Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Can music help you lose weight or stop smoking?



I know a lot about this one! Because I am short female, because I love chocolate and because I love to indulge myself, I have struggled with weight issues for much of my adult life. The consequences of carrying around too much weight are definitely as negative as the joys of "giving in" to food are positive. I wish I could tell you that I have an easy solution. I don't, but I do have some suggestions.

As a therapist how treats addictions (among other things) I know that sometimes just postponing a sweet or naughty snack can really help to cut down on the amount consumed or possibly allow you to skip it entirely.

Why not try a delicious musical snack of some high energy music through headphones? When the music gets into the brain directly, through the eighth cranial nerve, it can re-direct your brain a lot faster and more efficiently. There is much high energy classical music such as the "William Tell Overture" by Rossini or the "Ride of the Valkyries" by Wagner. In the pop/rock realm I like "Milkshake" by Kellis or "Let the River Run." There are thousands maybe millions of upbeat, energetic songs that can put you in a very different place emotionally and help you to forget that fattening snack or ciagarette. You just have to be willing to give it a try for 5-10 minutes instead of giving in to something that you know will ultimately harm you.

Give it a try and let me know what happens!

Alice

P.S. The lower brain's hypothalamus is both your hunger center and the main spot for processing music's mood. Fill it with happy sounds and watch false hunger disappear.

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