10-MINUTE MIND TRICK TO CUT OUT JUNK FOOD

THIS simple technique is based on linking the foods you love to foods you would never eat – preferably those that make you retch at the thought of them.

We use this technique on ourselves and our relatives, and we are delighted to tell you that we haven’t eaten crisps or chocolate for more than 12 years now. Whenever Eva thinks of chocolate, images of tripe spring into her mind, and our daughter uses images of liver to curb her chocolate cravings.

One of our clients told us whenever she thinks of biscuits, all she can see is squid. The best thing about the method is that, if carried out correctly, the desire to eat these foods is extinguished indefinitely. 1 Pick the ‘vice food’ which sabotages your weight-loss attempts – perhaps it is chocolate, cake or crisps. 2 Close your eyes and imagine the face of somebody you love unconditionally in front of you. Put out your hand to where you see them – it is likely to be right in front of you, very close to your face. 3 Now try the same exercise with someone you haven’t seen for a long time (perhaps an old teacher). You should notice their image feels further away and is less clear. We tend to code important people – and foods – as being close to us, but we code the less important things further away. Any food you adore will be visualised close to your face, and foods you detest will seem much further away. 4 Close your eyes and imagine your favourite food. It should feel close, clear and brightly coloured. Put your hand where you can see it and open your eyes. Remember that position. 5 Next, think about a food that makes you feel nauseous or previously made you vomit (try tripe, raw liver, raw fish, squid, sour milk or offal). Close your eyes and imagine this food. The image is likely to seem unclear or blurred, and further away and very low down, perhaps on the floor. Put out your hand to this place, then open your eyes and be aware of where you see this food. 6 Now make the big switch: move the food you enjoy to the position of the food that you would never eat. Imagine that the food you like is on a tight bungee cord attached to you. Cut that cord and release that food, watching it fly to and land in the food you detest. 7 Repeat the process four or five times, seeing yourself releasing your favourite food and allowing it to drop on to the hated food, becoming tangled in a stomach-churning goo. Take time to imagine your favourite food mixing with the hated food. Start to diminish the colour and clarity of this image as your favourite food becomes tainted with the food you hate. 8 You should now notice that when you think of your favourite food, it will be somewhere it the distance alongside the foods you hate. Before long, merely thinking about it will make you feel queasy and you will lose all urge to eat it. Avoid the temptation to test the theory as tasting the food could erase all your efforts and you’ll need to start the process again.