need it.

Now let's get back to the issue of will power vs. the law of attraction. Will power is an attempt to force or compel yourself to do or not do something. If you try to stop yourself from eating something, or smoking a cigarette, you are using will power. This method has a rather poor success rate. The reason for this is that you are pitting your conscious mind against your subconscious mind and the body's preferences. In such battles, the latter usually win, at least in the long run. Will power often works for a short time, before you return to old habits.

The law of attraction, on the other hand, works on the principle of flow, or allowing.
This is why teachers of this method tell you to always focus on a desired outcome, not on the problem. So, when it comes to losing weight, you want to frame your intentions in a positive way. Rather than thinking about weight that you want to lose, imagine your ideal result. Visualize your body as you want it to be. Repeat affirmations such as, "I am now creating my ideal body,"  "I now crave the foods that are most nourishing for me," and "I enjoy exercise!"

As you become comfortable with the law of attraction, you may find that you naturally, without extra effort, lose your craving for fattening and unhealthy foods and that you really start to look forward to physical activities that burn calories. It's best to think about the mind and body working together, as a unit.