By the thinkBIG Team
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between those of us who struggle with weight and the 'naturally' slim people? You know, those of us who have tried every diet known to man, who constantly think about food and would find it easier to cut their arm off rather than leave the last three Tim Tams in the packet.
What is the difference between those of us who start a new diet and fitness regime only to come unstuck by the family-block-of-chocolate-a-day and those 'naturally slim' people who seem to be able to eat anything they want and still stay skinny?
The problem, and the solution, lies with the different, ingrained associations that we have towards food, eating and exercise, what we believe and how we deal with our emotions…oh, and a few bad habits we've picked up along the way.
Let's look at the associations…
These mental associations are unconscious, have generally been learnt and ingrained over a long period of time. This means that no matter how much you try to lose weight by dieting and forced exercise, these underlying associations will always be there to sabotage you.
Think of the emotional eater who reaches for food when they're angry, stressed or upset. It's not surprising really that we turn to food when we're emotional. When we cried as babies, our mothers fed us. If a child throws a tantrum, isn't it easier to give them sweets to keep them quiet? Whose grandparents (who tend to be linked to unconditional love without the scolding) gave them sweets every time they visited? For a lot of people, it is easier to find comfort from food than it is to find a way to deal with the unwanted emotions or emotional baggage that may be hanging around.
Our beliefs will have a dramatic effect on our waistline. From believing that we'll never reach our target weight, to believing that we are big boned, to believing that we don't deserve to be slim, to believing that we will end up with our mothers' body shape (the girls that is!). Our unconscious mind will do everything it can to hold up our beliefs; to the extent where it may even slow down our metabolic rate or tell us that we're ravenous even though we have only just finished a meal. Think of the yo-yo diet scenario: we go on a diet and start to head towards our target weight, our unconscious mind will kick in just before we get there to support our underlying belief that we will never achieve it.
How about our habits? There is a specific strategy to everything that we do, for instance a 'boredom strategy' may be: sit down in front of the TV, turn the TV on, flick through a few channels, think to yourself 'there's nothing on again, what shall I do' and then all of a sudden there's a bowl of chips in front of you! When you become aware of the strategy, you can read the signs leading up to the unwanted habit and interrupt the strategy.
Many of our unwanted habits or beliefs around food may not even be ours. There are so many nutrition, health and fitness 'experts' out there telling us conflicting stories about what we should eat—how do we choose who to believe?
Is it possible that we are eating the same types, or quantities, of foods that our parents, friends, partners or even children eat? One person's idea of overeating may be very different to another's and how many people find it impossible to leave food on their plate, even though they are full to bursting, because there are 'starving children in Africa!'
Our brain encodes all of these different associations in different ways and we all have very different emotions, beliefs and habits that make up who we are and which, unconsciously, dictate how we act.
If we can become aware of our own associations we can start to think differently. When you think differently, you behave differently. If you think like a 'naturally slim' person won't you behave like a 'natually slim' person? If you start to think and behave like a 'naturally slim' person, won't you become a 'naturally slim' person?
Food for thought?
