How to Release Weight

Why You Haven’t Released the Weight (Yet) — And Why You’re Here Now

You’ve tried the diets.
You’ve bought the gym memberships.
You’ve cut the carbs, counted the calories, and followed every “secret” program that promised quick results.

And yet… here you are.

You might be wondering why. Why—after all the effort—are you still searching for the answer?

At The Universe Unveiled, we believe it’s because no one has told you the truth. The real reason you haven’t released the weight isn’t lack of willpower. It’s not a missing workout routine. It’s not even about food or calories. It’s about the program running in your subconscious mind—a hidden set of beliefs, habits, and emotional imprints that quietly sabotage your best efforts without you even realizing.

If you hear me out—if you truly stay with me for the next few minutes—you’ll see exactly why your past attempts have failed… and why everything is about to change.

My name is Hector Jesus Arencibia, founder of The Universe Unveiled. I’ve helped thousands of people transform their lives—not just their bodies, but their health, their money, their relationships, their entire reality—by rewiring the very source of their results: the subconscious mind.

Because when you change that, you change everything.

In this blog, we’ll go deeper into:

• What the subconscious mind really is (and why it controls up to 95% of your daily actions)
• How it keeps you stuck in a weight-loss loop without you realizing it
• The proven tools I use with clients—like mirror work, repetition, and mantras—to rewrite your inner blueprint and set you free

You don’t need another fad diet. You need a new identity. And it starts here.

What the Subconscious Mind Really Is (and Why It Controls ~95% of Your Daily Actions)

The subconscious mind is often compared to an iceberg: the small visible tip represents conscious thought, while the enormous hidden mass below represents the vast subconscious. Modern research in psychology and neuroscience suggests that the subconscious drives about 95% of our daily behavior. In other words, up to 95% of your decisions, habits, and emotions each day happen on autopilot, governed by mental programs running beneath your awareness

Think about your day so far: the route you drove to work, the way you automatically check your phone, or that snack you grabbed without thinking. These “autopilot” actions are your subconscious at work. Your brain loves efficiency, so it stores frequent behaviors and thought patterns in the subconscious, allowing you to execute them without conscious effort. This is helpful for routine actions – but it’s a double-edged sword. **Most of our decisions and behaviors are unconscious and automatic, and for many of us, those ingrained programs “could use a little updating”, because much of what we hold subconsciously actually sabotages what we consciously want to achieve.

Put simply, your subconscious is like a silent steering wheel: it’s guiding your life even when your conscious mind thinks it’s in control. It stores all your past experiences, beliefs, and learned habits – from childhood lessons to emotional coping mechanisms By about age 7, we’ve already downloaded most of our core subconscious programming by observing parents and environment. Those deep-seated beliefs and emotional associations run in the background, influencing your behavior in adulthood without you realizing.

So if you’ve consciously decided to lose weight but subconsciously you’re still running an old program (for example, “Food comforts me” or “I’m just a big person”), guess which side wins? The subconscious, almost every time. As one mindset coach puts it, “We might think we’re consciously in charge... but that’s not really the case. The subconscious mind drives 95% of the human experience”. Unless we change the program, we’ll keep getting the same results.

How Your Subconscious Keeps You Stuck in a Weight-Loss Loop

Have you ever resolved to get healthy, seen some progress, but then somehow slid back into old habits? Perhaps the weight you lost crept back on, or your motivation fizzled out despite your best intentions. It’s a struggle that’s all too common – the reason “yo-yo dieting” exists. And it’s not because you’re lazy or “just picked the wrong diet.” In reality, your conscious plan was undermined by “faulty mental programming” beneath the surface.

Think of it this way: Your logical, conscious mind might know exactly what to do (“eat more vegetables,” “exercise daily”), but your subconscious mind is whispering a different story. It might be feeding you subtle sabotaging messages: a little voice saying “You’re too tired to exercise today” or “Go ahead, you deserve that cake – start fresh Monday.” These quiet whispers can have huge impacts. They convince you to bail on the workout, raid the pantry at night, or give up when progress stalls. Over time, they halt your weight loss and pull you back into old patterns, all without you fully realizing it.

