Imagine losing weight; no, really, imagine it
Despite our best intentions, when it comes to weight loss and healthy habits, we all have our weak moments — those times we always slip up, no matter how determined we are.
Yours might be eating at restaurants, snacking at work or overeating when under stress. How can you combat these "uncomfortable" eating situations? Try borrowing a page from the Olympic athletes.
We don't mean training all day; although that certainly burns off calories. In this case, we're thinking more about how almost all world-class athletes practice mental rehearsal. The concept is to rehearse an upcoming event in your mind.
"You're basically using imagery to trick your brain into having an experience you didn't actually have," said Shane Murphy, a professor of psychology at Western Connecticut State University and former sports psychologist to the U.S. Olympic team.
It's easy to see how this might help for, say, a gymnast running mentally through a routine before performing it. But how does it work with dieting? Pretty much the same way, actually.
You don't have to physically practice standing in the buffet line at a wedding to learn how to turn down fattening food. Instead, rehearse the scenario in your mind so, rather than eating the triple-layer chocolate supreme cake with ice cream, you can revise the ending.
"We train athletes to anticipate their reaction to negative situations, so they are able to create a positive outcome. For instance, a skater falling in mid-session, a soccer player playing in inclement weather or a sprinter competing against a world record holder — the athlete needs to know how he is going to respond in advance. The same applies to avoiding potential diet disasters," Murphy said.
Here are the steps:
1. Choose an eating situation you find difficult and envision it.
2. Brainstorm the various events that could occur within that situation.
3. Add detail. Be specific. Don't spare a thought, no matter how insignificant it might seem.
4. Come up with a step-by-step description of what your ideal experience would be. Include how you would react to all the possible negative scenarios, creating positive outcomes for each.
5. Once you have the general script down, make the experience really come alive. "See, feel, hear and smell it. Make it as lifelike as possible — imagine it in 3-D," Murphy said.
6. Make it automatic by rehearsing the imagery often, including the night before the situation or event and even just before it begins, to keep it fresh.
7. Revise and repair: After the event, no matter what the outcome, revise your imagery and try to repair any mistakes or setbacks.
