What do you reckon? Is the power of suggestion enough to rid you of food cravings and help you lose weight?
Apparently so…
For a few weeks now I’ve been trying out a new weight loss technique from Thinking Slimmer. The theory is that it’s not a diet at all, rather a shift in the way you think about food, which means you will lose weight without the need for willpower. This is a good job, because I don’t have any.
Every night for at least 21 days to start with, you have to listen to a recording – your ‘Slimpod’ – and over time you form new habits and new ways of thinking. According to the website, the Slimpod will “gently change your relationship to food and exercise by retuning the way your mind works, so you never diet again. There’s no calorie counting, no horrible tasting food replacements, no hunger pangs, no anguish, no guilt and no pain.”
There is the added bonus too that the man on the recording sounds a lot like Jude Law, and having Jude Law whisper how confident and lovely you are in your ear as you lie in bed every night is rather nice.
Sounds all too good to be true doesn’t it?
Well, I’ve listened to mine now for the initial 21 days and I must say I really have noticed differences in the way I think about food. Normally I think about food a lot, and I mean a lot, but it was less than a week into the trial before I began to find my thoughts less consumed with food than they normally are. It wasn’t a dramatic shift, just a gradual realisation that I was going for longer without thinking about snacking. When it does come to eating I seem to have a much more ‘take it or leave it’ approach, which makes it much easier to make the right choices.
No thank you.
Saying no to puddings doesn’t feel like I’m depriving myself anymore, it feels like a positive choice, and this is a massive difference for me. I haven’t lost any weight yet (although I haven’t gained any either), but apparently this is OK, as it’s a long-term lifestyle change. I will keep listening, and let you know when the weight does start to shift.
Alongside my Slimpod, I’ve been listening to a Fitpod, designed to make you feel more inclined to exercise. To motivate me even further, I was given some fancy sportswear by Debenhams. My not very encouraging family took some pictures of me in it.
“Not like that,” said Boyfriend, “you look ridiculous. Just stand still! What’s wrong with your face?” Talk about pressure.
“Try and look sporty?” suggested Bee. So I did.
Me looking sporty
“Oh dear,” said Bee, “not like that. Try something else.”
“How about a bit of casual stretching?” I said.
Casual stretching
“Well, it’s better than the sporty look,” she admitted, “but still weird.”
We gave up in the end, and I went off to my netball match. My new sports gear does make me feel more professional on court than when I used to go in a pair of old pyjama bottoms and a Johnny Cash t-shirt, but to be honest I haven’t noticed the effects of the Fitpod as much as the Slimpod, and would still rather have a little sit down 95% of the time if given the choice.
I did wonder if it’s because the Slimpod comes first on my playlist, and I’m always snoozing by the second track, but I’ve been reassured it shouldn’t matter if I fall asleep.
Perhaps my laziness is just more deeply ingrained than my greed.
Is it wrong that the picture of the cupcake has sucked me in and I’m now plotting the fastest route to the grocery store? Hmm….
Hmmm, I’m not sure that’s quite the point of the post…
Reading this post and seeing your pics makes my heart sink a little. There seem to be so so SO many Mums about at the moment with lovely figures like yourself that feel the need to loose weight. I’m all for getting healthier, but it’s weight loss that seems to be prevelant on all the social networking sites and blogs. For what it’s worth – I think you look fabulous! (despite the bizarre poses!) x
Don’t worry, I don’t think I’m hideously fat or anything, it’s more of a preventative thing to be honest. I could quite happily stay the weight I am now for ever, but I know that if I carry on eating the way I like to, that I will end up being too heavy, and impacting my health. I need to change the way I think about food more than lose a significant amount of weight.
I learnt all my German verbs by listening to them whilst I was asleep, I always came top of the class (swot) so I wouldn’t worry about falling asleep whilst listening to it
What a geek! That definitely sounds like the kind of thing I would do :-)
IMHO: you don’t look like you need to lose weight. I agree with @waterbirthplease. But, eating healthy food will naturally result in weight loss if that’s what your body needs to do. It happened to me. And all I’ve really done is give up sugar.
Surprisingly, that’s been more than enough to stop any cravings I might have for bad food. But you be the judge. Kim*
http://www.100days100ways.wordpress.com
I think the principle is the same – it’s all about changing habits isn’t it? When you stop eating sugar for long enough, you stop craving it.
I have the stop chocolate craving one (works for chocolate most of the time especially if I’m out shopping), but apart from being able to go the whole morning with no snacking, I’m not finding any difference on mine. I seem to be doing the opposite and wanting more food, and bad stuff (cakes etc). If I’m on a diet, I would usually have no problem being strict and just stopping and then exercising like mad, but so far, not finding much joy using this.
I fall asleep too with it, but then find myself waking up all of a sudden at the end of it! (I also used to listen to my french revision for A levels – good way of learning english literature quotes as well)
That is weird. What’s the track like? Is it very chocolate specific? I wonder if you body is compensating by craving other things?! Mine is much more general about visualising your ideal body shape, making positive choices etc.
I have the drop 2 sizes as well, they should work together. When I queried it, they said it can just take time and your body’s rebelling against the usual diet thing, but I wasn’t on a diet beforehand. It’s strange, because I’ve previously used another hypnosis type of cd which worked (but I can’t find where I’ve put it!). Will have to get back to my usual proper diet I think.