Losing weight by imagining eating…true or false?
Feeling hungry? Got a craving? Cheerleaders who work hard need to eat to keep up their strength but we all know that sometimes you might indulge in junk food. Of course all that junk food adds up and soon you realize that your cheerleading uniform is – well, a little tight!
Well, there’s good news! A recent study has shown that if you use your imagination, you may lose weight! Or at least reduce your cravings…
The study involved two groups. One group was asked to imagine eating 30 M & M chocolate candies and putting three quarters into a slot.
The other group was told to eat only 3 M & Ms and put 30 quarters into a slot.
Then the researchers provided a large bowl of M & Ms to each group and told them they could eat as much as they want.
Interestingly, the group who had imagined munching on 30 M & Ms ate less (50%) of the real candies than the group who visualized eating only 3! (They determined consumption by weighing the bowls after the subjects ate their fill.)
If you think the study was a fluke you’ll be happy to know that it was repeated 4 other times and each time the results were the same.
So what does this mean for you? Well, if you just think about food your appetite will probably increase (like mine is right now as I think about supper!) but if you visualize yourself eating the food, your craving will decrease!
So don’t just think of food, imagine yourself eating it! In other words, munch away in your imagination and you may lose weight!
This study is consistent with what I’ve been writing about on this blog for years now which is that the brain can’t detect the difference between experiencing something in reality versus in imagination.
By the way, his study has led to what is known as “The Imagination Diet.”
The Study can be found in: Morewedge, C. K., Huh, Y. E., & Vosgerau, J. (2010). Thought for food: Imagined consumption reduces actual consumption. Science, 303, 1530-1533.
Tags: cheerleaders, Cheerleading, diet, weight loss