Did fitness affirmations make these maids thinner?
October 20, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments
Our minds have massive control over what our bodies do.
But… can your brain spontaneously convince your body that weight loss is happening?
Even when you’re deviating zero percent from your usual routine?
Is it possible to think yourself thin?
According to this one study I just came across (performed circa 2008), it just might be. What they did (“they”, being a Harvard shrink called Ellen Langer), was round up a bunch of hotel maids. Why? Because maids do a helluva lotta work. All day long, they’re scrubbing and lifting and pushing carts. And, if you’ve ever actually stayed in a hotel, you can pretty easily confirm that none’ve them ladies knocking on your door in the morning with fresh towels and cleaning supplies, look like this:
And Ellen Langer wondered why.
Why, when these chicks do so much work all day long, did they still have crappy stats on the health-o-meter? For the amount of work they spent doing all day, their blood pressure, waist-to-hip ratio, body fat, and BMI’s should’ve been pretty stellar. But, they weren’t. They were kind’ve the opposite of that. In fact, their health stats typically matched the amount of exercise the maids claimed – or believed – they were doing each day. (In other words, the maids didn’t really believe they were doing much exercise in the first place.) So, Langer split about 84 of these ladies into separate groups. And, for one of those groups, she essentially said to them that they were already getting a great amount of exercise and meeting all their fitness needs, simply by doing the work that they were doing. She even broke out the numbers and name dropping, adding that their daily calorie burn was perfect and that they were meeting the surgeon general’s definition of an “active lifestyle”. Oh, and the other 42 chicks? They didn’t get any information at all.
The results?
Within a single month, there were significant changes. Per NPR:
“One month later, Langer and her team returned to take physical measurements of the women and were surprised by what they found. In the group that had been educated, there was a decrease in their systolic blood pressure, weight, and waist-to-hip ratio — and a 10 percent drop in blood pressure.”
But only in the group who’d been told that their work was also working that body.
And what conclusion did they draw from this? Well, obviously, there’s no denying that the mind has a massive effect on the body. It totally does. But the question is – was that the case here? Or were they just changing up their usual routines? Short of contacting all these housekeepers and interrogating them on how they spent those 30 days, it’s tough to tell. But what likely makes the most sense is that it was a healthy combo of both. By that, I mean that several things probably happened between that “Your health is on point” Powerpoint demonstration from Langer, and a month later when she checked in on them.
The first?
Well, half the reason affirmations work is because they change your outlook about things. If you’re hearing “I am a healthy person. I am already doing well. I work hard and burn a lot of calories” in your brain, something unique happens. Since you’re no longer wishing about some future version of yourself being awesome – since you legitimately believe you already are – you start acting like it. That’s who you are, so it’s already part of your identity.
And, if you’re a healthy, hard working person who’s comfy in their own somatic temple, then maybe you subconsciously put even more of that elbow grease into your work – and burn even more calories or put on even more muscles. What’s more, if you’re a healthy person – that’s your belief – it’d make sense that that would carry over into your eating habits, as well. These chicks, after getting that validation from a health professional, likely deferred the local McTreat-yo’self drive through and gave a second thought to second helpings. When you’re already unhealthy, you care a little less about making an effort. But when you’re already on your way to weight loss and being healthy (which they believed after talking to Langer), you don’t wanna eff it up. You try harder to keep what you believe you’ve already got. Plus, as people, we’re typically unwilling to relinquish our identities – especially if it’s a good one we’re proud of.
So, what role does the mind have in all of this?
Well, let’s say I’m wrong about that previous assumption. Let’s say these chicks didn’t change their diet at all – or even work any harder. Even so, getting this great news that they were on the right track, could’ve had a massive effect on their bodies. Why? Well, every little bit of stress we have contributes to the stress hormone (called cortisol) causing problems in your body. And among one of those many problems is – you guessed it – weight gain. Subtract even just one of the things that’s causing you overthink-ery induced stress (like worries about weight loss or health) and, boom. You’ve reduced your fattening hormone by some modicum of an amount. And, while maybe that’s not necessarily “thinking your way to weight loss”, it’s definitely close enough to land it a place on my awesomery list (which is totally a thing).
So, what’s the takeaway here? Well, I suppose you could take this info, quit your day gig, and go scrub a stranger’s digs to nix a few pounds. That’s always an option. Or you could just maintain good housekeeping on your own body-domicile. You could make time for the things that matter – like healthy food. (The greener you eat, the leaner you’ll be.) Also, fit in cardio; 20 to 30 minutes is sufficient a few days a week. And, finally, don’t underestimate making space for the stuff that de-stresses you. As the kindly maid ladies nicely demonstrated, keeping stress induced cortisol levels down is key. So, set aside some Zen time.
(Bonus if your Zen just happens to happen when you housekeep.)
Be the maid to your own healthy habits. Service your fleshy vessel and brain daily.
That way, you won’t have to hire a Harvard shrink to hypnotize either of ’em.