What kinds of subconscious messages are we talking about? Often, they come from ingrained beliefs you’ve been carrying for years. For example, do any of these sound familiar?

• “Weight loss is really difficult…I can never keep it off.”
• “Everyone in my family is fat. It’s impossible for me to get thin.”
• “I’m just not the exercise type – I was a clumsy, non-athletic kid.”
• “Healthy eating is boring – I’ll miss my favorite foods.”

Each of those statements may feel true to you, but in reality they’re limiting beliefs lodged in your subconscious. And here’s the sneaky part: our beliefs determine our actions, and when we strongly believe something, we will do whatever we have to do to prove ourselves right – even if that means sabotaging what we think we want. So if deep down you believe “I can never keep weight off” or “I’m unathletic,” your subconscious will actually drive you to behaviors that confirm those beliefs (like skipping workouts or overeating after some progress). It’s like an internal thermostat pulling you back to what it’s set at – your comfort zone.

Where do these self-sabotaging beliefs come from? Many are rooted in past experiences or messages we absorbed long ago. Childhood is a major source – perhaps you grew up being told “we’re just big-boned in our family,” or you used food as comfort during difficult times. Over years, hearing statements like “Dieting is so hard” or “You’re not athletic” sinks in. Your young mind accepted those as truth, and they became part of your subconscious programming. As an adult, you might consciously want to change, but unconsciously you’re still carrying the old script written by a younger you (or by others).

And let’s not forget the emotional layer. Sometimes, extra weight can serve a psychological purpose. For instance, holding onto weight might be a subconscious way to feel safe or protected – a buffer against unwanted attention or intimacy. As one source notes, “excess weight is often correlated to…an emotional reason to hold onto a protective layer in order to feel safe,” as well as using food to numb difficult feelings. If part of you believes that losing weight would make you vulnerable (or if overeating is how you cope with stress, loneliness, or trauma), that inner part will resist any diet you try. It will “quietly” undermine your efforts to fulfill its own emotional needs.

The bottom line is, if you don’t address these subconscious factors, you end up stuck in a loop. You lose some weight, then subconscious programming kicks in and brings you back to your old identity – the person who doesn’t stick with it, who “always struggles” with weight. It’s frustrating, no doubt. But it’s also fixable.

The first step is awareness: recognize that if you’ve struggled to release weight, it’s not because you’re broken or weak. It’s because your subconscious mind has been running an outdated program that conflicts with your goal. And you can change that program.

Next, we’ll explore how to change it – and set yourself free from that self-sabotaging cycle for good.

Rewriting Your Inner Blueprint: How to Program Your Mind for Freedom

By now, you understand that lasting weight loss isn’t about finding the next fad diet – it’s about changing the internal script that’s been running (and ruining) the show. The good news is, the subconscious mind can be reprogrammed. It’s not quick magic or an overnight fix, but with consistent practice, you can literally wire in a new mindset and identity – one that aligns with the healthy life you want. Here are some of the proven tools I use with clients to rewrite that inner blueprint:

Mirror Work: Make Self-Love Your New Default

Mirror work is one of the most powerful (and surprisingly emotional) techniques for shifting subconscious beliefs. The concept is simple: you stand in front of a mirror, look into your own eyes, and speak positive affirmations or encouraging words to yourself. In essence, you start treating yourself with the kindness and approval you deserve but perhaps rarely give yourself.

Why do this in front of a mirror? Because it amplifies the impact of the affirmations in ways that merely thinking or saying them in your head cannot. When you’re eye-to-eye with yourself, it suddenly becomes much more real – and more challenging. In fact, many people feel resistance or discomfort at first (“ugh, I can’t even say ‘I love you’ to myself”). That resistance is exactly what makes mirror work so valuable. By speaking loving statements directly to your reflection, any hidden self-criticism or disbelief you have is immediately confronted. For example, if you cringe to tell yourself “You look beautiful” or “I am worthy of health,” that reveals a subconscious block in need of healing. Mirror work forces those negative voices out of hiding so you can address them head-on.

