Weight Loss without Worry

     Brian Wansink has a fascinating job, he spends his days studying food psychology  and consumer behavior (i.e. what makes us eat the way and the amount we eat).  I love this topic and recommend you take a look at his book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think.  Through his research he has uncovered some very revealing reasons why we eat the way we do.  If you think you are alone in your habits and behaviors just read this excerpt about his work from Answers.com

The food a person eats at a given time is related to sensory issues, but it is also related to how appropriate they perceive this food for that situation. People are more likely to adopt a food into a new situation (say, eating soup for breakfast) if they focus on the benefits of the food instead of on how it differs from prototypical breakfast foods.  Food selection has also been linked to favorable past memories of food. This has been suggested as to why men tend to claim their favorite comfort foods are meal-related foods, such as steak, pasta, and soup, while women prefer the more convenient foods, such as ice cream, chocolate, and cookies. For men, meal-related comfort foods evoke feelings of nurturing and attention. Yet for women they evoke memories of preparation and clean-up.

     This research supports the fact that our habits and behaviors are directly influenced by our thoughts and beliefs.  It also illustrates how our thoughts and beliefs are not something we are born with, instead they develop over time due to the experiences we have at a young age.  For instance this last study shows that men consider comfort foods to be more meal-related because they were served and felt cared for.  On the other hand girls saw their mothers working hard to prepare the meals and clean up after them so they consider comfort foods something that requires little preparation or clean up.  Women want to open a container and grab a spoon.

     Your actions will always be in line with your thoughts and beliefs and those actions will give you the results you see.  So if you would like to change your results, first change your thoughts and beliefs.  You were not born with your current beliefs so you can reprogram them and turn them into beliefs that support your weight loss.  Start telling yourself a new story.  Tell yourself that going for a walk is an opportunity to see something new, that eating whole grain cereal in the morning is soothing to your body and soul, or that eating lean protein gives your body an energy boost.  These little changes in the way you think will soon turn into new behaviors and new results.