Are you one of those people who gain weight almost without realizing it? Each person’s genetics and metabolism are intimately linked to a greater or lesser propensity to gain weight. The reality (a bit uncomfortable) is that there are factors in your body that are complicated to change , and therefore having a few extra pounds is something that many people cannot easily remedy.

However, there are (scientifically proven) reasons that invite optimism from those who want to lose weight. We don’t just gain weight because we have “bad genetics”, nor because we eat too much or don’t do enough sport. In fact, recent studies have shown that the quality (the low quality , is more important than the quantity of what we ingest, and that it usually ends up in the adipose tissues (love handles, pouches, belly…).

Fortunately, for the problem of poor nutrition there are a number of resources available to mitigate its effect, learn new and better habits and thus feel lighter and healthier.

Psychology has a lot to say in the way we feed ourselves

psychology and nutrition are disciplines of study that are increasingly related, as we saw in a previous post:

  • “Psychology and Nutrition: The Importance of Emotional Nutrition”

There are several psychological tricks that can be very useful when it comes to losing weight . The latest trend among researchers who study the processes of body transformation (fattening and slimming) is to assess the impact of psychology and how it influences our figure.

One of the most respected theorists in this field is Brian Wansink of Cornell University, who has the honour of having been recruited by the White House to produce the nutrition and food guidelines in the United States.

Culture and habits are the best allies of obesity

Wansink raises the importance of the family and social environment in the development of overweight and obesity :

“Many people I know eat much more than would be advisable. And they don’t eat so much because they have an excessive appetite, but because their closest environment (family, friends) encourages them to do so. Moreover, there is a whole range of XXL food marketing that is responsible for presenting food to us in an inappropriate way : packaging, portion sizes, names, colours, labels, shapes, smells, ingredients… We do not realise how perverse the food industry is because we have always lived in a culture that conceives food in this way”.

Psychological tricks that will help you lose weight

Wansink’s advice reveals the crucial role of habits, senses and general psychology in the way we eat. By following them, it is possible to create the right psychological and nutritional dynamics to lose weight and maintain good health.

These are the tricks that Wansinck proposes:

1. Get rid of those foods you don’t want to eat

If you have before your eyes foods that for you are irresistible temptations (usually they are foods rich in fat or sugars…), it will be more difficult for you not to taste the bite. Encourage your eyesight with healthy foods: put fresh fruit and healthy foods on display , and hide soft drinks, junk food and sweets.

2. Get used to playing sports little by little

Food is important, but the calories you take in every day have to be burned if your goal is to lose weight. It’s obvious that exercising will help you lose weight. In addition, you should bear in mind that doing sport has multiple benefits at a psychological level , which can make you start living life in a healthier way and food becomes much less important for you.

3. Get rid of anxiety

There are a lot of bad eating habits that are supported by the same common factor: anxiety. Being anxious can lead you to eat between meals and/or to overeat … do you know what binge eating disorder is? If you manage to control your anxiety, you will notice that you don’t feel as much need to eat.

  • I recommend you take a look at this article:
    “Fighting Anxiety: 5 Guidelines for Reducing Stress”

4. Never go to the supermarket hungry

It’s more than proven that shopping on an empty stomach is a bad choice. By being hungrier, v you are more likely to buy foods that seduce your eyes , especially those containing high doses of glucose (sugars), which is precisely what you lack in your blood when you are hungry. By the way, don’t go shopping in anger either , you’ll also tend to buy too much.

5. Put little food on your plate

For the same reason that going shopping hungry makes you make bad decisions, the same thing happens when we are hungry and we go to serve ourselves food on our plate . We tend to get too much of it. If you put on less, you will probably eat enough but not to the point of feeling bloated… and you won’t accumulate calories that you don’t need.

6. Eat slowly and without rushing

When we eat, it takes 20 minutes for the signal that the stomach sends to the brain to indicate that it feels full. If you eat slowly and without rushing, you will feel full and avoid eating more food than your body demands. On the other hand, if you eat in a hurry, you will eat more calories. Give your body time and it will tell you when it is enough.

7. Don’t put too many ingredients in the same dish

A golden rule: only put two ingredients at a time on the same plate (regardless of oil, salt and so on, of course). If you put a lot of ingredients in, you tend to perceive the food as a treat. The idea is not that you will start to hate food, far from it, but sobriety at the table plays into your hands when it comes to controlling your appetite and losing weight.

8. Losing weight: a slow and steady process

It is common that some people who go on special weight loss diets end up being frustrated by not achieving the desired results in the time they had estimated (a classic to illustrate this is the “bikini operation”). Weight loss diets must be oriented in such a way that the evolution is constant and long-lasting… not abrupt and after two months they will be the same or worse. That is why it is important to think that having a fat-free body is not a sprint but a long-distance run : slowly and well written.

Emotions can boycott your progress, as we explained in another post:

  • Emotions are the main obstacle to losing weight

9. The importance of the spiritual

Even if some people do not give it the transcendence it deserves, meditation , feeling good about yourself, self-esteem and the mens sana in corpore sano are crucial factors in getting rid of excess kilos . One activity that combines the spiritual and the physical and has magnificent results is yoga . We explain more about yoga in the following text:

  • “The 6 Psychological Benefits of Yoga”

10. Be aware of what you eat and be informed

Knowing the ingredients of the food you eat is key to losing weight. For one simple reason: information is power . When we are going to eat out, we don’t have that information and we are likely to eat poorly and gorge ourselves on saturated fats and sugars. If you buy your own food and look at the nutritional intake of each food, you will gradually become aware of what feels good to your body.

Bibliographic references:

  • National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) (2000). Demographic and Family Health Survey.
  • Mazza, C. (2001). Obesity in Pediatrics: Current Overview. SAOTA, Obesity; 12 (1):28-30.