Nature is Against You

While your mind can be your biggest ally in your struggle to lose weight, it can also sabotage your efforts in ways you might not even know about. It can be quietly working in the background subconsciously, undoing all the good you do consciously. There are a lot of physiological and psychological factors that make us want to eat, and understanding these, and learning how to counteract them are paramount to losing weight.

Before you try any diet, consider the following:

• Your body is designed to process food efficiently. That means that your body naturally regulates your metabolism to be quick when you have a lot of food, and slow when you don’t have as much.
• No amount of willpower will make you not want fatty and refined foods. The mind is hardwired by evolution to want these things, because they translate into easy, quick energy. Celery, on the other hand, requires a lot more work for the body to get nutrients from.
• It’s common to resist physical activity. The mind is telling you not to work out, because it means you will be using up energy to no purpose. Your brain is trying to tell you to save that energy in case you need to hunt, or run from a predator.
• Cleanse and Flush diets aren’t doing anything that your body is not doing already. We have a liver, kidneys, and a pancreas to flush out toxins for us.
• The mind closely associates food with comfort, because plentiful food is an indicator of security. It’s common to eat food in order to feel safe and comfortable.

The mind gets its cues from your genes

Your mind also tends to trick you into eating with hormones and chemicals. A diet high in fatty and highly processed foods works in much the same way a drug might. An injection of, for example, highly refined flours and sugars in a piece of cake will cause your blood sugar to spike, and will also cause a release of Dopamine, which your body translates as a small high. When you come down from that high, you become depressed, which will cause you to want to eat more fatty processed foods in order to get that feeling again. To fight this kind of cycle, willpower alone just won’t cut it. Find a way to remove yourself from these situations. Don’t keep these foods at home, or make it difficult to go get them (for example, by parking your bike behind you car, so that going out to grab fast food will require moving it, or just taking the bike.) You can also fight this by keeping yourself distracted in an activity, like playing a video game, or working on a hobby project.

The mind can tempt you to eat when you don’t need to in several ways. One of the biggest self-defeating culprits is rationalization. It’s that voice in your head that says, “This one piece of candy won’t hurt; you’ve been working out so regularly!” or “Go ahead and have that extra serving of dinner…you did an extra half mile on the treadmill this morning!” And the worst part of rationalization is, that it usually works. Your mind is making you fat, and you don’t even know it.

One way to avoid the rationalization pitfalls (and the guilt that usually accompanies it) is to set more realistic goals for yourself. If you’ve put yourself on a strict diet and exercise regime, for instance, go ahead and build in a few rewards for yourself. Having a predetermined reward as a goal to shoot for sets your mind up to build up towards the end game, to not have to “cheat” to get what it wants anyway. Say you’re on the treadmill for an hour a day, with a limited calorie diet to look forward to every day for the next few months. Try working in a day a month where you get to go off-diet, even just a little, as a reward for the consistent effort you have put in all the other days. If your mind doesn’t feel like it’s cheating, you’ll avoid the guilt that might also be making you fat. Guilty eating as a result of bad work/rewards ratios is as difficult a problem to overcome as the overeating in general. No matter what is at work in your brain putting food in your mouth that is not healthy for you or is making you fat, you can counteract the effects by making more positive decisions on goal-making.

Another hurdle to fairly easily overcome is that of “self-talk.” That’s where you tell yourself negative things like, “You’ll never lose the weight; you’re too fat” or “You can’t do this because you’re worthless.” The mind trick here is to stop the talk in its tracks. If you hear negative talking in your head, you say to yourself, “I would not let a stranger say these things to me, therefore, I do not have permission to say them to myself.” It is positive reinforcement towards your self-image that can play an important role in not only helping you to keep working at your weight loss, but at life in general. A positive mental attitude will help with your confidence and ability to make more healthy decisions for you. If you think that you deserve to feel better and look better, then your chances of making exactly that happen are greatly improved.

Remember, forgive yourself for mistakes, set more realistic goals and don’t let your mind sabotage your good intentions.

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I want to remember everything as I get older!

Science continues to expand our understanding of how the brain works. This mysterious organ that drives the entire machine suffers from being greatly misunderstood. Here are ten common misconceptions about the brain that should set you straight.

1. Humans only use 10% of their brain. Perhaps one of the greatest misconceptions of our time, this myth is empirically false. Originating from the idea that perhaps only about 10% of the neurons of the brain are operating at any given moment, but this concept is decidedly different than not using the other 90%. The truth is closer to the idea that we only push ourselves to about 10% of our entire capacity.

2. Video games will damage the brain. In this day and age of video gaming, this myth is also fairly inaccurate. Even though the advent of video gaming is a recent phenomenon and there is not a great deal of study about it, researchers have found the playing video games actually teaches your brain to process information in great amounts and much faster, thus improving brain power.

My brain can only take so much!

3. The bigger the better. There has never been any substantial evidence that the size on one’s brain makes you smarter. Men’s brains are by a rule larger than women’s, thereby debunking this myth immediately. If the brain is not used, it won’t matter what the size.

