Want to Lose Weight? Think Brain Neuroplasticity

     What the heck is brain neuroplasticity? Just a fancy way of saying that thinking creates pathways in the brain. Why is this important to a dieter? Because it can help you lose weight.

When ALL you can think about is that caramel fudge swirl in the freezer, don’t think: “I can’t eat ice cream, I can’t eat ice cream, I can’t eat…” Instead, refocus your thoughts on what you can eat. What you should eat. As you continue to think about eating the right foods, your brain strengthens the neural pathways that will cause you to naturally and automatically make better food choices. This is how new habits are formed. And this is how you lose weight.

Remember that choo-choo train who thought he could? You can, too. It’s a matter of mind over body. Start right now. “I can eat plums, I can eat pears, I can eat apples…”
The days of three-month-old apples that lurk unseen in the crisper, shriveled like your grandmother’s neck and tasting like the refrigerator are over. Instead, keep a fruit bowl on your counter – and keep it full of washed, fresh fruit!

Use the “In Sight, In Mind” principle to your advantage. Distract and take down a snack attack quickly with healthy, convenient fruit, and those other urges won’t have a chance to grow and multiply like rabbits. If peeling a pomegranate is too much trouble for you, have fruits that you can easily snatch the second you walk into the kitchen with a snack attack, like washed grapes, plums, apples, pears, peaches, easy-peel clementines.

Make things easy on yourself. Use the “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” principle, too. If you want less chubby hubby sitting on your couch, toss the ice cream in your freezer and the chips in the cupboard. It’s hard to ignore temptations that are so close you can touch them—and taste them. If it’s not there, you won’t eat it. More importantly, you won’t be thinking about eating it and developing neural pathways that are counterproductive. We all get the urge to nibble. Choose the right foods, and you’ll get slim.

What the heck is brain neuroplasticity? Just a fancy way of saying that thinking creates pathways in the brain. Why is this important to a dieter? Because it can help you lose weight.

When ALL you can think about is that caramel fudge swirl in the freezer, don’t think: “I can’t eat ice cream, I can’t eat ice cream, I can’t eat…” Instead, refocus your thoughts on what you can eat. What you should eat. As you continue to think about eating the right foods, your brain strengthens the neural pathways that will cause you to naturally and automatically make better food choices. This is how new habits are formed. And this is how you lose weight.

Remember that choo-choo train who thought he could? You can, too. It’s a matter of mind over body. Start right now. “I can eat plums, I can eat pears, I can eat apples…”
The days of three-month-old apples that lurk unseen in the crisper, shriveled like your grandmother’s neck and tasting like the refrigerator are over. Instead, keep a fruit bowl on your counter – and keep it full of washed, fresh fruit!

Use the “In Sight, In Mind” principle to your advantage. Distract and take down a snack attack quickly with healthy, convenient fruit, and those other urges won’t have a chance to grow and multiply like rabbits. If peeling a pomegranate is too much trouble for you, have fruits that you can easily snatch the second you walk into the kitchen with a snack attack, like washed grapes, plums, apples, pears, peaches, easy-peel clementines.

Make things easy on yourself. Use the “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” principle, too. If you want less chubby hubby sitting on your couch, toss the ice cream in your freezer and the chips in the cupboard. It’s hard to ignore temptations that are so close you can touch them—and taste them. If it’s not there, you won’t eat it. More importantly, you won’t be thinking about eating it and developing neural pathways that are counterproductive. We all get the urge to nibble. Choose the right foods, and you’ll get slim.

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