Source: Good News Network
If you’re trying to shave off some of those extra pounds, this new study shows that visualization may be a huge contributor for successful weight loss.
Overweight people who used a new motivational intervention called Functional Imagery Training (FIT) lost an average of five times more weight than those using talking therapy alone.
In addition, users of FIT lost 1.6 more inches (4.3cm) around their waist circumference in six months – and continued to lose weight after the intervention had finished.
The research involved 141 participants, who were allocated either to FIT or Motivational Interviewing (MI) – a technique that sees a counsellor support someone to develop, highlight and verbalize their need or motivation for change, and their reasons for wanting to change.
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FIT goes one step further than MI, as it makes use of multi-sensory imagery to explore these changes by teaching clients how to elicit and practice motivational imagery themselves. Everyday behaviors and optional app support are used to cue imagery practice until it becomes a cognitive habit.
Maximum contact time was four hours of individual consultation, and neither group received any additional dietary advice or information.
“It’s fantastic that people lost significantly more weight on this intervention, as, unlike most studies, it provided no diet/physical activity advice or education. People were completely free in their choices and supported in what they wanted to do, not what a regimen prescribed,” said Dr.
Linda Solbrig, the researcher who led the study from the School of Psychology.MORE: While Trying to Lose Weight, Here’s Why You Should Wear Bunny Slippers
The study showed how – after six months – people who used the FIT intervention lost an average of 9 pounds (4.11kg), compared with an average of 1.6 pounds (0.74kg) among the MI group.
After 12 months – six months after the intervention had finished – the FIT group continued to lose weight, with an average of 14.2 pounds (6.44kg) lost compared with 1.48 pounds…
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