We’re heading into the season of eating. Halloween candy covers the shelves of grocery stores and pharmacies. Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrating the feast. Holiday cookies and end-of-year celebrations provide ample opportunity to indulge; Valentine’s chocolates loom omnipresent. How do we handle this constant bombardment of triggers? Is it possible to lose or even maintain weight in the face of such temptation?
Research shows that people who are more thoughtful about their eating have more success in losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight. Planning can’t be overemphasized. However, this doesn’t have to lead to an overly restrictive approach to eating. Eating plans that are strict or inflexible don’t typically lead to long-term success, at least partially because they’re too difficult to follow consistently. The old adage of making a “lifestyle change” holds more value than time-limited rigid caloric restriction.
Think about having a nutritional budget. Just like we have a limited income, we have a limited number of calories that we can ingest without expanding our waistlines. Most healthy diets can net an average weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week. This can take the form of a counting system (e.g., calories, points) or a set eating plan (e.g., whole foods approach, Mediterranean Diet). Whatever approach you select, you will have to make decisions about what you will eat. Be selective. Ask yourself if something is worth it. If you could take it or leave it, leave it. It’s okay to indulge at times; what matters more is the amount and the frequency of what we ingest. Planned indulgences are more conducive to a healthy weight than are impulsive indulgences. Planning to have a favorite snack occasionally can make it easier to pass at other times.
There are a number of behavioral strategies that facilitate weight loss. Consider eating more slowly and mindfully. In our culture, we tend to eat rapidly while we’re multitasking. Research shows that seeing food laid out in front of you and focusing on the sights, smells, tastes, and textures contribute to satiety, so when we increase those cues we naturally eat less. Furthermore, there can be up to a 20 minute delay between when we are full and when that message is received in our brains. So, if we’re eating rapidly, we might eat much longer than needed to feel full. Dr. Judith Beck suggests using comfort in taking a moderately brisk walk after eating as a ruler for determining appropriate portion size. One should feel equally comfortable walking after a meal as before a meal. To help limit portion size to an appropriate level, portion one serving and then walk away from the buffet, bowl, or bag to reduce temptation to overeat. Practice distracting yourself or delaying giving into cravings. Most urges last no more than three to five minutes, and the more you practice resisting urges, the more confidence you’ll have in your ability to do so.
Physical activity is key in maintaining a healthy weight. A sample of individuals from the national weight control registry revealed that 90% of people who lost weight and maintained it for a year or more did so through a combination of diet and exercise. This can include formal (e.g., Zumba, kickboxing) and informal exercise (e.g., taking the stairs, parking further away). Start small. You’re more likely to initiate a task if you establish reasonable goals. The acronym “SMART” (specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable, time-bound) is often useful in creating goals. For instance, it’s more helpful to plan to “walk for 15 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday this week after work” than to plan to “exercise more.” Schedule exercise on specific days so you don’t have to evaluate whether or not you feel like exercising that day. Protect this time and schedule things around it; life is busy and too often exercise is the first thing to go. Find something you like and exercise with a buddy. Think about how you will feel when you’re done as opposed to how you feel in the moment. These strategies can make exercise more enjoyable, as well as increase your adherence and accountability.
The messages we tell ourselves can have a big impact on our weight loss success. One common thinking error is dichotomous or “all-or-nothing” thinking. We tend to have certain expectations for ourselves and sometimes when we fall short, we may give up completely. For instance, if you are following your eating plan but then impulsively eat a piece of cake you come across in the breakroom at work, you may feel as though you’ve “blown it” and forgo your eating plan completely until Monday. Although the cake may have been unplanned, it creates less of a setback than if you add ice cream, chips, and soda to the mix. It is more useful to return to your eating plan and consider alternative ways of dealing with a craving the next time you have one instead of beating yourself up or giving yourself permission to overindulge. This just counteracts your hard work and leads to feelings of frustration.
It may help to use a research-based diet guide such as The Beck Diet Solution (Beck, 2008). Alternatively, consider consulting a nutritionist, diet coach, or therapist who specializes in weight loss. Cognitive behavioral therapists are particularly adept at addressing self-sabotaging thoughts that can derail us. Be patient with the process. Remind yourself that we gain weight over time and that it takes time to lose it too. Divide your weight loss goal into five pound increments and focus on one segment at a time. Whether you want to lose 20 pounds or 200 pounds, focus on one five pound goal and then move on to the next. Try to incorporate one or two new strategies per week and give yourself credit for steps along the way. With time, these behaviors will feel more routine and you’ll be making progress towards your goal.
