Selective Memory

Years ago I heard about a certain study that was taken. The study had to do with why diets succeeded or failed.

In this study a certain number of victims…er…I mean participants were involved, and these people were going to be studied by a group [equal number to participants] of personal trainers.


Phases 1
Each participant was carefully weighed at the beginning of the study. Then they were told to record absolutely everything that they put into their mouth to eat or drink…everything!

They were to do this for a whole month!

Phase 2
After the first month was completed [remember, no actual dieting has begun yet], the participants, with the help of the personal trainers, are to work out a diet where they cut out 10% of their daily food intake. They were told that with only a 10% cut in calories they would still see a noticeable decrease in their weight over the next couple months.

Phase 3
After their new eating schedules [10% decrease] was written down, the participants were sent home to implement the new diets into their lives, remembering to continue to record every time they ate something.

Phase 4
At the end of the next couple months, they pulled in all the participants. They had them all stand on the weigh scale and again carefully measured each of their weights.

Do you know what they discovered? Do you know how participants lost weight?

Hardly any!

Had the 10% diet failed? No, the study wasn’t to test to see if decreasing calories would cause weight loss…that has been a proven scientific fact for centuries.

The test was to study the reality of self deception.

In the next and last phase of the test…a personal trainer was with each participant for the next 30 days…recording absolutely everything they ate…not what they think they possibly might have nibbled on…possibly, I think…possibly.

After the 30 days of honest recording, they again worked out the 10% decrease, and again the personal trainer lived with the participant for the next two months, recording absolutely everything they ate.

At the end of the two months they had the second “weigh in”.

Do you want to make a guess as to what percentage of the participants lost weight?

100%!!!

The study showed that people subconsciously ripped themselves off. They would not record everything they ate. They were good little hypocrites, living a lie, even though it went against their good.

They had selective memory.