Think Yourself Thin: The Visualization Technique That Will Make You Lose Weight [Paperback]

Debbie Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1997

A motivational guide to weight loss describes the proven visualization method, in which readers are encouraged to use their subconscious minds to reach their goal weights. Reprint. 30,000 first printing."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Debbie Johnson's troubles with weight control began when a favorite pair of pants shrunk in the dryer. She assumed she was getting fat and started a diet. Over the next 10 years she added 40 pounds, mostly because, she says, she obsessed over the idea of being overweight. When she started using visualization exercises, the same ones that had brought her success in business, the extra weight melted away. Johnson's method won't work for everyone, but the worst that can happen if you try it is that you'll be out the price of the book, which still makes the experience cheaper than a lot of weight-loss programs.

From the Author

My failures and successes with weight control that led me to write this book.

Think Yourself Thin was written because of my love for my fellow human being with the same challenges I've had - Feeling like a failure with weight control because I kept gaining weight after each successive diet. I'd lose a few pounds, then quickly gain it back, eating normally! What was I to do? Diets obviously didn't work for me, so I gave up. However, I knew from my spiritual studies and positive thinking coaching I received in business training that I needed a serious attitude adjustment.

Learning to love myself was the first step in this change in attitude. I thought to myself, "Why not love my body instead of insulting it all the time?" OK, I thought, I'm going to make myself see whatever beauty I can find in my body, even if I have to go study ancient art to do so! I found a way to see myself from an artistic, creative viewpoint and accept the beauty an artist might see. Now I was getting somewhere.

I was so relaxed with my body that my subconscious was able to communicate with my conscious mind more easily. In a few days, the idea hit me - I could think myself thin! I looked in the mirror, told myself I looked great and said to myself, "You look great Debbie! You even look a little bit thinner today." That started the process and I instantly felt really good about myself.

Because I reprogrammed my subconscious this way, working with all my senses and my imagination, I was drawn to the right foods and the right exercise for me. Imagination beat will power and I won.

After some time and daily focus, I lost the 40 pounds I had gained dieting, without any diets or will-power whatsoever! I have kept all of that weight off for over 15 years and am still getting stronger and healthier all the time, setting new goals every year.

My book was written to help you benefit from the principles that worked for me, some psychological, but mostly spiritual. You can incorporate anything in my book into your own spiritual beliefs. Many people form support groups in their churches or businesses. Chapter 8 tells you how.

Life is much more fun when you allow yourself to imagine something better. Remember to be like a child or a butterfly, random and free. Allow the warm breeze of God's love to gently move you toward a newer and higher level of life. It's there for you!

A comment about the subtitle: "Will make you lose weight without dieting or exercising" should really be "Will make you lose weight without dieting or forced exercising" (I did not get to decide on subtitle, as the author!) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786882476
• ISBN-13: 978-0786882472
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #567,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Helping people explore and discover new ways to make their dreams come true is Debbie Johnson's goal. She's been working on that in various ways for the past thirty years. Writing is one avenue, speaking and giving workshops another. Debbie's books range from healthy cooking to self-help: Think Yourself Thin, Think Yourself Loved, and Fun with GF/LG Food.


Debbie also loves writing in the spiritual genre' and has three books published by Eckankar. She attributes her happiness in life to studies in dreams, past lives and inner journeys, all of which are described in the three books published by Eckankar, Dreams, Your Window to Heaven, Exploring Past Lives to Heal the Present, and Soul Travel to Find God's Love.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just a weight loss book, May 28, 2000

By 

Sk8Fan (Washington State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Think Yourself Thin: The Visualization Technique That Will Make You Lose Weight (Paperback)

This is the best book on weight loss that I have ever read, and believe me I've read literally dozens. I'm the master of the quick fix, and have tried most diets out there.

This book isn't just for weight loss, it's about an all over attitude change relating to WHY the weight is there and HOW to change your mental focus towards positive thinking to get rid of the weight and keep it off. For all of you out there who, like me, have berated yourselves about your weight or have ever labeled yourself negatively because of it, this book is for you. It's helped me raise my self-esteem in a way I haven't been able to do in 20 years.