4. A damaged brain cannot regenerate. Science now has empirical evidence that the brain can engage in neurogenesis, a form of cellular rebuilding, although it’s not guaranteed.

5. Aging leads to a loss of memory. While it is a common condition, it is not a given that age will weaken the ability to remember. An active brain can be exercised with regular thinking and a healthy diet.

6. The brain is riddled with holes. A completely false mythology, referring perhaps instead to the parts of the brain where neurons are not firing.

7. Depression begins in the brain. This is not only a myth but a dangerous one as well. People who believe that depression is just a series of “bad thoughts” can do real harm. Depression is a much more complicated condition caused by any number of reasons. No one decides to be depressed.

I never knew all this goes on inside my head.

8. Left Brain, Right Brain. The truth is, no one operates from solely the left or right brain. Some people may be stronger on one side or the other, but all humans use both sides of the brain.

9. The brain is a giant computer. Just the opposite, the brain is so much more complicated than any computer, that it’s an insult to one’s brain to make this comparison. It was probably started because the first computers were roughly based on what was known about the brain at the time.

10. We learn better through a subliminal approach. While listening to information while in a relaxed or even sleep state works well for some, it is just as likely that it won’t work for others. We all learn in our own best way.

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Making sure I have everything covered

You started the year off with the best of intentions. You had proven strategies to save money. Plans to cut back, trim down and save were made. By now, you should have a tidy bundle of rainy day money. Whether you were saving for a trip, a down payment or just ‘emergency’ funds, by now you are probably looking at your finances and thinking: “Where did I go wrong?” The truth is you sabotaged yourself even if you do not yet realize it. Sit down and take an honest look at your spending over the past few months and you will probably notice some ‘mind tricks’ you played on yourself. In short, you brain has fooled you into wasting money.

As an adult, you probably disagree – after all, you have full control over your mind, or do you? The human mind is a funny thing. No matter how smart we are, sometimes our perception is skewed just enough to muddle our thinking. Never has this been truer than when it comes to affairs of the mind. The mind plays lots of tricks on us, but ten stands out as particularly cunning.

1.  The Supersize Mentality: The advent of the concept of ‘supersizing’ may have been little more than a ploy by the fast food industry to get an extra buck out of us, but the phenomenon has grown rampant throughout the entire market. Say you are legitimately in need of a new television. You have settled on a respectable 36 inch flat screen with a good reputation. Upon arriving at the store, cleverly displayed right next to your first pick is a gorgeous 42 inch television. Suddenly you find yourself thinking: “it doesn’t cost that much more. Really, I’d be foolish not to get the bigger television. It’s such a deal.” The truth is, while you were prepared to spend say $300 on a television, supersizing it for an extra $60 seems like a drop in the bucket.

It wouldn't hurt to see what they have

2.  Gotta Get It: I don’t know if it is an off shoot of keeping up with the Joneses or not, but today there are tons of things that we simply must have. A bigger television, smaller computer, faster phone…the list goes on and on. Think about the last time you visited a friend or family member who had recently made a new purchase. It probably started right then, that voice in the back of your head “I really should upgrade my computer – and Bobby got such a great deal.” What is really going on here is plain and simple envy. Your best bud gets a new toy and suddenly you need one too – even if you really don’t.

3.  It’s All About The Package: You need internet service for your new home, so you do the logical thing and call up the cable company and have chat. 20 minutes later, you have signed up for internet service, a land-line and 137 HD channels – all for $60.00/month (plus taxes and all that other stuff). Only problem is, you don’t have an HD television (yet) and rely solely on your cell phone for chatting. Problem is, the package is such a deal that you just can’t pass it up. Cut out the package spending and instead only pay for services you actually need right now – you can upgrade later!

4.  Of Course I Will: Gym memberships, CD clubs and more are a great idea and not a waste of money – if you use them. Unfortunately, our brains seem to have the ability to convince us that we will indeed make it to the gym 6 days a week for an hour, even though our schedule is already so crammed full that we have to remind ourselves to eat. Avoid long term contract commitments – it may cost a little more to do a one month trial, but at least you will be able to decide if you will really use the membership.

5.  But I Forgot: Everybody makes mistakes. You buy the wrong size jeans, a scratched cd or a toaster that doesn’t toast. You package it back up, you put it next to the door and then find it next year in the closet under the boots you bought three years ago but never wore because they were too small. Don’t waste money by forgetting to return something or by not completing a rebate form.

6.  Bulk Stores – Us ‘real’ shoppers know just how cheap bulk stores can be. 10 gallons of mayo for only $7.00??? It is a steal! Unfortunately, we often end up throwing away lots of the stuff we buy in bulk – it spoils or we get sick of it before we can use it all. Shop bulk stores wisely.

I just love the smell of money

7.  It Can Be Fixed: We often believe that by spending a bit of money we can fix a possession and make it work for us. Cars are a prime example, but today computers and electronics rank high as well. Unfortunately, we often end up spending so much money at the repair shop that it actually makes sense to just buy new. Don’t let your mind convince you that you can’t part with an old possession.

