Posted - March 8, 2012

Make a Date with Your Future Self and Finally Lose Weight

People set goals because they visualize a future when things will get better for them. But this future can be very vague and difficult to conceptualize, and there is always a side of the dieter that is unsure of whether their long term goals will ever be met.

But those who finally reach their goals of self-transformation in effect become different people. Those who meet their weight loss goals might not even be recognizable to friends they haven’t seen since high school. This future thinner self is the ultimate prize for all the sweating, portion control and struggles to overcome impulses.

Stanford researcher Hal Ersner-Hershfield conducted a study that found that individuals who are able to visualize their future selves are more likely to carry out actions that are beneficial to their long-term needs. Those who were able to see their elderly selves through the assistance of a virtual reality device allocated more money into savings than the control group.

While no one can say whether a virtual reality device like this would be released on the weight loss market, dieters might be able to use visualization to stay more focused on their long-term weight loss goals. By visualizing what they might look like when they lose weight, dieters might have an easier time motivating themselves to engage in actions necessary to shed the pounds.

Weight loss is largely a matter of deferring gratification, motivation and long-term planning. After having weight loss surgery in Carrollton, most dieters will need to visualize what they’ll look like when after implementing lifestyle changes that can lead to long-term weight loss.