Have you ever felt like your food choices aren't your own?
"Order a takeaway... you're too tired to cook.
You deserve it, after all..."
"Two for Tuesday my preciousss!"
Well, you're not losing your mind, and you're certainly not the only one...
In This Article...
Alex Pearson
(Head Of Coaching And Education)
Reveals:
Published: 12/10/2022 - Read time: 9 mins
Many people have experienced how tough weight loss can be...
However, few know precisely why losing weight is so challenging.
After all, peruse a few popular books on the subject and you'll encounter a whirlwind of possible reasons, from the gut microbiome to not eating enough bananas to a simple lack of willpower.
You'll also find an equally confusing number of possible solutions, such as dubious dietary approaches, suspicious supplements, or even hypnosis.
Making matters even more confusing, now and again you'll see someone claim that making "realistic weight loss goals" is the answer…
Which raises even more questions, such as:
Answers to these questions aren’t often forthcoming, which is why...
At Body Matters, we spend a huge amount of time reading, simplifying, and communicating the science of behaviour change and weight loss...
So that you don’t have to experience the confusion of dredging the dark waters of weight loss advice in an attempt to work out FACT from FICTION…
Or suffer the demotivation of being ensnared by yet another unsuitable weight loss approach you’ll struggle to stick to (through no fault of your own, I might add).
As for this article, we’re going to lift the lid on the questions above and explain the current scientific understanding of how to best achieve sustainable body weight change.
By the end of this article, you'll understand what makes weight loss so damn hard and why those thoughts about food pop into your head, unannounced (and most definitely uninvited).
Once you're armed with the knowledge of why you struggle to control your weight and your eating habits, you'll be ready to tackle how you can overcome these challenges...
But first, let's find out why weight loss is so damn tough....
Introducing:
Body Weight Inc
To explain why weight loss is so challenging,
I'm going to introduce you to a hypothetical company:
Body Weight Inc.
Body Weight Inc was created to provide a steady flow of energy to sister companies (Brain Inc, Muscles Inc, Liver Inc...etc).
You see, when the company was founded - way back in the early days of human evolution - food was hard to come by. Even worse, this limited food supply was also very inconsistent. Body Weight Inc never knew when there might be a catastrophic shortage around the corner!
To counteract these sudden shortages, Body Weight Inc focused on keeping the warehouses loaded with as much energy as possible.
The company found the best way to store all this energy was in the form of fat, stored in big barrels. That way, when a shortage hit, some of the extra fat could be used to keep all the other companies supplied.
To fulfil its mission, Body Weight Inc created four departments. Let's meet the teams!
The Warehouse
The warehouse is where all those barrels of fat are stored.
Everyone who works in the warehouse knows that keeping the shelves full is of utmost priority.
They NEVER want to let supplies drop too low!
So, when stock levels fall, the Warehouse staff press the big red button to alert...
The Finders
The Finders' job is to seek out energy!
They're constantly on the lookout for sources of tasty food containing plenty of energy, in the form of calories.
To support their mission, the Finders keep very detailed records of EXACTLY when, where and how this food was sourced in the past (and they are going to make sure everyone in the Company knows about it!).
When the Warehouse pushes the big red button, the Finders go into overdrive searching for food.
And once they've spotted a suitable source of energy they send the message up the chain to...
The Sales Crew
Now, the Sales Crew have a very specific job.
Once they're notified of all the delicious food sources the Finders have located, the Sales Crew must pitch to Body Weight Inc’s CEO - who you will meet shortly.
Huddled around a conference table, they'll frantically brainstorm reasons why the CEO should approve the consignment. Then, the Sales Crew will whip out their laptops, hit the "compose email" button and begin their campaign.
They'll bash away at their keyboards wildly, and bombard the CEO with persuasive messages, like:
The higher the quality or quantity of food the Finders uncover, the more desperately the Sales Crew submit their pleas to *drum roll*...
The CEO
The head of the company. The buck stops here.
The CEO is under a lot of pressure. Alongside Body Weight Inc, the CEO runs a whole bunch of other businesses, including:
- Not Getting Eaten By Wolves, Inc.
- Avoiding Dying of Exposure & Co.
- Mate4Life Dating Services Ltd.
- Cave Selection LLP
- Will This Rock Be Useful, Inc
In their role at Body Weight Inc, the CEO has to deal with an overwhelming amount of incredibly persuasive emails from the Sales Crew.
The Sales Crew are constantly seeking authorisation to receive an order of food to eat...
Easily and suitably convinced, The CEO will happily approve it.