At the same time, mirror work helps integrate new positive beliefs on a deep level. As you gaze at yourself and affirm things like “I deserve to be healthy and happy,” you’re essentially re-parenting your inner self. You’re replacing the old critical or fearful tape with words of love and encouragement – and you’re seeing yourself say it, which makes your brain register it as more immediate and believable. Psychology experts note that using mirror techniques to practice self-compassion can be very therapeutic, improving body image and the mind-body connection. Over time, what initially feels awkward or “cheesy” starts to feel empowering. One psychologist found that a key predictor of successful weight loss is actually self-compassion – being kind to yourself – and suggests that mirror exercises in which you befriend your body can help build that self-love habit.

Try it for yourself: each morning or evening, find a private mirror. Look into your eyes and speak a few gentle, supportive phrases. You might start with something simple like “I’m proud of you for trying” or “I accept you as you are right now.” You can also use classic lines like “I love you” – as uncomfortable as that might feel, remember the motto “fake it till you make it.” Even if it feels strange at first, practicing positivity in the mirror builds real self-compassion over time. Your subconscious absorbs those words as if coming from someone else, gradually quieting the inner critic and reinforcing a new, empowering self-image. Many clients report that after consistent mirror work, the unhealthy choices that used to tempt them (like binge-eating after a bad day) start to lose their grip. It makes sense – when you truly care about and appreciate the person in the mirror, you naturally want to treat them with respect and nourish them, not harm them.

Repetition: The Key to Rewiring Your Brain

If there’s one principle to take away from this, it’s repetition, repetition, repetition. Remember, your subconscious was programmed through repeated thoughts and experiences over years – so it only makes sense that repetition is how we reprogram it with new ideas. In neuroscience there’s a saying: “neurons that fire together, wire together.” Each time you practice a new thought or behavior, you strengthen its neural pathway in the brain. At first, choosing a healthier habit or belief might feel unnatural, because the neural circuit is thin. But with daily repetition, that circuit thickens and strengthens, while the old habit circuit slowly weakens from disuse. Physically, you are rewiring your brain for your new lifestyle.

Think of repetition as the mother of habit change. Just as you’d practice a musical instrument regularly to learn a new song, you want to practice your new mindset daily. This can take many forms: repeating affirmations, visualizing your success, journaling a new story, or consistently acting out the healthy behaviors you want to adopt. Every time you intentionally interrupt an old pattern and replace it with a new one, you’re training your brain. One study on neuroplasticity noted that with consistent effort and practice, individuals can literally reshape their thought processes.

Crucially, repetition needs to be consistent and frequent. Doing an affirmation once is not going to override 30 years of negative self-talk. But doing it every single morning for 5 minutes, over weeks and months? That’s when the magic happens. Make your reprogramming routine a non-negotiable part of your day – like brushing your teeth. For example, you might decide that each morning, you’ll stand in the mirror and speak your affirmations, and each night, you’ll write down three things you appreciate about yourself. Or perhaps you’ll repeat a mantra in your mind whenever you exercise. At first it takes conscious effort, but soon those positive thoughts start popping up automatically – a sign your subconscious has adopted them.

One tip: attach the new habit to an existing routine so you don’t forget. Maybe you tape an affirmation on your bathroom mirror, so you see it when brushing your teeth, or play a recorded mantra in your car on the drive to work. The more you infuse these repetitions into daily life, the faster the new programming installs.

And don’t get discouraged if you slip up – change takes time. The old mental pathways might try to resurface (maybe you catch yourself thinking “this is too hard”). When that happens, gently but firmly steer your mind back – repeat your mantra, visualize the new you, remind yourself why you’re doing this. Each time you redirect to the new path, you’re weakening the old and reinforcing the new. Over time, the balance will shift, and the healthy habits will become your mind’s new autopilot.

Mantras & Affirmations: The Words That Shape Your Reality

Our words and thoughts are extraordinarily powerful – they are literally instructions to our subconscious. Mantras (short, powerful phrases repeated frequently) and positive affirmations are tools to ensure those instructions are working for you, not against you. By deliberately repeating positive, goal-aligned statements, you can overwrite the negative narratives that have been holding you back.

