SSS2- Episode 1- Nutrition, Health and Weight Loss
Welcome to the second season of Soothing Science. The above photo is of produce from my garden .... doesn't it look so...um...organic? Hopefully I am a better podcaster than gardener!
This whole season will be about nutrition, health and weight loss. It's aimed at people who want or need to lose weight.
But it's actually not about that. As you will hear when you listen, if your primary goal is weight loss then you may well not succeed. That's because the goal of weight loss is all about denial and restriction - instead, our mission is expansion - expanding into better health, happier lives, a better planet. The side effect of this expansion is weight loss - but it is not the goal.
Each episode in this season will have a bit about the science of nutrition, about the psychology of weight loss, and defuse some of the myths that exist about these subjects.
In this episode we talk about how the science of nutrition is dodgy, and how the idea that exercise will lead to weight loss is a myth.
There are many good reasons to exercise, but losing weight is not one of them.
This episode draws heavily from the branch of psychology called ACT - acceptance and commitment therapy - I recently went to a conference run by Dr Russ Harris. Here is a link to a lovely little animation about ACT - the animation is about life in general and about making choices that move you in the right direction - we will apply these ideas to eating and nutrition in later episodes.
And below are the links to the source articles I used. All the best.
Article about GPs role in weight loss - Dr Nick Zwar, Sydney