All in all, the CEO is very busy and stressed, bordering on frazzled and burnt out.
So, unsurprisingly, they sometimes can't help but doze off at their desk, overwhelmed by the pressures of everything they must oversee.
Between the distraction of the CEO's other jobs and their occasional napping, Body Weight Inc needed ways of approving eating orders when the head of the company wasn't available.
So, Body Weight Inc developed an automated system.
This innovative solution enables the Sales Team to approve eating orders if the CEO doesn't respond to their emails straight away... and this system worked brilliantly and efficiently when there wasn’t much food around.
After all, we don’t want to miss out on vital food supplies just because the CEO is taking a nap!
The entirety of Body Weight Inc's operations were incredibly successful - when food was hard to come by.
However, you may have noticed that in 2022, there is no shortage of food...
In fact, we are completely surrounded by food at every turn...
And this abundance of food has caused a BIG problem for Body Weight Inc.
You see, despite the changes in the world we live in, Body Weight Inc is still using the same 'food approval' system it developed all those years ago:
THE WAREHOUSE adds more and more fat to the shelves…
Because they still think the food might run out! And even if supply levels are overflowing, they keep pressing their red button at any sign of a reduction in stock.
THE FINDERS are spotting high-calorie, tasty food EVERYWHERE...
And they're constantly passing messages to the Sales Crew saying "Hey, come up with some good reasons to eat ALL this food! The Warehouse is telling us we need it AND chances are it might disappear!"
THE SALES CREW launch into action and fire out a bunch of ideas...
"That multi pack is such a good deal...."
“Well, it is the weekend…”
“I can’t go to the seaside without getting chips!”
THE CEO now has to deal with a continuous barrage of messages...
...declaring that eating is absolutely essential for all those ever so convincing reasons.
The CEO now runs a lot of different businesses to what they did all those years ago, including -
- Tiny Human Rearing Services, Inc.
- School Run & Co.
- Flat Tyre AGAIN Corp.
- Making Sure the Mortgage Gets Paid Ltd.
- I Really Need To Get The Carpets Cleaned, Inc.
- Personal Relationship Management LLP
- Oh No I Forgot To Get The Boiler Serviced Ltd
- Happy Spouse Happy House (Divorce Avoidance Specialists) Ltd
But ALL THE SYSTEMS ARE STILL THE SAME. So when the CEO has to deal with something else or dozes off, all of their decisions are auto-approved.
Body Weight Inc Is Operating Brilliantly.
The Problem Is, The Environment Has Changed.
Now, Body Weight Inc is only a metaphor.
The Finders, the Sales Crew and the Warehouse Team don't really exist...
But their jobs are performed by different parts of the brain.
And even though there's an entire metaphorical company operating in your brain, everything below the CEO is unconscious - the same way the working of your liver is unconscious.
Don’t believe us? Go on, try and get conscious access to your liver. We'll wait...
Doesn’t work, right?
If you hadn’t been taught you have a liver, you'd have no way of knowing it exists, let alone be able to consciously control it!
Well, it's just the same with all those lower levels of Body Weight Inc...
All we see are those emails from the Sales Crew, giving us reasons why we should eat.
In reality, those “emails” are the thoughts that pop into your head about food.
Let's See This In Action...
Imagine you're driving home from work.
The WAREHOUSE STAFF are ramming a finger onto the red button.
The FINDERS swiftly check their notes and realise a McDonald's is coming up in half a mile.
The SALES CREW swarm in for a quick brainstorm...
Sound familiar?
Now, struggling to lose weight doesn’t mean you're a bad person… Or are lacking in the willpower department… Or that you’re lazy…
Rather, your weight loss woes are likely due to your very own version of Body Weight Inc working perfectly.
But the best news is, now you understand how Body Weight Inc works, you and your CEO can start working together.
Because now that you're armed with the knowledge of why you struggle to control your weight and your eating habits, you're ready to apply these insights to how you can overcome these challenges...
So, Stay Tuned For Our Next Article
- where we'll help you to do just that -
by exploring (good) weight loss approaches, alongside:
Want us to let you know as soon as it's published?
Sign up for The Body Matters Life Beyond Dieting Digest, so every time we post, you’ll be the first to know.
(Plus, you’ll receive access to decades of health and lifestyle improvement knowledge in the form of how-to guides, myth-busting advice, and compassionate coaching - without any of the mainstream dieting BS you’ve been subjected to for years!)
Are you ready to stop dieting and start living?
Enter your name and email in the box below to make sure you never miss an issue or an article.