Weight Loss Visualization

[ysabetwordsmith]

Most weight loss techniques are dismally ineffective.  This study found one that works quite well -- and it focuses on multisensory visualization rather than a specific diet or exercise program.  While the original version involved a support program, visualization is something that anyone can practice at home and probably derive some benefits.  Even more important, the benefits continued after the program -- instilling a healthy mental habit improved ongoing results, as the study tracked people after the visualization coaching stopped.  More research would be good, but this is promising.

It meshes with other observations that person-centered therapies work well in general, because they use the client's own strengths to pursue a client-chosen goal in a way that works for that individual.  A person is more likely to attain a healthy body if they develop a lifestyle suited to their unique needs, rather than trying a standard model that might not.

On the mystical side, the body elemental is a sort of spirit of the flesh which maintains the body and its connection to the soul. Communicating with this critter is challenging because it doesn't think in words.  It can, however, think in sensory images.  If you can clearly show it what you want it do with the body, it may pitch in -- and that's exactly where you may see these huge multiples of impact from what seems like a small and simple intervention.  Check to see if that might be pulling in additional resources like this.

While no one technique works for everyone, this one seems a lot more promising than most of the health programs I've seen relating to achieving a healthy weight.  That's worth noting.

Comments

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Hahaha yeah I've yet to find anything either which kind of sucks because like, you know whose lifestyle could use some improving?!?!?!?! <<

In terms of lifestyle changes, the first key is to take small steps. If you try to change a lot at once, it's too hard and won't stick. But if you change one small thing at a time, and wait for that to feel normal before adding more, then it's more sustainable and will add up. Try different things to see what appeals to you. Even if nothing sticks, at least you are getting some goodness while you explore. And nobody hates everything so if you keep looking, eventually something should stick.

Some possible examples:
* Take a walk once a week, or once a day. It doesn't have to be a long one.
* Find a hobby that requires more activity. It doesn't have to be a sport, it can be something whimsical such as hunting for painted rocks.
* Taste a new fruit or vegetable. When you find one you like, you can try to eat it more often.
* Cook a healthy recipe. When you find one you like, add it to your repertoire.
* Replace one unhealthy item in your food flow with a healthier one. Frex, switch from white to brown rice, or processed cereal to whole-grain hot cereal.
* Learn to do a body scan. You can do it on a schedule, or just when your body does something weird you want to focus on.
* Watch for healthy restaurants you can explore. Core Life offers green bowls, grain bowls, broth bowls, and healthy plates.
* Make friends with people who are like you want to be. If you want to be a writer, hang out with writers. If you want to eat healthy, go with foodies.

When Harvest Market opened, I discovered that they keep an exotic fruit section. I've found things in there I had only seen pictures of, and some have become real favorites, like the Buddha's hand. Others were okay but too much work to get into, like the rambutan, and I actually prefer the texture of canned lychee to fresh. The mangosteen was amazing despite its big pits. I'm totally hooked on dragonfruit.

>> But idk I think unless there is a more active effort to decouple happiness from thinness there's a danger for bad influence. <<

Absolutely. Here's a good look at that issue.

Something to consider is that lifestyle and diet have changed a lot over time. Modern life and the American diet just plain make people fat and unhealthy. To change that, you have to step pretty far outside the mainstream, which not many people can do. But there are other ways to do it besides starving yourself on weird diets.

One is to choose a job that requires you to move. Couriers aren't fat because they move all day long. Farmers rarely are because farming involves a lot of physical work. What makes exercise "hard" is separating it from everyday life. A job that parks you in a chair for 8-12 hours a day is not helping your health. (Mine is more than that, but oh well.)

Another is to look at what people eat in places where they are more healthy. I admire the Oldways African Heritage Diet with its food pyramid putting leafy greens at the base. Native American foodways offer a lot of wildcrafted options as well as domesticated crops like corn, squash, and beans.

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." That's good advice. "Eat the rainbow" is another favorite.

>> And like, I only bring this up because I am genuinely convinced that these techniques can have a powerful effect - but that's why I think, like with any medical/therapeutic intervention, people should me mindful of the possibility that things might not go as planned.<<

Anything that can have an effect, can have a bad effect. Mindfulness is good.

Now if only we could get the weight loss industry to admit that.

Re: Thoughts

[ioplokon]

I thought we agreed that most wellness advice is profoundly unhelpful to people with disordered eating, so it's a bit of a nasty shock to be hit with a bunch of it in response to me disclosing that's something I struggle with. This is why I think people in situations similar to mine benefit most/only from specific, tailored advice and help from people who know the precise details of their issues with food/exercise/body image. Pretty much all of the more general advice may as well be from a different world and reinforces bad behaviors and ways of thinking.