“To bring anything into your life, imagine that it’s already there.” – Richard Bach TAKING ACTION: ✅Comment VISUALIZE below if you took the time to practice today’s strategy. Also, tell me your two small wins today that prove you took action regarding your weekly affirmation. This week, we’re discussing proven brain strategies that, when practiced consistently, will help you begin believing in your own capability. Yesterday, we discussed the importance of Identity-Based Affirmations + Evidence Tracking. Please feel free to revisit yesterday’s post, as it’s an important strategy if you struggle to believe in yourself. Today’s strategy is 👇 2️⃣Future Self Visualization This one sounds too simple. Too cliche. But I can assure you that it works when you do. 💯 Science shows your brain doesn’t strongly distinguish between vividly imagined experiences and real experiences. In other words, it can’t tell the difference between something real and imagined. You can see how you can use this to your advantage. 📌Putting this into practice: Take 3-5 minutes every day, close your eyes, and imagine your future self. Try to envision who you want to be in six months. How does your body look? How do your clothes fit? How do you feel? What are you eating? How much are you lifting? Make this practice as vivid and detailed as possible. Again, your brain doesn’t know the difference between vivid imagination and reality—so when you take a few minutes to practice this every day, your brain begins rewiring. Your brain is a prediction machine—it uses past experiences to predict future behavior; therefore, if you practice this self-visualization strategy, your behavior will eventually follow suit. 💯

TAKING ACTION: ✅In the comments below, tell me your affirmation! Also, tell me two ways you fulfilled this affirmation (or two small wins from today)! I’m holding you accountable for this week, friends! As promised, this week, we’re discussing three different ways you can begin training your brain to believe in its own power or capability. The first strategy I want you to practice this week is ⬇️ 1️⃣Identity-Based Affirmations + Evidence Tracking Affirmations are important because your brain believes what it repeatedly hears and sees. Instead of filling your reality with self-doubt, start declaring bold affirmations such as: “I’m a person who respects my body and makes strong choices for my health.” Say it often throughout the day. Now, you have to prove it to your brain by tracking evidence. At the end of the day, write down at least two wins—no matter how small. The Affirmations + Evidence Tracking works because your brain is a prediction machine. It uses past evidence to predict future behavior. When you give it actual evidence, you begin to think, and therefore, act differently. 💯 I encourage you to try this for the next 2-3 weeks and see what happens. If you want to change your life, you must change your brain. End of story. Now, who doesn’t love a good crockpot recipe—especially when it’s high in protein?! Check out the Coconut Chicken Stew recipe below! 🍽️ Crockpot Coconut Chicken Stew - Clean Eating Kitchen

TAKING ACTION: ✅Share your weekly win or your 14-Day Belly Blast Win! Let’s celebrate YOU today! 🎉 We’re nearing the end of our 14-Day Belly Blast Challenge, and today, we’re going to celebrate your wins! 🎉 But before we do, let’s remember what we talked about earlier in the week—this particular challenge may be wrapping up in a couple of days, but the work doesn’t end here. It doesn’t end just because we’re celebrating our wins today. It doesn’t end after tomorrow’s final belly-blast workout. It doesn’t end at 11:59 PM on Sunday night as we officially head into another week. If we want the wins to keep coming, we must keep going. That’s the answer. That’s the whole story. And what a privilege it is to live a life that honors our bodies and minds! It’s not a “have to”. It’s a “get to”. With this idea tucked away as motivation for the future, let’s move on and get down to business—let’s celebrate your wins below! 🎉

TAKING ACTION: ✅Since there are some things we can’t control when it comes to belly fat, tell me one thing you’re committed to this week that you can control. I want to see all of your answers below! As you learned last week, we can’t target where we lose fat—meaning, you can’t spot treat your trouble areas. Many things factor into where your body gains fat, including genetics, gender, age, and hormones. As you can see, most of these things aren’t necessarily in your control. With that said, it’s important to utilize the strategies and lean into what we can control—and that’s what these two weeks have been all about—doing the things we can control. Because we can’t spot treat our trouble areas, it’s safe to say that you can’t necessarily target belly fat specifically. If you struggle with unwanted belly fat, that’s a hard pill to swallow. An even harder pill to swallow is the fact that wherever you naturally gain fat the most is probably the last place you’ll actually notice fat loss. The good news is that when you consume mostly whole-food nutrition, while also focusing on the right ratio/percentages of macronutrients, you will begin burning belly fat. 🔥 In short, quality (mostly whole-food nutrition). How can you add more whole foods to your week? For starters, you can start with this recipe below that just so happens to be perfect if you’re a Taco Tuesday fan. Just sayin’...⬇️ Sweet Corn and Black Bean Tacos - Cookie and Kate _______________________________________________________________________________________ TABATA WORKOUT IN THE COMMENTS OR GO FOR A BRISK WALK TODAY!!

TAKING ACTION: ✅How did week one play out for you? Where do you need extra support? Share with me below, and let’s get ready to crush the week ahead! We’re on day seven of our 14-day belly blast, and today, we rest. Speaking of rest, you already know that taking rest & recovery days is a critical piece of the puzzle—for numerous reasons. One thing you may not have known is that rest days can also specifically help you burn more visceral belly fat. So, when it comes to burning unwanted belly fat, we now know that— ☑️ your nutrition matters ☑️ your workouts matter ☑️ and your rest/recovery matters The answer to burning belly fat isn’t found in a single strategy. The answer lies in multiple strategies implemented as a whole. In case you haven’t realized it by now—we’re already doing exactly what it takes to not only burn belly fat, but to improve our overall health. 💯 ⬇️ OPTIONAL READING⬇️ The "Bad" Habit that Could Help You Lose Visceral Fat