Researchers have just found an effective way to motivate themselves to lose weight: “Functional Imagery Training (FIT)”.
We all know the tips for losing weight. Eat less, eat better and be physically active. So much for the theory. But in practice, resisting a wafer of chocolate or walking through the door of a gym after a long day at work is by no means easy. However, researchers have just found an effective way to motivate themselves: mental imagery. They compared the impact of two psychological techniques designed to lose weight: “Motivational Interviewing (MI)” and “Functional Imagery Training (FIT)”.
Images and sensations
The first approach aims to make the patient aware, via speech, of the potential problems caused, the consequences experienced and the risks incurred as a result of the behavior in question (in this case, the fact of eating poorly and not practicing physical activity ). The second technique has the same optics, but this time uses images and sensations (see the video below).
Dr Solbrig and his team recruited 141 participants with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more, therefore considered overweight by the World Health Organization (WHO). Of the total number of participants, 55 followed the “Motivational Interviewing (MI)” and 59 the “Functional Imagery Training (FIT)”. They all participated in two sessions, and were followed by phone for six months, the calls being increasingly spaced out in time.
4.11 kilos less
At the end of experience, scientists found that participants who took Functional Imagery Training (FIT) lost five times more weight than others. Specifically, members of this group lost an additional 4.3 centimeters of waist circumference in 6 months. This represents an average loss of 4.11 kilograms for people in the “FIT group”, compared to an average loss of 0.74 kilograms for those in the “FIT group”.group MI “.
Even better: By month 12, participants in the “FIT group” had lost an average of 6.44 kilograms and those in the “MI group” only 0.67 kilograms. A considerable difference. “It is fantastic that these people lost so much weight thanks to this method, because no advice on diet or physical activity was given during the experience”, underlines the director of the study, Dr. Solbrig.
“My motivation was to be there for my daughter”
A patient who followed the Functional Imagery Training (FIT) testifies: “I lost my mother at 60 years old. Being myself 59 years old and suffering from various health problems, my motivation was to be there for my daughter. I kept thinking about wearing the dress I bought for my daughter’s graduation party, and on the days when I really didn’t feel like exercising, I kept going. ‘imagine how I would feel“.
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