Many of us have been dieting, exercising and fasting days to lose a couple of extra pounds. But what a surprise it was when the departed centimeters returned again, or even increased by 2-3 times. As it turned out, these methods do not always help. This was first stated by Svetlana Bronnikova, a practicing psychotherapist and clinical psychologist, currently living in the Netherlands. What is the basis of her methods? Do they work or not?
Short biography of Svetlana Bronnikova
Svetlana was born on May 28, 1973 in Moscow in an ordinary average family. Unfortunately, nothing more is known about her parents and other relatives. Yes, and all this is out of place. The main thing is that Mrs. Bronnikova has a huge store of knowledge, and in a variety of areas. So, in 1996 she graduated from Moscow State University named after M. V. Lomonosov (Moscow State University), where she studied at the Faculty of Psychology.
Exactly four years later, our heroine's Ph. D. thesis was defended in the building of Moscow State University. Svetlana Bronnikova chose as the main theme of her workexisting problem of female prostitution. In her project, the girl considered the subject of discussion from the point of view of psychology.
Interestingly, at the same time as planning her dissertation, Svetlana was preparing to qualify as a Gest alt therapist. And after a certain retraining in the field of psychology, which took place in the premises of the former first Medical Institute, the author received the long-awaited skills.
Theory, practice and experience
It is surprising that studies did not limit Svetlana in her endeavors, but, on the contrary, gave her strength. Despite all the employment, she still managed to develop as a person. Svetlana Bronnikova is a psychologist (the biography of the heroine describes mainly her studies), who was interested in learning the basics of science that go beyond the curriculum at the university. She was intensively engaged in self-education, and most importantly, she worked hard on the knowledge of her own inner world.
Svetlana began to practice as a psychotherapist and psychologist even before receiving a specialist diploma. Since 1995, our heroine began to try herself as the author of various articles. To date, she has made over 50 publications in psychology. Moreover, some of them were written in Russian, another in English and German, and the third in Dutch.
Where, how and by whom did you work?
After receiving a specialized education, Svetlana Bronnikova (psychologist) continued to work and workover self-development. So, she worked at the Podcast Records studio, where she taught everyone the skills of a proper psychological podcast. Later, she was invited to various shows and programs, where she acted as an expert. And this applied not only to television, but also to radio.
Even later, Svetlana became interested in the original psychology curriculum, having mastered it, she began to teach its basics at the Moscow University of the Russian Academy of Education. It is noteworthy that even this new hobby did not stop our heroine. In search of new discoveries and sensations, the author went to work in one of the capital's psychiatric clinics. According to her, it was here that she was able to see the realities of the lives of people suffering from various mental disorders.
At the end of 2002, Svetlana Bronnikova moved to Belgium, where she was offered to lead a project of medical and social psychological assistance needed for Russian-speaking drug addicts.
In the period from 2008 to 2010, the heroine went to conquer the Netherlands. It was there that she had an excellent practice as a clinical psychologist. Here the author had to work under the Ministry of Justice in one of the men's maximum security colonies.
Blog and work on copyright programs
Some time later, Svetlana Bronnikova (a clinical psychologist) decided to become a blogger and moderator of one of the most famous online communities Psy-baby, where the main topic was child psychology.
Starting from 2011, the author became interested in the problems of excess weight, as well aseating disorders. Fascinated by the new topic, Svetlana reviewed a lot of popular science videos, studied the works of famous European and domestic nutritionists, and also conducted her own research based on the knowledge gained. As a result, she managed to develop a number of techniques, one of which will be discussed below.
Svetlana Bronnikova: "Intuitive Eating"
So, one of the most striking methods developed by our heroine is the Intuitive Eating project. In it, Svetlana teaches to do without diets and dispels the most common myths of losing weight.
