The Bible says that "As a man thinketh in his heart so it he." Modern psychology has confirmed this piece of ancient wisdom. How we think about food, eating, exercise and health will affect your weight loss. As we have already pointed out. The basic secret of weight loss is simple: Eat Less and Exercise More. What is difficult is actually doing that. So we look for miracle drugs, shakes, powders, supplements, diet plans, fancy exercise machines and programs which will do the job for us. But until we individually commit ourselves to weight loss and make the requisite lifestyle changes we will continue to ride the weight loss roller coaster losing for a while and then gaining it all back.
To change those patterns of behavior which led to our weight gain, we have to change our way of thinking. This section contains articles related to the psychology of weight loss.
The Best Kept Secret of Weight Loss. Do you know what is more important than a good diet, trips to the gym, or a personal trainer? Well, it's Patience!
Feeling Guilty? You didn't eat what you intended to eat. You ate too much. You ate that chocolate cake - the whole cake! Now, you are feeling guilty. Learn more about guilt and how it sabotages your weight-loss efforts.
Somehow the words diet and guilt go together. How odd when you think about it. Think about the other projects you do like writing a story, building a cabinet, knitting an afghan, or painting a picture. If you make a mistake, you get frustrated, and maybe even a bit angry, but you don't feel like a moral failure. You don't feel like you've "sinned." Yet, in weight loss we do.
We have become convinced that our weight problem represents a moral failure on our part and not simply unprofitable choices often fueled by the same cultural forces which influenced our initial behaviors. There is nothing immoral about being overweight! You did not sin by overeating at times! And if you make a mistake during a weight-loss effort, cut yourself some slack, and simply correct the error.
It is important to understand that any project is going to have moments of error. As I type this document, I hit the occasional wrong key. In fact, as I wrote that line I misspelled 'occasional' What did I do when that happened? I simply corrected the spelling and kept typing.
No wonder we get discouraged with weight-loss. When we make a mistake we are told that we have 'cheated' or 'sinned' or "given into the flesh' (if you happen to meet a holier-than-thou Christian friend). If I'm designing a web page and I put the wrong link address on the page, nobody tells me I've 'lied' as to the web address or that I failed in regard to patience in checking my links. No, they just point out the error and I correct it.
I'm a teacher. I teach public speaking. If my students make a mistake, I draw their attention to the mistake and give ideas for correcting that mistake. If I made them feel guilty about their mistake, they would never learn and probably drop my class. They would become discouraged and believe that they could not learn to speak in public.
Think about what happens when you feel guilty about drifting off your diet, failing to exercise or gaining weight. Do you find yourself thinking, "What's the use. I can never do this. I'm doomed to be fat forever because I don't have any willpower" ?
Learning any skill means a lot of trial and error, of doing things well and doing them poorly from time to time. It means learning from your mistakes. I claim that one day I'll write a book entitled "Everything I Know about Computers I Learned when I Crashed One." Some of my best times of learning about my computer came from times when something went wrong and I had to figure out how to correct my mistake.
You are trying to learn a new skill. You are trying to learn more effective fitness behaviors. You will fail on occasion. You will make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from those mistakes. Instead of beating yourself up for going over your calorie limit for the day, figure out what happened and how you can prevent it from happening again.
So, feel guilty that you cheated on your income tax or lied to a friend, but don't feel guilty about a piece of cheesecake or a day off from exercise.
And, Remember, God still loves you no matter what!
Understanding Your Overeating Style. Do you seem to be always hungry? Do you rarely get voraciously hungry, but when you eat you eat all the wrong foods? Do you overeat most when you are stressed out? Do you nibble all day long without even realizing it? How you answer these questions tells you something about your overeating style. We aren't all overweight for the same reasons. Understanding this can help you customize your weight loss approach.
The Power of Goal Setting. Having clear obtainable goals is essential to any self improvement program. However, I think most people misunderstand what goals really are. They think about goals in terms of results rather than specific behaviors under their control. Learn more about effective goal setting here.
I've discovered that most people believe in goal setting, but they don't know how to actually set goals. They think of goals in terms of specific results of behaviors rather than the behaviors themselves.
