Think Yourself Thin - How your thoughts and self-perception affect your waistline
Why we establish our eating habits and why it’s so difficult to change them isn’t understood yet by medical and nutrition researchers,
nor by the multitude of diet plan purveyors. A true understanding of that complex bundle of psychological issues is decades away, at least.
However, what we do know for certain about successful weight loss is that it occurs only when an individual has the proper mental attitude. Some
people are lucky and already have that attitude, while others need professional help to get there. But most people have to take a DIY approach and
construct that successful mindset themselves.
The mental steps that ensure successful weight loss can be simply stated but difficult to follow. “It’s basically helping people change
their thoughts, which leads to less intensive emotional reactions, which leads to better behavior,” says psychologist Gretchen Ames, Ph.D., who
uses cognitive behavioral therapy when counseling patients at the Mayo Clinic Bariatric Center in Jacksonville. “But that is tough to do, because
people’s eating habits are ingrained for years and years and years. If they are not ready to make a life change, they probably are not going to
make it. They have to make the commitment to themselves in their own mind. It can’t come from external sources.”
Seize the A-ha! Moment
If you can’t make that commitment, don’t try weight loss, says Dr. Ames. Come back later. But don’t waste your time with
half-hearted attempts. Your failures tend to scuttle your self-esteem, which is the basic mental building block of a winning approach.
Your self-esteem can also trigger that moment when it clicks in your mind that you are ready to make a lifestyle change. You might see yourself in a
photo and think “Who is that? I’ve got to change.” At that point it’s a lifestyle change, not a diet.
“What people don’t recognize is that most diets recommend changes that are not sustainable,” says Dr. Ames, adding that most
people want immediate results, which is not realistic. “I always tell my clients don’t make any changes that you can’t see yourself
doing for the rest of your life, otherwise it’s not worth it.”
Robert Marema, M.D., director of Bariatric Surgery at Flagler Hospital, says a person’s medical condition or change in health can also trigger a
commitment to change. This is particularly true for people who undergo bariatric surgery, as Dr. Marema did.
“Everybody has an A-ha! moment, or an acceptance, that other alternatives are not getting me to where I want to be,” says Dr. Marema,
who has performed about 7,000 bariatric surgeries. “I was already a bariatric surgeon; I knew its benefits. But I continued to go through a period
of my life when I tried alternatives. I finally accepted the fact that I was going to have to go down that path.”
Dr. Marema, a tall athletic man, lost 130 pounds. He keeps it off by following his commitment to change his eating habits, which all successful bariatric
surgery patients must do, as does someone who only needs to shed 20 pounds.
The following mental aspects of making the big picture commitment can help you succeed:
•Feed your mind the right information. Dr. Ames says many people aren’t prepared for a long-term commitment because their sense of
portion size has been distorted by a bombardment of media images and eating so many restaurant meals (50% of most families’ meals). You
have to get the proper idea of portions in your mind before you start. Stephanie Perry, a clinical dietitian at Nemours Children Clinic, says she uses a
nine-and-a-half inch plate to make a mental impression of proper portion size. “Most plates are much bigger these days,” says Perry,
who works with children and their parents to change eating habits. “Half the plate should be fruits and vegetables, a fourth should be starch or a
starchy vegetable, and the other fourth a lean protein or meat.” Using that mental prop prepares you to select proper portions. You also need to
learn the recommendations for your calorie and exercise requirements. Many people try to lose weight without arming themselves with this very basic
knowledge.
•Adapt your culture of eating. Too many people eat out too often, and they eat like they are treating themselves. Our culture provides lots of other
opportunities to use food as a treat – holidays, family get-togethers, office parties. You have to alter your attitude about those situations.
“Food functions in a variety of roles for a person – it’s comfort, social, even an expression of creativity,” says Dr. Marema.
“It’s important to recognize what role food plays in your life going in.”
•Analyze your ability to put in the time and effort. “People have to take an honest look: Do I really have time to keep a food journal, look up
calories, manage portions and be physically active?” says Dr. Ames. “When people get busy or stressed, the first thing to go is health
behaviors.”
Think Long Term, Act Short Term
You’ve made the big commitment, but that long-term goal seems dispiritingly far off. How do you turn that commitment into the proper eating
choices for the rest of your life? By mentally cutting the challenge down to size. Set yourself up to succeed by setting small goals and meeting them.
This gives you immediate successes, which immediately motivates you. Your long-term goal, still vital, is simply too far off to motivate you on the daily
basis needed for success.