You might be thinking, “Do affirmations really reprogram the mind?” Science says yes. Research in psychology has found that positive self-affirmations can reduce stress, improve performance, and even influence health-related behaviors. When you consistently feed your brain uplifting, confident statements, you are leveraging neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to form new connections. In fact, one psychologist noted that with consistent practice, affirmations “can literally help reprogram your subconscious” by creating new neural pathways. It’s not just woo-woo; it’s your brain adapting to the messages it receives. If you tell yourself “I am becoming stronger and healthier every day,” over and over, eventually your subconscious accepts it as truth – and works to make it true.

The key with mantras is to choose ones that resonate and to use them frequently. Keep them short, positive, and present-tense (you want to state the desired condition as if it’s already real). For example, instead of saying “I will try not to eat junk at night,” a more effective affirmation would be “I choose nourishing foods and honor my body.” The latter is positive and present-tense. Always frame your mantra toward what you want, not what you’re avoiding – since the subconscious can actually ignore words like “not” and just hear “eat junk” in the first phrasing.

It’s also important that your affirmation feels believable enough to you. If it’s too large a leap (e.g. telling yourself “I am at my ideal weight” when you’re clearly not yet), your mind may reject it and it could backfire, reinforcing the notion that it’s untrue. In that case, scale it to something credible that still feels empowering, such as “I am steadily getting healthier and slimmer” or “I treat my body with respect and it responds in kind.” As you make progress, you can keep updating your mantras to reflect your new reality.

Now, use your mantras everywhere. Repeat them in the mirror during your mirror work. Say them internally while you exercise (“I am strong, I am resilient!” with each stride or rep). Write them on sticky notes and place them on the fridge, on your laptop, in your wallet. Set a daily reminder on your phone that pops up with your affirmation at lunchtime. Some people even record themselves speaking their affirmations and listen to the playback while relaxing or falling asleep – do whatever reinforces those positive words. The repetition is what drives them into your subconscious, where they begin to run automatically. Before long, that old narrative of “I always fail” might be replaced with a new inner voice that says, “I’ve got this, I can change.”

To see how this works in practice, imagine one of those limiting beliefs we identified earlier – say, “When I diet, I feel deprived and hungry all the time.” This thought sets you up to feel miserable and quit. We can flip it into an affirmation that serves you: “I am filling up on nourishing foods, and I feel satisfied and energized.” Now, repeat that to yourself whenever the old fear of hunger or deprivation creeps in. Over time, your brain will associate “dieting” with feeling nourished and energized instead of starved, which makes it so much easier to stick to healthy choices This kind of mental reframing has been shown to “trick” the brain in a good way – you start believing in your goals long enough to see real change.

Remember, your subconscious takes your words as instructions. Mantras and affirmations ensure you’re giving it the right instructions. By consistently telling yourself the new story, you guide your subconscious to make it reality.

Putting It All Together

Each of these tools – mirror work, repetition, and mantras – works wonders on its own, but their real power comes out when you combine them into daily rituals. For example, a morning routine could look like this: you wake up, stand in the mirror, and speak a personalized mantra (“I am thriving in a healthy lifestyle”) while looking into your eyes. You do a few minutes of visualization or deep breathing, imagining how a healthy day will feel. Throughout the day, you carry a short mantra to repeat whenever you have idle moments (like “I am strong and in control”). In the evening, you might journal a few positive thoughts or successes from the day to cement the good feedback.

By doing these consistently, you are effectively installing a new program in your subconscious. The old program (“I can’t lose weight… it’s hopeless”) gets overwritten by the new (“I am changing my habits and my body for the better”). And let me tell you, when that new program takes hold, the external results start to flow almost effortlessly. I’ve seen it with my clients time and again: the person who struggled for years suddenly finds they enjoy eating healthy, or they identify as someone who loves working out, or they simply “don’t feel like themselves” if they miss their self-care time. That’s the subconscious shift – when healthy choices become part of who you are, not something you’re forcing yourself to do.

One client of mine, for instance, used to say she had “no willpower” and would abandon every diet. We uncovered that deep down she believed she was destined to be overweight (her parents had always been heavy) and that in her family food was the main source of comfort. Through subconscious work – writing new affirmations about her strength and worth, doing mirror work to practice self-love, and even inner-child exercises to assure the little girl in her that she is safe without excess food – she completely transformed. Over a few months, her mindset flipped. She started saying things like “I prefer fruit, it makes me feel good” and “I am someone who respects my body” – and she meant it. The weight began to come off naturally, and unlike before, it stayed off, because her identity had changed. This is the real secret: change your identity at the subconscious level, and the results will follow.

