After a routine doctor visit reveals borderline high blood pressure, you decide to take your wellness seriously. You plan to eat more veggies, cut back on fast food and hit the gym more often. But why not start with that bottle of metabolism-boosting multivitamins in your kitchen cabinet?
Rather than guzzle coffee or orange juice the next morning, you swallow your vitamin with a tall glass of water. As though by some miracle, your spirits lift and your running shoes appear less daunting. Maybe there's something to those vitamins after all. Or was it simply your mind?
The placebo effect of supplements are important as they boost self-esteem, courage and the thought that the person can achieve a task they would otherwise not attempt.
Clinical Psychologist, Margery Segal
Placebo Power
While taking multivitamins or supplements may not provide any tangible benefits, making the conscious decision to incorporate them into your routine can help set you on the right fitness path.
"The placebo effect of supplements are important as they boost self-esteem, courage and the thought that the person can achieve a task they would otherwise not attempt," says Margery Segal, a licensed clinical psychologist.
If you believe you've been cursed with a slow metabolism, for example, and are told that a placebo pill will rev your metabolism, you'll be more inclined to make healthier food choices. The same may hold true with exercise. If you believe you lack stamina, you're more likely to fizzle out midway through your workout.
Although research regarding the effectiveness of placebos on dietary changes and fitness is limited, numerous studies point to positive effects.
In a multitrial study published in "Perspectives in Biological Medicine" in October 2010, researchers compared traditional Chinese acupuncture and "sham" acupuncture, in which superficial needles were inserted at nonacupuncture points. Little difference was detected between the effectiveness of authentic and sham acupuncture. In one of the trials, for example, 100 patients with chronic back pain received acupuncture treatments regularly for five weeks. Of the patients who received sham acupuncture treatment, 44 percent responded positively. The success rate for patients who received authentic acupuncture was only slightly higher, at 48 percent.
If the same holds true in regard to fitness, simply believing that a multivitamin, dietary supplement or alternative treatment can boost your energy, metabolism or athletic performance may lead to those results.
"Making a conscious choice to take a daily vitamin is more a reflection of someone's intent than anything else," said Tina Ruggiero, a registered dietitian and author of "The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet." "Will this lead to improved food choices? Perhaps. It's not the same as shopping smart ... or cooking a healthy meal. However, if taking a vitamin is the first step to adopting other, healthy habits, then I'd say the individual is off to a good start."
Take dietary supplements with caution, however, as they all have the potential for causing adverse side effects, particularly if you take megadoses or use supplements containing stimulants or questionable ingredients.
Reversing the Negative Thought Train
The $40 billion-plus American diet and weight loss industry can make it difficult to believe that lifestyle improvements are feasible without a magic pill or diet plan. Retraining your mind to focus on positive thoughts and beliefs is often vital for significant, lasting success.
Hypnosis is one way you might attain this, according to John McGrail, a licensed hypnotherapist. Hypnosis creates a highly suggestible and focused state of mind that is believed to afford direct access to the subconscious -- where most of your feelings, habits and behaviors originate. But first you have to want it., said McGrail.
"Most clients who truly desire to change and are willing to commit to themselves and do the work do really well," McGrail said. "I have had clients easily make the emotional and attitudinal changes they needed in as few as two sessions and then begin and follow a program resulting in losing over 80 pounds. Conversely, I have had a few who simply had no success after many more sessions."
During a session, a hypnotherapist guides you toward changing behaviors, habits and emotions based on your wants and needs. If your goal is eating more healthfully, the therapist may suggest that you'll feel full faster, begin craving nutritious foods or eat mindfully, savoring every bite. If you wish to exercise more often, your therapist may suggest that you look forward to opportunities to exercise and relish the sensations physical activity provides.
Although the number and length of sessions varies, hypnosis is generally considered a short-term therapy, whereas psychotherapy is often long-term. Hypnosis may also complement other treatment forms.
What Lies Beneath?
The link between emotions and wellness beckons the proverbial question, "Which came first -- the chicken or the egg?" says Segal.
"Meeting and maintaining one's fitness goals can lead to emotional wellness," Segal said. "In addition, emotional wellness can lead to meeting and maintaining one's fitness goals. In both cases behavior and motivation are of utmost importance in the success of fitness goals."
Work and relationship stress, anger, boredom, fear, sadness, loneliness, anxiety, and fatigue can disrupt your health and wellness goals, particularly if you abide by the belief that changing your weight, pant size or appearance is the key to happiness or a solution to all of your problems. An online survey showed that 90 percent of 17,000 unsuccessful dieters relapsed into less healthy eating patterns due to emotional issues, according to a May 2011 "Good Housekeeping" article.
Emotional eating is a means of "stuffing" your true emotions, and thus not resolving them, says Segal.
If you've learned to use food as a coping mechanism, seek other ways of managing stress and negative emotions, such as psychotherapy, meditation or working through, rather than "eating" your way through, conflicts.
Lethargy, depression and weight gain can also stem from illnesses, such as thyroid disease and clinical depression, so discuss severe symptoms with your doctor and get an annual checkup.
Think in Moderation
Over-thinking your wellness goals can be equally or more damaging than addressing them.
"Some people obsess [over reaching] their goals perfectly, and since there is not such thing as perfect, they can never be content," Segal said.
Obsessing over nutrition or dieting can lead to or indicate serious conditions, such as eating and anxiety disorders.
If you choose to count every calorie in and every calorie out, for example, you're more likely to experience frustration, anxiety and give up. A highly restrictive diet is a "trap," according to Ruggiero. "You'll stumble, fall, binge and restart the vicious cycle again."
Instead, address your goals gradually. Do your best to make healthy dietary choices and incorporate some form of physical activity into most days. Hiking with friends, walking your dog, dancing and taking the stairs instead of the elevator can be as valuable as pounding the rubber pavement of the treadmill. Allowing for occasional indulgences, such as french fries or ice cream, may guard against a sense of deprivation, frustration and surrender.
"Achieving small milestones along the road to good health will turn into habits you can maintain over time, and that's key," Ruggiero said. "Forget the all-or-nothing approach. Slow and steady wins the race."
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