Because it is a difficult process, losing weight is best approached by using every tool available to you. Writers and philosophers have used symbolic language, such as metaphors, for thousands of years to reach the imaginations and emotions of their listeners, and you can use them too, for your own benefit as weight-loss techniques. Using metaphors isn't a guarantee for making the right choices on every occasion, but it may help you eat healthy food and exercise daily nine times out of 10.
Metaphors
According to George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, authors of "Metaphors We Live By," metaphors help you understand one thing in terms of another. The authors explain that your actions are based on your mental understanding. For instance, many Americans believe in the metaphor that "time is money." As a results, they use phrases like "spending time, "wasting time" and "using your time profitably." Weight loss is frequently seen in terms of warfare, such as "battling one's weight" and "fighting food cravings."
The Power of Metaphors
Metaphors work because they have a strong impact. As Martin Luther King Jr. put it, symbolic words have meaning in "the inaudible language of the heart." In other words, metaphors engage your emotions and your imagination, in addition to your head. David Kessler, former U.S. Food and Drug commissioner and author of "The End of Overeating," explains that to lose weight, you need motivational inspiration to reach your goals in addition to tangible, cognitive plans and strategies.
Food Metaphors
Kessler lost weight by thinking of fast food, greasy french fries and other high-calorie food as poison that food manufacturers were trying to trick him into eating. A friend of Kessler's conditioned his thinking to see overly large portions as poisonous and disgusting. Using metaphors in this way mimic the negative association and aversion therapy that doctors use for patients addicted to smoking.
Exercise Metaphors
Exercise metaphors take different forms. Some long distance runners imagine themselves as Pony Express horses, keeping a steady pace over the miles. Others see themselves as Indian braves or African Masai on the trail of their prey. The Exercise is Medicine organization seeks to create an awareness in the public and in the medical profession that physical activity is a necessary and vital part of improving health. With a vision in your head of exercise as essential to each day as is blood pressure or cholesterol-lowering medicine, activities such as walking, taking the stairs, or visiting the gym will be much easier.
Self Image Metaphors
A simple way to change your negative eating patterns or exercise aversion is to change your internal image of yourself. As you are on the path from caterpillar to butterfly, or overweight person to healthy, active person, choose to picture yourself in your final form. Tell yourself that you are a healthy, active person and make the choices that a healthy, active person makes instead of those made by someone who is not healthy.
Self Image Metaphors
A simple way to change your negative eating patterns or exercise aversion is to change your internal image of yourself. As you are on the path from caterpillar to butterfly, or overweight person to healthy, active person, choose to picture yourself in your final form. Tell yourself that you are a healthy, active person and make the choices that a healthy, active person makes instead of those made by someone who is not healthy.
References
- "Metaphors We Live By"; George Lakoff and Mark Johnson ; 1980
- Think Exist: Symbols Quotes
- "The End of Overeating"; David Kessler; 2009
- Exercise Is Medicine: About Exercise Is Medicine
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