We can't always control in the short run the results of our behaviors. Take weight control. You can stick closely to your eating plan and exercise this week and still not lose weight or you might lose less weight than last week doing the same things or lose more. The point is that a part of short term success or failure is beyond your immediate control. You may have a fluctuation in your metabolism. Your system may be adjusting to previous weight loss. Other random factors might intervene. So, you could set a goal of losing 2 pounds this week and do everything "right" and only lose a half pound. Did you fail? Not really. If you stuck to your plan, did the exercise and ate within the calorie limits you set for yourself, then you succeeded regardless of what the scales read.
So, how do you set goals? Set them according to things totally under your control. For instance, generally speaking if you want to lose an average of a pound a week you need a net reduction in calories of about 500 calories a day. You can reduce them by either not eating them or by burning them or preferably by both. So, you could set your goals this way. Your eating goal could be an average reduction of 300 calories a day in your diet accomplished by the end of the month and during the same time increasing your exercise to burn an average of 200 extra calories a day. So, if your current daily calorie intake is 2800 calories a day and you reduce that to 2500 by the end of the month while increasing your exercise to three sessions a week each burning about 450 calories then you have met your goal and you can feel good about it no matter what the scales say that week because over the next several months you will see that weight keep dropping.
So, celebrate the keeping of goals which are in your control and the results will take care of themselves
You are more than your Weight. This may sound like a strange topic for a weight control site. Indeed, many weight-loss programs stress how losing weight can 'restore' your self-esteem. This is sad because it continues the myth that one's worth depends on one's physical appearance. But if your self esteem depends on being a size 8 then, even losing the weight won't help.
So, why am I addressing this issue here? Don't I worry that you will become less committed to weight loss if you start feeling good about yourself, even if you are 50 pounds overweight? No, quite the opposite. In many cases, low self-esteem and compulsive eating go together.
You see, you actually have to believe in yourself and consider yourself worthy of special attention or you will do things which sabotage what you think will produce that special attention. When I'm 50 pounds overweight, I can say to myself, "Well, men aren't attracted to me because I'm overweight." And I don't have to deal with my real feelings of not being worthy of a loving relationship with a man.
And in other ways as well, a lack of self-esteem can sabotage our weight loss programs. For instance, when you are at a dinner and are offered a calorie-laden dessert which you actually don't want, do you accept it and eat it because you are intimidated by the host fearful that they won't like you anymore if you politely refuse? Weight loss requires a little bit of assertiveness in the face of temptation and social pressure.
So, don't wait for 50 pounds to drop off before you feel good about yourself. Start doing so now. Here are a few tips for building a healthy sense of self worth.
1. Don't compare yourself to others. Do you realize that you are unique? Unique means one of a kind. There is no one like you anywhere in the world. No one like you has ever been born. And once you are gone, there will not be another person like you around. God broke the mold when He created you. And He loves you just as you are. You don't have to be like your mother or sister, father or brother to be worthwhile. You don't have to look like the anorexic models in the magazines to be a wonderful addition to this world. By being who you are, you make all of our lives better. You are here for a reason and created as you are to fulfill a purpose as unique as you are. So, respect and honor others in their uniqueness, but live the wonderful life you are suited to live.
2. Be realistic. Okay, I stand nearly 6 foot tall and I have a fairly large bone structure. I will never be a size 6. My skeleton won't be a size 6. But I can realistically expect to be a size 12. And that is fine. That is a good place for me to be. What is the realistic weight and size for you? You can find out with some of our resource links.
3. Celebrate your own successes on your own terms. You lost a half pound last week and you are depressed. But if you haven't lost any weight in three weeks, that's a big success. Don't let others create levels of success for you. If you have been gaining for months and you simply don't gain for two weeks that can be an interim success to be celebrated. And in other areas of your life as well. Do you have a skill or talent which you find great joy in using? Then use it. Even if others around don't understand how you feel when you've achieved a new level in that skill, you celebrate your success.
4. Associate with people who value you. If you find yourself in relationship with people who are constantly criticizing or insulting you, limit your exposure to them. If you can completely exit those relationships do so. Or at least express to the people involved that you would prefer that they not make such comments in the future. But more importantly, gravitate towards those people in your life who do value and accept and love you unconditionally.
