Weight loss methods, strange, if the relevant information is collected, you can sort out a thick "Human Masochism Practice Encyclopedia". Many people think that the right way to lose weight is only 2, keep your mouth shut and open your legs. The problem is, such a simple truth, everyone understands, why are so many people still failing to lose weight? In fact, if you think backwards, you will find that in the process of weight loss, the most difficult to overcome is the self, and the root cause of weight loss failure is in the psychology. Recently, some scholars have carefully summarized the conclusions of relevant studies and proposed a plan to lose weight by looking in the mirror. Is this a crooked way, or is it the scientific method?
Looking in the mirror to help lose weight, this novel trick, called mirror exposure therapy, belongs to the category of cognitive behavioral therapy. The basic view of cognitive behavioral therapy is that individual behaviors and emotions are derived from cognition. The so-called cognition is a person's view of a certain object, which also includes the view of himself. The principle of mirror exposure therapy is to re-observe yourself by looking in the mirror. Recently, American scholars published a paper in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which systematically reviewed the effects of this therapy.
The first effect of mirror exposure therapy is to inhibit food consumption. In 2016, scholars conducted 4 studies on the effects of mirrors on taste, testing the sensory properties of food. The results show that when there is a mirror, the taste of high-calorie foods is evaluated less. The presence of a mirror enhances taste perception if the subject believes that they are responsible for eating unhealthy foods. Multiple tests have shown that mirrors can help subjects develop self-awareness, which triggers self-comparisons, and negative emotions if they feel that their behavior is incompatible with ideal norms, which affects taste perception.
Observational studies also found that women who ate in the mirror ate less, took longer to eat food, and that participants consciously groomed their clothes and hair to stimulate spontaneous awareness, which promoted healthy eating habits and thus successful weight loss. In other words, the mirror awakens the self that craves a healthy and beautiful image, like a supervisor accompanying himself to eat, achieving the small goal of keeping his mouth shut.
The second effect of mirror exposure therapy is to reduce anxiety. The researchers observed obese adolescents for 1 year, measuring feelings of anxiety and ugliness. The results showed that looking in the mirror more could reduce anxiety, and obese people would reduce their self-abandonment of body shape changes because of the increase in self-confidence. People who have experienced many weight loss failures often feel that they have tried their best, but they are really tired and can no longer insist, so continue to be obese, and accept themselves, it is possible to encourage themselves and change themselves.
The third effect of mirror exposure therapy is to change the perception of the body. The researchers showed the subjects 3 mirrors and asked them to describe the details of their bodies as they wore. The results showed that the presence of mirrors allowed subjects to regain their sense of self-esteem by reducing their avoidance of body image and worrying less about weight and body type.
The researchers suggest that people who are losing weight spend a little time each day, look in the mirror more, cause changes in self-awareness by gazing at themselves, and record the feeling of looking in the mirror for inclusion in the list of obesity management interventions. Using good mirrors, this cheap and ubiquitous tool, can help people reduce their food intake and control the consumption of unhealthy foods. Spending a few minutes a day, observing yourself in the mirror, and self-reflection can change self-awareness, reduce dissatisfaction and anxiety about the body, and accept yourself, which is the real motivation for changing yourself. Many studies have shown that cognitive behavioral therapy, including mirror exposure therapy, can have unexpected effects in the treatment of various diseases or psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, anorexia nervosa or bulimia, drug dependence, chronic pain, etc. This therapy is scientifically based, not a crooked path. If you're interested, start trying it out today.
Whoever loves, pass on health to whom.