The author takes the body's natural need for food as the basis of the method. According to her, you can eat everything, but only when you really want it. Moreover, progress will occur only if a person who wants to lose weight learns to distinguish between real and false hunger urges. According to the author, the latter make us gain extra pounds. Svetlana describes this technique in detail in the book of the same name and audio files.
A couple of simple tricks from Bronikova's manual
In her publication, Svetlana Bronnikova ("Intuitive Eating" means hereinafter) describes the essence of the method, and also gives advice on its simplest development. For example, a psychologist gives one of the simple options that allow you to accustom the body to listen to itself. It is as follows: first you ask yourself what you would like to eat right now (for example, you cannot live without a chocolate bar withnuts), then you buy a set supply of your favorite treat and start eating it whenever you feel like it.
According to the psychologist, with such an approach, firstly, the body becomes satiated (you will no longer feel the need for chocolate). Secondly, new taste sensations are formed, which were not there before. For example, you may want regular milk. Thirdly, such an exercise will allow you to avoid overeating later, because if you do not control, you will still buy a mountain of chocolate and overeat.
In her book, Svetlana Bronnikova ("Intuitive Eating" - one of the author's first serious works on the topic of combating excess weight) also raises a children's topic. In it, she teaches to correctly identify the needs of the child, monitor his nutrition and taste preferences. For example, before dinner, you should ask the baby what he wants to eat. At the same time, the very process of searching for a particular dish can be turned into an exciting detective game. For this purpose, the parents of the child will have to ask certain questions in the style of: “Will it be something liquid or something that can be poured into a flat plate?”, “Does it contain eggs or meat?” etc.
Listen to your inner self
Svetlana Bronnikova is sure that it is almost impossible to achieve an ideal figure without knowing your inner "I". That is, if you have already eaten and are still sitting at the table, try to find out what this is connected with. Are you really not satisfied or just want to talk to the members of yourfamilies also gathered for dinner.
Learn to love your reflection in the mirror
One of the most important psychological techniques, the author believes, is to increase one's own self-esteem. To do this, you need to regularly look in the mirror and study the details of your body. According to the expert, you need to get used to any form and love yourself the way you are.
Don't chase newfangled diets and starve yourself. The same applies to sports. If, for example, morning running does not lift your spirits, and all warm-up exercises cause only negative emotions, this type of physical activity is not suitable for you. “Such sports,” says Svetlana Bronnikova (psychologist, her photo can be found above in the text), “will not bring proper results. On the contrary, doing these or those movements through force, you will more often shirk from the load and skip workouts.”
Get used to your weight
According to the psychotherapist, you should not rush to lose those extra pounds. This is especially true of summer time, when many urgently want to get rid of what they ate in the winter. On the contrary, you should get used to your own weight. Think like this: “If my weight today is this, then it suits my body and is normal.”
Are there any contraindications for Bronnikova's technique?
From the story of Bronnikova it follows that absolutely everyone can practice according to her method (without restrictions on age and weight category). And the authorI am sure that the system of intuitive eating itself exists in every person from birth. But over time, these settings go astray.
However, in this method, the author says, there are exceptions. In particular, this applies to people who have an increased level of anxiety about their body weight. Such individuals would rather starve themselves than agree to gain at least a couple of kilograms.
But even with such people, the therapist-psychologist believes, it is possible to cope only with an integrated approach. That is, in addition to establishing a nutrition system, such individuals need to undergo a course of psychotherapy. It is this treatment that Svetlana Bronnikova strongly recommends using. "Intuitive Eating" (reviews about this method can be heard mostly positive) is a system suitable for everyone.
What feedback can you hear about the food system?
The nutrition system invented by Svetlana, according to some users, is an excellent alternative to diets and physical activity. It does not force you to limit yourself in any dishes, starve and gives results pretty quickly. For some adherents of the technique described by Svetlana Bronnikova (a psychologist whose reviews are most often positive), she allowed to get rid of 10-13 extra pounds.
However, there are also negative reviews on the Web. Some users note that the technique did not suit them.
