Weight loss, the BDSM way (1)

 

As punishment is routinely used for behavior modification, we wondered if our BDSM games could be applied to useful purposes, as quitting smoking, loosing weight, or changing bad habits.

First, the usual disclaimers

• These techniques are supposed to be used among consenting adults
• I'll write as if the subject were a woman
• In no way can this article be considered professional advice.

We are going to talk mainly about weight control, because this article was proposed by one of our gentle visitors (thanks, Sharon) that needed some help in the area and because I thought that it could be a fun game to play, but this technique could be used for any other change in habits or behavior.

Commitment

It is going to be very difficult to reach any goal without the sincere commitment of the one who will be the subject of these procedures. She will have to be totally convinced that she wants to loose weight (or whatever) and sincerely decided to use these techniques for achieving her goal.

Bad habits have usually a strong psychological component. Eating too much, or eating fatty or sweet food, or, of course, smoking, are usually used by people for relieving stress, as a reward or as a replacement for other gratifications. Some have also a physical addiction component, and those are still more difficult to abandon. Smoking is addictive. Seems to be that eating chocolate is also so.

These bad habits will not be changed for any period if the subject does not feel a sincere need to change them.

One way of showing commitment is making that commitment public. When you tell somebody close to you that you want to loose weight, you will feel a lot more pressed to do it that if the commitment is only to yourself.

Another way of forcing yourself to try harder is to make that commitment formal. Write an agreement, like the ones in the Spencer Spanking Plan, but for a specific purpose:

"I will loose (xx) pounds in (xx) weeks and maintain the resulting weight for (six months, one year). For that purpose I will diet and exercise according to the attached plan. I authorize (whoever will supervise your plan, your husband, boyfriend or just a friend) to punish me severely and at his will if I don't observe the diet, don't follow the exercise plan, don't reach the goals in the specified timeframe or gain weight during the maintenance period"

or something like this. Sign it as further prove of your commitment.

Make plans

There are no secrets for loosing weight. As an engineer friend of mine use to say, the problem is just energy balance. If your energy input is greater than its output, you will gain weight. If it is less, you'll loose it. Just as easy (then, why so many people, including myself, is overweight?).

Then, there are two ways to loose weight. Reduce your energy intake (eat less calories) or increase your burn rate (do more physical work). The sensible way of loosing weight, if you are an average overeating and under exercising citizen of the modern world, is going both ways. You will not only loose weight, but also improve your health.

The first thing to do when you decide loosing weight is having a full check with a physician, for ensuring that your problem is just being overweight, and that you can safely diet and exercise.

For the diet, the safest way is getting professional advice. Eating less is easy; eating less and still getting all the necessary nutrients is not.

 

You could go for the zillion books, magazine articles and products on diets, from sound to miraculous to outright swindles, but you'll probably loose more time and money than pounds, not mentioning the risks to your health.

 

Go for a specialist, and let him/her prepare a plan for loosing weight customized for you. Or, if too expensive, go for a serious, well known dieting group. The plan should have intermediate goals in addition to the overall plan's goal. Usually, the intermediate goals are expressed in pounds per week. And remember to get medically checked periodically during the dieting.

Then make an exercise plan. Just jogging in place can do if your only purpose is to loose weight, but once you are in the mood, why not going for a more beneficial routine? Again, look for professional advice. You can't go from lying on the coach watching TV to Olympic class training. A professional trainer (the one in your gym) can make a sensible plan for your age and physical condition.

Make the plans and goals in dieting and exercising a part of your contract.

Enforcing the plan

Now, the fun part. You are committed and you have the diet and exercise plans, but you haven't the willpower for forcing yourself to follow them, or you would not be reading this article, so you made a contract with somebody to force you.

Forcing you, our way, will be based on punishments. If you are a vanilla person, any punishment will do. But if you are in BDSM, there is a problem. We like punishments, we like the pain, we like the humiliation. What to do?

The solution is making the punishments actual punishments. You, and probably also your partner, know what you like and what you dislike. You cannot receive a sexual or sensual spanking for not meeting your goal, because it would be a reward. You should receive something you dislike, something that will make you think twice the next time you are tempted to eat that candy or to miss that gym session.

 

Let your partner decide which the punishments would be, or help him in choosing things that will make you suffer, but really suffer. The things you would not do in a normal session, the things you asked him not to do to you.

 

Published: 02/07/04