Expectations Bending Reality?

I recently read an article How the Power of Expectations Can Allow You to ‘Bend Reality’ Journalist Chris Berdik explains the many ways that what is expected shapes what happens By Gareth Cook. The articles details excerpts and answers to questions about Chris Berdik’s book Mind vs Mind.  In his book, Chris cites several examples of studies demonstrating how expectations have changed an outcome including the most commonly known placebo effect, athletic performance, the taste of wine and success under pressure.  

After reading this, my thoughts started firing about how this applies to weight loss and in general changing habits to live a more health-conscious lifestyle.  The experience many of us have had with a weight loss program came to mind first.  Some of us have accepted defeat before we even finish the paperwork to begin.  We have thoughts this will be another program we try, we’ll lose some weight (but not reach our goal), have hopeful expectations to get into a smaller size, but hold onto our old clothes thinking we will gain it all back.  Everyone expects “dieting” to be a grueling process where we are forced to give up all that we love for the almighty purpose of losing weight, but in the end, we go back to doing the things that led to our weight problem in the first place.  We don’t see the backslide as regression; we see it as a reward for our long-lived restraint.  The outcome… weight comes back sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly but always with a vengeance.  

What if we are able to alter that reality by altering our expectations of ourselves and the program we join?  Instead of expecting failure, despite past experiences, we jump in expecting success, some challenge but more importantly successfully overcoming the challenges.  By altering our reality, we develop lifelong tools to maintain our weight and newly found lifestyle forever.  We adjust our reality for success vs. failure.  We adjust our attitudes for perseverance and overcoming challenges vs. giving up midway into our journey (or for some of us even after a few days or weeks). 

To bend your reality, first take a good honest look at what your real expectations for a successful weight loss plan are?  How can you change your outlook to bend your reality and expect confidence, triumph and lifelong maintenance? 

To read more, check out the full article at: Scientific American