Research has shown that by combining diet with a positive mental attitude can dramatically increase the chances of success.

Why do so many diets fail? In theory losing weight is easy. Simply eat slightly less than the body needs over a sustained period. Yet in reality only a small percentage of people lose weight and keep it off. And whilst it’s true that most diets would be successful if followed, many fail to acknowledge the psychological impact of weight loss. As Oprah Winfrey once famously said "Diet’s don’t work, you’ve got to get to the reason that lies behind overeating." She had rightly identified what many scientific studies had already indicated. By changing our mental attitude to food we can change our behaviour. Without that change in attitude there is little chance of long term success.

Diets and dieting - The Scientific Evidence

A laboratory controlled study conducted at the Littlemore Hospital, Oxford, England concluded that the effect of just food restrictive, weight loss programmes were "surprisingly ineffective as a means of achieving sustained weight loss". That’s because dieters seem to exhibit one of two distinct behavioural styles.

Behavioural Style One. The dieter starts full of enthusiasm only to revert to their previous eating style before reaching their desired weight. Experience tells us that 82% will lose heart in the first five weeks. Typically a specific food or event would trigger the initial break in their resolve, after which the dieter would increasingly revert to their old behaviour.

Behavioural Style Two. Between 3% and 8% of dieters would stick to their diet and achieve their desired weight. Then over time – usually between six months and two years later 70% of this group would have gained most or all of the weight they had previously lost. This leaves only 2% of dieters with sustained, permanent weight loss.

This study is backed up by a substantial study conducted by The University of London, England. Its theme was effective and permanent weight reduction. They were evaluating the effectiveness of combining traditional diet control with positive psychology. Their findings overwhelmingly determined that by combining these techniques weight loss was much more effective and sustainable than just using a calorie controlled diet in isolation.

For permanent weight loss combine diet and positive psychology

Whilst many people can and do lose weight using a controlled diet this doesn’t address the psychological issues that surround eating patterns. For example, the act of eating produces complex ‘psychological anchors’that link the process to emotions like pleasure, satisfaction, self-esteem. Break or change these anchors and losing weight becomes much easier.

Increasingly there are a number of useful courses and books that focus on this area. So if you are serious about sustained and permanent weight loss, take a tip from The University of London study and combine diet control with a change in your mental attitude. Because based on the research it seems that successful weight loss really is all in the mind.

By Jim Brackin who contributes tips, help and advice on popular psychology to variety of magazines like Cosomopolitan, Real and Women's Own. He is the body language expert for Sky News (UK) and developed www.personaliteye.com that provides free visually based personality tests and personality profile.

The Top 10 Tips For Transitioning To Permanent Weight Loss, Health and Fitness

By Dr. Leslie Van Romer

1. FILL UP on the most nutritious foods first (fresh fruits and vegetables), then eat other foods.

2. Add at least 10 fresh, whole fruits and 10 different, fresh vegetables to your daily food plan.

3. Eat only whole fruit in the morning (up to 10 whole fruits). If you have diabetes or specific health issues, consult your doctor. Stop eating fruit one hour before lunch. Don’t eat fruit with other foods (it makes other foods ferment or rot causing gas and interference to digestion).

4. Eat until you are “satisfied” in your brain, not “stuffed” in your stomach.

5. For lunch, almost ALWAYS eat one large, green-leafy, vegetable salad with at least 10 different fresh vegetables (count them). If you are still hungry, then eat something els

6. For dinner, almost ALWAYS fill up on a vegetable salad and vegetables first (such as steamed or baked). Then eat other foods.

7. Before you put something into your mouth, think to yourself, “Is this food FEEDING me or DEPLETING me?”

8. Clean out your cupboards. Do not bring the “bad guys” into your house. Keep “good-for-you” snacks with you at all times (at home, at work, in the car).

9. Communicate with your family about your food and fitness goals and beg for support.

10. Seek a support person who will hold you ACCOUNTABLE to your commitment to yourself, your body, and your health (like Dr. Leslie!).

BE PATIENT AND KIND TO YOURSELF… IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME TO SHED OLD HABITS AND BUILD NEW, LIFE-SUPPORTING HABITS.

Dr. Leslie Van Romer is a health motivational speaker, writer, and lifestyle coach.
Visit www.DrLeslieVanRomer.com for more inspiration.

Losing Weight with a Hypnosis CD
By Michael Hadfield 

Want to lose weight? That's easy – just stop eating!!!!

So you don't just want to lose weight, what you really want is to be a certain size and shape; to wear clothes that look and feel good; and to just carry on eating the way you always have done.

Come on… be honest!

You want to be your dream weight and your dream shape and you want to carry on eating what you want when you want because eating feels soooo good. Eating drives away the boredom, the uncomfortable emotions, the loneliness, those unloved feelings… and it does it for those few moments while you are actually enjoying the cake, the crisps, the ice cream, the chips, not to mention the chocolate in all its delicious shapes and sizes, colours and textures. I mean if you want to lose weight you'll have to give up the only pleasure in your life and the only pleasurable skill you have – the skill of being a chocolate connoisseur.

So how can you keep eating and have the shape you want? You can't? I'm really sorry, and I've explored this territory fully, but that just isn't possible. Now the Good News:

Your desire for all the unhealthy foods can be reduced or eliminated relatively easily. If you don't experience the desire, or the need, then you don't go to the fridge when you're bored or unhappy; instead you creatively find a way out of that particular problem that isn't connected with food.

You might be wondering now how, suddenly, you can find creative solutions when before all you could do was eat. This is where the hypnosis weight control CD fits in. You see the overeating is, at its heart, an emotional problem that's too difficult to resolve so eating becomes a displacement activity to release the emotional energy.

Often you'll find that what is troubling gets hidden so well that being overweight appears to be the dominant worry and you overeat to maintain that worry because that saves you from having to deal with deeper issues.

The beauty of hypnosis is that it doesn't just remove your weight problem and leave you with the emotional ones to deal with. If it did that you'd just go back to overeating. Hypnosis works with your subconscious mind (the place where the real problem is hidden) and restructures your view of yourself. It activates the creativity that we all possess - but often gets stifled when we are youngsters. It uses direct suggestions to interrupt the automatic eating behaviours so that you become more conscious and are free to make choices about what to eat.

Hypnosis helps you to see the real you, the more wonderful you, that you learn to love and look after and treasure. Love doesn't overfeed, love nourishes and exercises, and stimulates Listening to a hypnosis CD will restructure how you see yourself, it will help you to break your imagined addiction to fattening and unhealthy foods, but it won't remove the pleasure of eating for you. Instead it will help you to enjoy healthy, nutritious food to a much greater degree than you ever enjoyed fattening foods. And it does it all without diets, and without restrictions on what you can eat. It gives you back your freedom to choose; your freedom to say no thanks when you are full; and your freedom to live in a fit and healthy body that is loved and cherished and looks really good.

…and finally, just a few words from one of my satisfied customers.

…I was around 16 stone 10 lbs. I am pleased to tell you that I have lost weight, and am currently 13 stone, so I have gone below my target weight. I feel that I have done myself proud, and I doubt I would have been able to do this without your help.

JPD

So you can see how effective hypnosis can be if you really want to lose weight. Please visit my website if you want to find out more.

Web www.virtual-therapist.com