5. Love Yourself Even When You Fail. You will fail. That's part of being human, but be kind to yourself when you do. Don't punish yourself for your failures, but ask yourself, what can I do better next time. Failure is also a natural consequence of growth. A baby can continue to crawl successfully for years, but babies are meant to walk eventually. Those first steps though, inevitably lead to stumbling and falling. You will not learn anything worthwhile without failing. If you are not failing then you are not taking enough risks. So, count your failures as classrooms and a scoreboard of what you have risked and how far you have come.
No, you are not your weight. Love yourself now. Don't watch the scale for your self-esteem to appear. The only place you will find that elusive quality is in your mirror and in the eyes of God.
Motivation to get fit! Tips on How to Keep the Commitment. by Phil Campbell. We all know how it is. We start off a fitness program all gung-ho, but over time, we lose the energy. How do you keep motivated after the first couple of weeks. In this article Campbell looks at the four stages of a fitness program and how to go from excited to struggling to truly committed.
Remember that exercise machine you bought which is gathering dust in the garage - or is it the storage shed? Remember those workout videos you used for a whole week one time? And then there was that health club membership. That lasted almost a month, didn't it? Okay, we've all been there decided to start to exercise and then after only a few weeks stopped. Here are some tips on staying the course with exercise.
First, start slow and build up your stamina and strength. Many of us get discouraged because we try to do too much too soon and fail. Start with 15-20 minutes a day three or four days a week and work up from there.
Secondly, learn about proper exercise technique. This is especially important when doing resistance exercises such as weights and crunches. Improper technique can cause muscle strain or even injury. The more you know about how to prevent such painful events the less likely you are to drop out because of injury.
Third, don't go it alone. Have some accountability. Workout with a friend. Take a class. Hire a personal trainer. Research shows that people who engage in a weight loss program with others are more likely to sustain the weight loss over time.
Fourth, make a standing appointment with yourself. Monday at 6:45 p.m.; Tuesday at 5:00 p.m., and Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. you will find me at the gym. I consider it an appointment just like any other. And it takes something pretty important for me to break it.
Fifth, when you don't feel like you can exercise, go for five. Say to yourself, I'll exercise for 5 minutes and if I don't feel any better by then I'll stop. Often, once you start, it's easy to add another five and another until you have your full workout.
Sixth, reward yourself for passing exercise milestones. I bought some exercise clothes after I was able to go an hour in my aerobics class. Rewards reinforce behavior. And this is certainly a behavior you want reinforced.
Quieting Old Voices. You might think that only crazy people hear voices, but we all do to a certain extent. They are the voices of parents, teachers, family and friends. Some of these voices sabotage your weight control efforts. Some of these voices say things like: "Clean your plate," "You took it, you eat all of it," "Wasting food is a sin," "That's what I like to see a boy/girl with a healthy appetite."
Many of these statements were well meaning attempts to teach portion control, basic household economy, or even good nutrition. However, many of them actually had the opposite effect. In hind sight, we can see that a more careful explanation like, "You took more than you could eat, so next time why not take a little bit less" would be more practical, but most of us just repeat what our parents told us and what their parents told them.
What ever the motives we now have these voices playing every time we sit down to eat. To combat them, we need to be aware of them. You may not hear them in words, but in feelings. Like when you are full and there is still food on your plate, do you feel compelled to eat it all? Do you feel guilty, when you throw away leftovers instead of saving them? Do you feel a secret pride when you can eat more than the other folk at the table? Those are probably signs of past programming.
Once you recognize the voices for what they are, then begin to re-write the script. Start by challenging the voices in a way you weren't able to do as a child. Ask yourself "Why shouldn't I leave food on my plate? Why should a cookie make me feel better? What's wrong with throwing out food?" Then consciously act on this challenge by doing what "goes against the grain." When you are no longer hungry or the food doesn't look good to you or it doesn't taste that good anymore, throw it out or leave it on the plate.
You are an adult now, you do have the power to rewrite your scripts. So even if "your eyes are bigger than your stomach" you still don't have to "clean your plate" regardless of the "starving children in China."
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