Ready to Transform? Your Journey Starts Now

By now, you can see why simply following a meal plan or exercise regimen wasn’t enough. You have to align your inner world with your goals. The wonderful truth is that you absolutely can. You can free yourself from the old programming that kept you stuck, and step into a new version of you – one who doesn’t struggle to lose weight, but rather naturally lives in a healthy, balanced way. It all begins with making that mental shift.

Imagine looking in the mirror and not seeing an adversary or a project to fix, but a friend and ally. Imagine automatically choosing foods that nourish you, because you believe you’re worthy of feeling good. Imagine exercise being something you crave because it’s part of who you are, not a punishment for what you ate. This isn’t a fantasy – it becomes reality when your subconscious “program” is updated to support these behaviors.

So I invite you to take the first step. Try the techniques we discussed. Start today, even in a small way – maybe write one empowering affirmation and stick it to your bathroom mirror, or spend two minutes tonight thanking your body for getting you through the day. These may seem like little actions, but they are seeds of massive change. With water (repetition) and sunlight (self-compassion), they will grow.

And if you want guidance on this journey, we’re here to help. At The Universe Unveiled, reprogramming the subconscious mind is our specialty. We’ve seen firsthand that when you change the inner story, the outer story changes too – often in ways that seem almost magical. If you’re ready to rewrite your story, to finally release the weight (and the worries) that have burdened you, I encourage you to continue the conversation with us.

Join our community and mailing list – it’s a place for people just like you, committed to transforming from the inside out. When you sign up, we’ll send you a free guide with step-by-step subconscious reprogramming exercises (including mirror work scripts and powerful mantras to get you started). You’ll also receive weekly tips and inspiration to keep you motivated and on track. Consider it a little nudge in your inbox to remind you of the amazing changes you’re creating.

You’ve tried willpower. You’ve tried tactics. Now it’s time to try mindset. This is the missing piece – the truth no one told you until now. Everything is about to change, because you are about to change from within. Your subconscious mind is listening, ready to be molded. Give it the instructions for the life (and body) you truly desire.

The journey begins with a single thought… make it a positive one, and let it grow. Welcome to your new reality – I can’t wait to see you thrive.

You’ve got this. Here’s to the new you.

– Hector

Founder, The Universe Unveiled

Sources:

1. Beth Kendall – Why Your Subconscious Mind is Ridiculously Powerful: Explanation of the subconscious controlling ~95% of our experience and how unconscious programs can sabotage conscious goalsbethkendall.com.
2. PeopleOne Health (Ellen Goldman) – Is This Surprising Source of Self-Sabotage Holding You Back?: Discussion of “faulty mental programming” as the real culprit in yo-yo dieting and examples of limiting beliefs that sabotage weight loss effortsportal.peopleonehealth.comportal.peopleonehealth.com.
3. The Joy Within – Rapid Natural Weight Loss Meditation and Affirmation Techniques: Notes on how excess weight often has emotional roots (a protective safety layer or numbing) and how mirror work using affirmations can address the beliefs behind itthejoywithin.orgthejoywithin.org.
4. Wisconsin Public Radio (Interview with Dr. Shilagh Mirgain) – Self-Compassion Is Key to Successful Weight Loss: Research indicating that self-compassion and positive self-talk (e.g. mirror work, “befriending your body”) predict weight-loss successwpr.orgwpr.org.
5. The Universe Unveiled – Rewire Your Subconscious Mind with Neuroplasticity: Insights on the importance of repetition and affirmations in rewiring neural pathways; “Repetition is the mother of neuroplasticity” – consistent practice strengthens new thoughts while old patterns weakentheuniverseunveiled.comtheuniverseunveiled.com.
6. PeopleOne Health – Flip-Flop Your Thoughts (Weight Loss Mindset): Example of reframing a negative diet thought into a positive affirmation (from “I’ll feel hungry” to “I’ll fill up on wholesome foods and feel great”), illustrating the power of changing self-talkportal.peopleonehealth.com.