Health
Shrinkology, get Meghan’s guns
With fad diets popping up every day, finding a healthy eating plan to stick to can be quite a feat. The latest cab off the rank? The Shrinkology Solution, which focuses on mental strength.
Psychologist Dr Meg Arroll (inset, above) explains it aims to eliminate the desire to overeat. “It’s an entire new approach to eating and stress management,” she says. “The way we eat is not independent of our environment, personal context and psychology. Simply by raising awareness of these influences, we can make real and sustainable tweaks that don’t feel like punishment.”
How does it work?
Before simply cutting back on the bad stuff, the first step is to discover what’s actually driving your eating behaviour. “It could be stress, boredom, habits or emotional attachment to certain foods,” says Dr Arroll.
“We often reach for food on autopilot, with little conscious awareness but there are always reasons for these choices.
“Understanding your eating psychology gives you the power to change your eating patterns.”
What’s your type?
While diagnosing people’s eating habits isn’t a simple process, Dr Arroll explains how The Shrinkology Solution (SS) breaks down the most common eating types.
THE GOURMET
“This person loves the finer things in life, especially when it comes to food. Gourmets are great entertainers and the whole process of sourcing, preparing and devouring food has become a core part of their identity.”
THE MAGPIE
“These guys truly want to be healthy and love new trends, to such an extent that they flit from one diet to the next. Over time, Magpies have become lost in healthy eating messages, which is a shame given they only have good intentions.”
THE T REBEL
“R “Rebels are extremely g good at sticking to the m most restrictive diet a and exercise regimens – but as soon as they h have a slight slip-up it it’s over. They then b begin a process of self-sabotage which fuels their overeating once again.”
THE SCRAMBLER
“This is your typical busy bee – juggling kids, work, friends and family. Scramblers feel they never have time to prepare healthy meals and they often don’t set aside any time for themselves.”
THE SOOTHER
“Soothers care deeply about others but somewhere along the way have turned to food rather than emotional support as a way to self-sooth.”
THE TRADITIONAL
“Totally trustworthy, traditionals say what they mean and mean what they say, but these rigid boundaries mean that age-appropriate nutritional advice is disregarded.”
So what can you eat?
“It depends on your type, but the difference with this approach is it’s based on science and evidence, which shows overly restrictive diets are doomed to fail,” Dr Arroll says.
“This is because heavy restriction puts the body into starvation mode and it will hold onto calories for survival.”
How do you adopt SS?
“For each type, there are detailed, personalised hints, tips and tricks to overcome overeating triggers,” Dr Arroll says. “These include daily mind hacks, longer term psychological y g exercises, quick ck fixes for craving ng control, boozebanishing tips, social media SOSES and of course signposts to the best diets and exercise for each type.”