herine. She just loves to eat, she really enjoys it. But she is rather over-weight. She is lovely with it, very good company, and extremely generous.

Over the years she has tried every diet, every new fad, and she has done fine for a few days, even a few weeks sometimes, but then she stops the “diet” and goes b

In life we often set ourselves tasks. Many tasks we deal with quickly and simply. We have no real problem going to the shops, meeting friends for a drink, doing the laundry, or making the bed. Other tasks can prove impossible and among these we might list quitting smoking, stopping drinking and, of course, dieting.

Why is this? The answer is really simple – it comes down to will power – that is all that stands between you and success, whatever diet you are on.

So how about giving your will power a helping hand?

The problem is buried inside our brains and it may help to understand this when we consider:

1. That when we go out with our friends we are keen and eager to go. It is something we have done before and there are no conflicts within us.

2. That when we do the laundry it may not be our favourite task but it is a habit we have developed and it does not take too long. Sometimes we may put it off but it gets done eventually, maybe when we have no clothes left to wear.

3. But when we try to diet we run slap bang into our established habits – habits that we have developed over years and which we are, deep down, very attached to. Plus this is no short lived task – we may have to do it for days.

Take my friend Catherine. She just loves to eat, she really enjoys it. But she is rather over-weight. She is lovely with it, very good company, and extremely generous.

Over the years she has tried every diet, every new fad, and she has done fine for a few days, even a few weeks sometimes, but then she stops the “diet” and goes ba

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Why is this? The answer is really simple – it comes down to will power – that is all that stands between you and success, whatever diet you are on.

So how about giving your will power a helping hand?

The problem is buried inside our brains and it may help to understand this when we consider:

1. That when we go out with our friends we are keen and eager to go. It is something we have done before and there are no conflicts within us.

2. That when we do the laundry it may not be our favourite task but it is a habit we have developed and it does not take too long. Sometimes we may put it off but it gets done eventually, maybe when we have no clothes left to wear.

3. But when we try to diet we run slap bang into our established habits – habits that we have developed over years and which we are, deep down, very attached to. Plus this is no short lived task – we may have to do it for days.

Take my friend Catherine. She just loves to eat, she really enjoys it. But she is rather over-weight. She is lovely with it, very good company, and extremely generous.

Over the years she has tried every diet, every new fad, and she has done fine for a few days, even a few weeks sometimes, but then she stops the “diet” and goes b

That when we go out with our friends we are keen and eager to go. It is something we have done before and there are no conflicts within us.

2. That when we do the laundry it may not be our favourite task but it is a habit we have developed and it does not take too long. Sometimes we may put it off but it gets done eventually, maybe when we have no clothes left to wear.

3. But when we try to diet we run slap bang into our established habits – habits that we have developed over years and which we are, deep down, very attached to. Plus this is no short lived task – we may have to do it for days.

Take my friend Catherine. She just loves to eat, she really enjoys it. But she is rather over-weight. She is lovely with it, very good company, and extremely generous.

Over the years she has tried every diet, every new fad, and she has done fine for a few days, even a few weeks sometimes, but then she stops the “diet” and goes b

one eventually, maybe when we have no clothes left to wear.

3. But when we try to diet we run slap bang into our established habits – habits that we have developed over years and which we are, deep down, very attached to. Plus this is no short lived task – we may have to do it for days.

Take my friend Catherine. She just loves to eat, she really enjoys it. But she is rather over-weight. She is lovely with it, very good company, and extremely generous.

Over the years she has tried every diet, every new fad, and she has done fine for a few days, even a few weeks sometimes, but then she stops the “diet” and goes b

herine. She just loves to eat, she really enjoys it. But she is rather over-weight. She is lovely with it, very good company, and extremely generous.

Over the years she has tried every diet, every new fad, and she has done fine for a few days, even a few weeks sometimes, but then she stops the “diet” and goes back to her normal eating habits.

Result: within weeks she is back where she started from.

Catherine is running straight into her subconscious, and her will power is not strong enough to fight it. All her life she has behaved in a certain way, eaten when she wanted, and this has built up a pattern her subconscious is going to defend – this is why dieting is so tough.

Sure, we can fight the subconscious for a while with our will power. But over time it always wins. It just takes one slip and we are back where we started from.

But there is a better way, why not retrain your subconscious so that it works with you and not against it – that makes sense doesn’t it. That way your subconscious is helping your will power and your chances of sticking to the diet have just increased enormously.

How do you do this? It is called hypnotherapy and it is very easy, very simple, and it has long term benefits. To go this route you can find a local practitioner or buy an audio program. You might find it makes all the difference in the world!

Copyright 2006 John Piper