Recently I was able to ask Debbie Johnson, best-selling **author of *Think Yourself Thin*, about her program for losing weight.1.Have you ever been overweight yourself? 
Yes! I gained 40 lbs. dieting, lost it all thinking thin and I've kept it off for over 25 years!
2. How did you Think Yourself Thin?
I thought myself thing using a technique I developed for business.  I call it Focused Imagination because it goes beyond visualization, using all the senses plus positive feelings.

 3. Why do people retain or keep re-gaining weight?
People retain or regain weight due to psychological fears, worries, burdens or the like. The subconscious will protect us at any cost and extra weight may be the only way it knows how.  For example, a person who's been abused in any way may protect themselves with weight.

.4. What's your best advice for someone to start now? The most effective thing you can do is to stop weighing yourself and start talking kindly to your body.  Love it and say, "I feel a little bit thinner today" every single day for one month minimum.
 
5. What does the scientific world think about mind over body matter?
 Proof that mind over body matter works is evident in studies done all over the world. One example is  a Swedish study, published by the Eating and Weight Disorders Journal, proved positive for cognitive therapy (changing thinking) for weight loss. 43 overweight people lost an average of 17 pounds by the end of ten weeks. The control group (not doing anything differently) gained weight!

6. How does thinking thin really work?Thinking thin works with the subconscious language: images. We don't think in words, we think in images. The subconscious hears; "I won't gain weight" as the image of gaining weight. If you diet, you are thinking about what you can't have. "I will not eat that piece of chocolate cake!" translates into, "Yum!! Chocolate Cake, I smell it, taste it, want it now!"

7. Is it like self-hypnosis?
 Thinking thin is kind of like self-hypnosis in that you are re-conditioning your subconscious. The good news is, it lasts if you do it continually and don't give up or revert back to negative thinking. 
8. Do you have to keep doing the mental exercises for life?
 You have to just do the "key image" exercises I share in my book for just thirty days, then it becomes a habit, like anything you do for thirty days. But you must continue to be positive about your body and your self, to some degree at least.

9. How long does it take to see results?
 Everyone is so different. Some clients see results within two weeks. For me it was about two months, then two years to complete. For others it's instant because they see and carry themselves differently. People even comment that they look thinner!

10. Do you have to watch what you eat when you're thinking thin?
While thinking thin, you can eat whatever you darn well please! I certainly did. What happens is that you automatically eat what your subconscious image furnishes. You are thinking slim, so you eat foods that make your body slim. Remember that it will be different for each of us, as we are unique. Each of us has different bio-chemistry.You can check out more about her plan at her site which is djsuccesstraining.com