8.  Reality Doesn’t Apply: Whether it is the influence of the digital age or simple ill placed optimism, we often find ourselves thinking that reality just doesn’t apply to us. Somehow, someway things will work themselves out so putting ourselves in the red for that killer trip to Cancun is ok. After all, it will sort itself out. NOT!!

9.  We Are Delusional: How many times have you gone to the store and bought something that you hope makes you look thinner, hotter or younger – even though it does none of those things? The 35 year old housewife shopping at Express for an outfit she will never wear is simply just wasting money in the hope that she will look and feel better about herself.

10.  We Are Too Polite: Every time you receive a bill that isn’t quite what you expected, you should put up a fight. Unfortunately, many of us simply don’t. Whether we are afraid to make a scene or just don’t want to rock the boat, we often simply accept that extra $5 on our cell phone bill each month. Don’t forget to stand up for yourself.

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Does he have the better hand?

Often times, players are unaware of what the subtle moves their body, eyes and behavior give away about their hand and how they feel about it. It’s especially true for players just out to have fun and maybe make some extra cash on a weekend in Vegas. A great poker player is constantly observing the tells and can pick up on when someone is trying to bluff their way out from behind a not-so-good hand. Understanding and picking up on these tells are half the strategy of the next move.

When it comes to reading the subtle clues of your opponent’s behavior during your games, it begins by just paying attention.

1. Cool detachment. Yes, the stakes are high, and your nerves are rattling. But get out of the emotion of it by stepping into the director’s shoes, as opposed to being the actor on the stage. As the actor sitting at the poker table, your focus needs to remain engaged in the action there, but a part of you must also learn to step back and observe the scene from a broader range. From this detachment, you will be free to remove yourself from reaction and position yourself in a new controlled position of action and control, always the more powerful place to be.
2. Size Them Up. Even before you sit down, begin to take mental notes on the other players at your table. Also remember to work quickly and concisely, because here, time really is money. Notice who the big bold players are, and also who the shyer, more reserved players are. Bold players will sit differently. They take up the whole chair, with bigger hand and arm movements, and often speak intentionally louder than everyone else, as a way to control the conversation. The less assured players will be sitting back trying to cover their cards with their hands and purposefully not making eye contact. Also remember that players will react differently during the shuffle than they do while the hand is being played.
3. Learn the Tells. Look for any physical reactions going on with your opponent—eye twitches, blinking, fingernail biting, or any other tiny gestures they might be making. Notice what their breathing is like, but don’t jump to conclusions until you have studied this behavior. Accelerated breathing can often indicate good cards, but a great poker player will know to fake this to throw you off. Any color change in the skin, shifty eyes scanning what is left of the chips or gazing off as if distracted, shaking, jittery or fidgety movements. Watch, and wait, and see.
4. Spend some time studying. Spend some time playing the table, watching and observing if indeed this particular tic precedes a good hand for them, or if this rubbing the eye always comes before a bad hand. Pay attention, because over time, you will get a gut feel for what you are picking up as the observer. As you watch the patterns of the players you start to feel the specific expression of everyone’s tells.
5. Become aware of your own tells. Be exceptionally aware of the messages you are giving off. Don’t make any moves without forethought as it how it will affect your opponent, based on what you read in his tells. You might even have to spend some time practicing controlling your tendency to fidget.
   

   I got this hand in the bag!

6. Sometimes, you want to make them think your hand is good. Commonly, a player will react meekly if they wish to throw you off. A good player will mix up their intentional tells, sometimes coming on strong with a great hand, sometimes playing it back. This kind of strategy is an equal part of the process of being an exceptional player. Acting in this way is considered a valuable skill in high stakes poker, almost as sly as counting cards.
7. Discover the pattern of the other players’ behavior. Is it that they begin to talk when they had been quiet? Are they holding their arms differently? Open or protective? They may start talking when they were previously quiet. They may cross their arms differently or even hold their cards in a more protective manner. The keenest observer and shrewdest actor will be the big winner at the end of the day.
8. Ignore the stare-down. Other players will inevitably try to intimidate you. One of the best defenses against this tactic is to purposefully stare back no matter what shape your hand is in. Be sure to not be consistent with your inconsistent responses!
9. Forget the distracters. Poker players will go to great lengths to stretch the boundary of acceptable strategy. Some fakers will make disgruntled noises, or get loud and jocular, just to confuse you. Stay focused, detach and turn the tables by being in control of your own tells. Make these showboaters think they are getting to you, just to throw them off.
10. When reading other players, understand pros won’t allow you to read them, which is why they are, of course, pros. However, most every game has amateurs, which you should be able to spot rather quickly.

What my eyes tell me that no one else sees

No one is completely immune to giving off tells. But with patience, practice, perseverance and skill, over time you can learn the fine art of poker tells and how to exploit this information to gain advantage. If you spot a tell that means your opponent has the advantage, lay down your cards before the flop; when you find a player who is showing weakness, raise your bet. Just one more tool to get the win.

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