Do you want to feel healthier and happier this year? According to new research, visualising how you want to be could help to make that New Year’s resolution become a long-term reality.
New Year is typically a time when many of us feel over-due for a life-review; whether it be to improve our eating habits, cut down on the booze, become more active or change our lifestyle in general. Yet as many of us already know, many New Year resolutions will be long-forgotten by the time February arrives. Often this is because our willpower is constantly being tested to the point of exhaustion.
According to research from the University of Plymouth and Queensland University in Australia, however, using our imaginations to visualise how we want to be — whatever our goal — could make all the difference.
In a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, specifically looking at weight-loss, it was found that overweight people who used a motivational intervention called Functional Imagery Training (FIT) lost an average of five times more weight than those using talking therapy alone. In addition, FIT users lost 4.3 cm (nearly two inches) more around their waist circumference in six months and continued to lose weight after the intervention had finished.
The study allocated 141 participants either to FIT or Motivational Interviewing (MI). Whilst MI involves working with a counsellor to develop, highlight and verbalise the need or motivation for change, FIT makes use of multi-sensory imagery to explore these changes by teaching clients how to elicit and practise motivational imagery themselves. The idea is to use imagery practice until it becomes a cognitive habit.
We asked lead researcher Dr Linda Solbrig from the School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth about FIT and how we could try it out for ourselves.
Denne historien er fra Winter 2018/19-utgaven av Optimum Nutrition.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Winter 2018/19-utgaven av Optimum Nutrition.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Summer Of
Summer is when we want to be out and about, as the warm embrace of the sofa on a cold winter’s night becomes a distant memory. So where do you go when the brain is willing but the body just can’t cut it at the same level of performance that it managed decades ago? Graeme Wilcockson reviews a few ways to satisfy those competitive weekend instincts that will tax both mind and body — yet leave you able to move on Monday morning
Common Kitchen Practices Making Us Sick
Every year, thousands of us fall sick from food poisoning because of how we have handled food. Louise Scodie and Louise Wates look at common ways in which we are going wrong
Could Antioxidants Save Our Bacan?
Nitrates and nitrites have long been linked to cancer. We look at how they are part of a chain reaction that may not always be harmful to human health... So what’s the case with bacon?
Eat For A Glow That Is More Than Skin Deep
Now that summer is here, it’s time to peel off the layers and make some vitamin D. But if your skin isn’t as peachy as you would like, or if you are worried about staying safe in the sun, find out how good nutrition may support your skin’s health. Maggie Charlesworth writes
Natural Beauty
If headlines about microbeads from cosmetics polluting our seas have got you wondering how you can do your bit for the environment, try using nature’s harvest to feed your skin. Hannah Maryse Robinson writes
A Summer Selection Of Goods And Goodies
Lazy Vegan frozen Chunky Pulled Peaz is a gluten-free, plant-based protein source suitable for vegans and — with a substantial texture — flexitarians.
Do Something Different
As many of us are concerned about keeping our brains active, Ellie Smith investigates whether trying something completely new could boost both our brain health and mental wellbeing
Lifting Weights, Lifting Confidence
When Bianca Mills was bullied at school she could not have dreamt that she would be able to speak in front of a group of women, let alone coach them in lifting free weights. She told Louise Wates why she believes buddying-up is just as important as physical strength for fostering confidence
Teaching Children How To Forage
Catherine Morgan finds out how foraging can teach children (and adults) about more than nature’s store cupboard, and can foster an understanding of and respect for the environment.
Keep Calm And Curry On
In August, India celebrates the anniversary of Indian Independence, yet the Anglo-Indian community, a legacy of the British Raj with its roots in European and Indian ancestry, still treads the cultural line between both communities. Jenny Mallin, author of A Grandmother’s Legacy, tells us about the fusion food in her family and recipes passed down through the generations
