Why it almost never works to lose weight
Recently, I was having lunch with a friend when suddenly a woman walked in who was really too heavy. She struggled to squeeze between the tables to reach her appointment. It is always noticeable that when someone enters with an unusual size, everyone takes a moment to look. Some disapprovingly or in surprise.
So did my friend. She said, ‘Wow, that would be a good one for you, El.’ I nodded sympathetically. She said, ‘Still, I always think: every pound goes through the mouth, you know. You really let this go too far.’
‘Yes, you are certainly right, but it's not as easy as you think.’ Right?
I explained the following to my friend. ‘Of course, the eating behavior leads to this woman being way too overweight, but she has surely tried more than enough to become slim. She has probably followed more than twenty different diets to lose the pounds and made various attempts to go to gyms to sweat off the fat, without the desired result. And as a result, she has become disappointed in herself. Her self-confidence is completely down the drain. Her motivation and hope are probably also lying there.’
We all recognize this a bit if we are very honest. That you start something with good intentions and just can't keep it up.
What the real reason is, is that your subconscious is programmed with a certain belief that originated at some point in your life. It always has an emotional cause and usually goes back to childhood, as during that time most of your programming is created that influences the rest of your life.
The main function of your brain is to protect you from danger and steer you towards pleasure. Pain is danger and emotional pain is also pain, so also danger. Think of a rejection or an intense judgment. In this case, there has been a situation where the link of pleasure was experienced during eating. Your brain has activated that as a successful survival mechanism.
So if you feel bad, you eat, because then you feel good again. And so your brain has devised a program that works. And every time that pain or an unpleasant situation comes up again, it directs you to pleasure, in this case, to eating.
If you try to get rid of this, your brain will guide you back to that very first programming every time. And that's how you can't stick to your diet. Something with yo-yo effect? You can't do anything about that. And yes, you are right: every pound goes through the mouth, but it is driven by the programming of your brain and it is therefore super frustrating that you keep falling back into the old behavior.
If this overweight woman discovers at what moment this programming was established in her subconscious, she can change this. For good. Definitively. She can reset her mind and easily maintain a healthy diet. She will eat differently and lose weight quickly. And then she walks back into this café full of pride and self-confidence and dances between the tables to reach her date.
Ellen Rikhye is a Rapid Transformational Hypnotherapist and coach. She lives with her two children in ’t Gooi. Ellen shares her knowledge and experience with you, so that you too have the wisdom to be the best version of yourself.
Geschreven door: Ellen Rikhye