In a 150-family weight loss research study pediatric psychologist Amanda Lochrie, Ph.D., is working on at Nemours Children Clinic, participants set
long-term general goals but work through short-term specific goals to get there. “It’s about giving people the tools they need to really feel
like they can do this, to gain some confidence, so they can eventually get to long-term goals,” says Dr. Lochrie. “Just setting these very
small manageable goals can actually help to change their self-esteem, their sense of accomplishment. These things go hand-in-hand with them
changing the way they feel about themselves and refocusing on the positive things they are doing rather than the negative.”
Much of the focus of Dr. Lochrie’s research study and work with families in the Shape Up R Families (SURF) support groups is helping them
set goals and change their behaviors. Families and children fill out a form together each week that includes specific exercise goals, behavior goals and
dietary goals. Dr. Lochrie says the behavior aspect is most critical because it makes the exercise and dietary goals happen.
Dr. Ames also encourages her clients to set short-term calorie and exercise goals on a weekly basis. “I tell them, ‘You have to pretty
much do these behaviors seven days a week to see the scales move, so let’s figure out some short-term goals that will keep you doing these
things this week,’” says Dr. Ames. Then she finds out what specific things are going to motivate them, which depends on the individual.
One thing it can’t be is food. If you’re having to reward yourself with a food that you like, that shows that your eating plan isn’t
sustainable, says Dr. Ames. Not everyone needs rewards. Perry says some of the children she counsels get their reward from seeing results, and
adds that what works with children also applies to adults. “Maybe their clothes are fitting better and they get excited; they feel good about
having met their goals,” says Perry.
That’s a good place to be, where doing what you set out to do motivates you. Everyone has different needs according to their situation, and
weight loss can be much harder for some people than for others. The following mental techniques recommended by local weight loss experts can help
anyone keep their mind on track:
•Know your support group. “And utilize it,” says Dr. Marema. “You tend to behave like those you associate with. If
you’re looking to be more positive and you look at your associates, and you think, ‘Wow, they’re really not very positive,’
you need to get around some different people.” Family is a critical source of support, because if a family member isn’t helpful,
that’s going to be a tougher mental obstacle for you. Get a walking buddy, join a gym, weigh in weekly with a friend – find people who
will encourage you.
•Rethink stress and food. The longer you’ve been trying to use food to relieve stress, the harder it’s going to be for you to keep the
proper mindset. “What people don’t realize is that eating is a very short-term fix. It really only helps them cope with stress for the time
that they are eating, then they feel worse afterward,” says Dr. Ames. Identify the triggers for your stress and change your method of coping.
•Use mental cues. Write down the five reasons you want to lose weight and carry them around with you, or post them on your refrigerator.
Constantly referring to this visual cue links your mind to your goals and helps you stay motivated. Similarly, Perry says they use the slogan
“5,2,1, Almost None” at Nemours to keep children and their parents focused by simplifying the daily goal into a memory rhyme: five
servings of fruit and vegetables, two hours max of screen time (computer or TV), one hour of exercise, almost no sugars and treats. Perry also has
children use a pen as a pretend fork and shows them how to take at least 20 minutes to eat a meal, because that’s how long it takes the brain
to learn that the stomach is getting food.
•Refuse to negotiate with yourself. Your mind harbors an inherent expectation of failure in dieting that you need to consciously keep in check,
says Dr. Marema. “I think the mind is constantly in negotiation with itself. That’s the biggest initial move toward self-sabotage. People
think, ‘Gosh, I lost five pounds this week. That means I can have a doughnut.’ That negotiation right there is the step toward lack of
long-term success. And once off the path,” he explains, “you usually have trouble getting back on it.”
•Learn how to recover. Many people are what Dr. Ames calls “all or nothing” dieters: they’re either perfectly on their plan, or
completely off it. They think, ‘I’ve already strayed. I’ll keep eating what I want today and get back on track tomorrow.’ That
mindset won’t work. “It’s a process of allowing yourself to make mistakes, but trying to recover immediately, like at the very next
meal,” says Dr. Ames. “How many times have you said, ‘Oh, I’m going to start my diet again on Monday.’ No. It
starts the very next meal. You don’t have to be perfect at it, but 90% of the time you should be doing what you are supposed to be doing in
order to keep the weight off.”
About the Author
Why we establish our <a href="http://www.healthsourcemag.com">Eating Habits</a> and why it’s so difficult to change them
isn’t understood yet by medical and nutrition researchers, nor by the multitude of diet plan purveyors. A true understanding of that complex
bundle of psychological issues is decades away, at least. For details visit http://www.healthsourcemag.com
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