Debbie Johnson takes you through a step by step process including affirmations, journalling with specific questions and instructions, visualization and more. She doesn't just talk around the issue, she gives concrete steps to take. No matter how much weight you'll lose, this book will also help you to accept yourself and change negative thinking into positive thinking. And you ARE what you THINK! So think THIN!

At the end of this book, she states that this process can be used for anything - love, money, career, relationships, even other types of addictions. I believe it wholeheartedly. This is the best money you'll ever spend on a self-help book.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's about time we felt good about ourselves, July 2, 2004

By 

anon (san francisco, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Think Yourself Thin: The Visualization Technique That Will Make You Lose Weight (Paperback)

As a person who's been struggling with weight issues all my life, I'd like to recommend this book by Debbie Johnson. A year ago I reached my goal weight of 135 lbs, and I was actually told I looked 120 lbs. You would think I'd be pleased with myself and celebrate my new-found body, right? Well, no. I stared at myself in the mirror, still considered myself fat, and began to pick at "flaws" on my body. A year later, I re-gained 40 lbs.

If any of you have experienced this scenario, then you should read Debbie's book. She emphasizes the psychological issues that overweight people suffer. Johnson's insights can explain why I gained my weight back: I had a poor self-image despite having reached my goal weight. Because of a lack of love and even self-loathing towards myself and my body, I was susceptible to gaining my former weight back, which happened like clockwork. My poor self-image produced an enormous amount of anxiety and stress which provides the psychological framework for gaining weight. Johnson's visualization techniques are simple: If you imagine yourself fat, your subconscious will create hunger to feed this image. If you imagine yourself thin, your subconscious will reorganize itself to maintain your thinness and help you find ways to maintain that image. At that point Johnson postulates that your body will reorganize your bodily functions and metabolism to let go of excess weight. I was a strict disciplinarian who used an enormous will-power to lose weight, but discipline and self-denial aren't the qualities that help long-term weight loss and maintainance, and if you deep down believe you're fat, will-power and discipline cannot erase that fear. According to Johnson, will power is not as powerful as the imagination that ultimately helps you to visualize your ideal image which in turn aids you in appreciating your body. Johnson's visualization technique helps you affirm yourself in the now and trains you to see yourself in your ideal body. In doing so, your subconscious will be fed with positive images of your present self which will in time help you develop your own system of weight loss and not anyone else's. Those of you who have done the Atkins diet, weight-loss programs, and others know that there isn't one system that works for each and every one of our particular bodies. Johnson's techniques will help you find your own personal system that will give you guided signals on what to eat and which exercises to partake via *natural* and not coerced means. Johnson is right: There is no one system that works for millions of overweight people. Dogmatic weight loss systems might help us in a short amount of time but "abandons" us eventually, as Johnson insightfully notes.

As I look at my pictures from a year ago, I am shocked to see how thin I was. But I certainly didn't think I was thin because of the psychological issues involved in it. I kept focusing on my physical flaws and thought myself as a "fat" person, and I certainly wasn't. Thinking yourself fat is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Likewise, thinking yourself thin is also a self-fulfilling prophecy, and it's up to you to choose how to perceive yourself. Ultimately, I realize now that self-love and self-image are the most important components on long-term weight loss and maintainance. Johnson's book will explain to you in detail how restructuring our own psychology is the most vital aspect of losing weight.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Last Weight-Loss Book You Will Ever Buy, April 16, 1999

By 

Lucita Bonita (NYC, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Think Yourself Thin: The Visualization Technique That Will Make You Lose Weight (Paperback)

Anybody who understands how the mind works will find the principles outlined in this book to be sound. Johnson doesn't just explain how to lose the weight, but WHY it is there in the first place. Her technique is one of healing the mind-body relationship and making life changes from the source: which is YOU. I've already changed my body considerably through the use of hypnosis, so I already knew it would work. However, hypnosis doesn't address the entire situation and I stopped making progress until I discovered this book. I didn't believe it until I tried and proved to myself how much control I have over my appearance. This is a very liberating experience and I honestly can't recommend this book enough.