Using memories to lose weight

We all understand the power of the mind. Now power of the mind can be used to achieve one goal that we all seem to have - lose weight. A new study by Elizabeth Loftus, Daniel Bernstein, Cara Laney, and Erin Morris shows that one can use the memory feature of the brain to avoid certain unhealthy foods.

This is how it works. If you are made to believe that something made you sick as a child, you are less inclined to repeat that behavior. So if you are fond of deep-fried chicken and other similar goodies, a psychologist can work with you to make you think that these foods were bad for you when you were young. In other words, it is easy to fool the brain and when an expert helps you through the process, you can change your behavior - avoid unhealthy foods, and switch to a healthier diet.

“People do develop aversions to foods; for example, something novel like béarnaise sauce may make someone sick once, and they can develop a real aversion to that food,” said Loftus. “And with alcohol, there’s a medication that actually makes alcoholics sick if they drink, and the idea is to develop an aversion so that the person avoids drinking. It may be possible to do something similar with food, but without the physical experience.” Recommended article: Liposuction and weight loss

For instance, when I was very young, growing up as a vegetarian, my first experience of seeing anyone eat a non-vegetarian meal was to see someone eating fish at a party. When I saw the skeleon of a fish, I was so horrified that I have never eaten fish in my life. Since then I have started to enjoy some non-vegetarian dishes including chicken, beef, shrimp, etc. but the whole idea of eating fish is scary. While my aversion to fish may be unhealthy, but it does prove that childhood memories can be used for doing some good.