HOW TO PUT A NUTRTIONIST OUT OF BUSINESS
Do
you shovel snacks into your mouth while at the computer, barely
noticing the taste—or amount—of the food you're eating? Do you still
believe it's a crime not to finish everything on your plate? Habits that
make it impossible to take off those extra pounds may be so ingrained
you aren't even conscious of them. The good news: Experts say you can
teach an old dog new tricks—and that learning to break these old
patterns and substitute better ones is a key ingredient to a successful
diet. Even better news: In time, these healthy routines will become such
a part of your life, they will be second nature. That means not only
that you can lose the weight but that you can keep it off, too. Below,
nine psychologists' tips for training yourself to avoid overindulging.
1) Less is more.
"If you eat less often, it will become a smaller issue in your life,"
says James Rosen, Ph.D., professor of psychology and director of
University of Vermont's Weight Control Program. "Contrary to popular
belief, 'grazing,' or eating several small meals and snacks throughout
the day, isn't a good way to lose weight for people with self-control
issues. The more often you eat, the more you expect food is going to be
available and the more you think that it's okay to eat whenever and
wherever you feel like it. So, decide on your eating times—not more than
three or four times a day—and don't eat in between, no matter the size
of the snack."
2) Declare a No-Food Zone.
"Decide on the eating places in your house—just your dining room table,
for example—and declare other places No Food Zones," says Rosen. If you
have a habit of eating in your car, in front of the television, or while
you're at the computer, make those No Food Zones—even for healthy
snacks. If you train yourself to eat only in very specific situations,
you will learn to control food cravings outside of normal meal times."
3) Remember: Location, Location, Location.
"Make sure that you eat your meals in one certain place," recommends
Robert Jamison, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and an associate
professor in anesthesia and psychiatry at Harvard Medical school. "When
you have a craving, tell yourself you can have whatever you want, but
you have to eat it in an unusual place—like the bathroom or garage—that
doesn't have familiar environmental cues like the couch in the TV room."
So, if you really want that hot fudge sundae go ahead and eat it, but
eat it in the garage," says Jamison. It won't be as much fun, so you
might stop and think about whether you're eating it because you're
hungry, because of a craving, because you had a long day and you think
you deserve it, or because you're watching your favorite show. The more
conscious you are of what you are doing, the more chance that you'll
make changes."
4) Make rules and stick to them.
"To avoid calories, you can simply establish a rule for yourself: Never
eat anything unless you bought it or asked for it," explains Jamison.
"That way, you won't have to torture yourself every time someone brings
cupcakes to work." Not to mention birthday parties, goodbye parties,
Valentine's Day, Girl Scout cookie season, Halloween...
5) Eat dessert first.
Do you always vow to skip dessert but end up ordering it anyway once
the waiter brings the dessert menu? Judith S. Stern, Sc.D., professor of
nutrition and internal medicine at University of California and vice
president of the American Obesity Association, says, "If you are going
to eat dessert, eat it first." Why? "Because of what is called the
Thanksgiving Dinner Effect. You're stuffed and can't eat another
bite—certainly not of turkey—but then dessert comes, and of course you
can find room for a piece of pumpkin pie. So don't try to avoid the
inevitable. Eat dessert and order less for the rest of your meal. You
might get some stares, but so what?"
6) Exercise before dinner.
"Exercising temporarily decreases your appetite, so if you want to
avoid overeating, work out before a meal," says James O. Prochaska,
Ph.D., a clinical and health psychologist, author of Changing for Good,
and the director of the Cancer Prevention Research Center at the
University of Rhode Island. "One of the reasons weight loss is so tough
is that it's not dependent on a single behavior, it's about how much we
eat and how many calories we burn up. The most common mistake people
make is trying to simply reduce calories without exercising."
7) You've got your whole meal in your hand.
"If you want to lose weight, the most important element is not what you
eat—it's how much you eat," says George L. Blackburn, M.D., Ph.D.,
associate director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical
School. "People don't realize the volume of food they're eating and the
speed at which they're eating it. To figure out how much you should be
eating, put your hand over your plate and see how many palm- or fistfuls
of food you have on it. A serving size of meat, fish, or poultry is
about the size of the palm of your hand; your closed fist is the volume
of one cup of pasta or rice. Don't forget that you have your measuring
device with you everywhere you go. Also make sure at least twenty
minutes passes between the start and end of a meal—even if you have to
get up and leave the table somewhere in between first and last bite."
8) Eat mindfully.
"Another source of people overeating is the hectic pace of life that
afflicts virtually everyone," says Michael Lowe, Ph.D., professor of
clinical and health psychology at MCP Hahnemann University in
Philadelphia. "We get geared up, and eating becomes an afterthought; we
simply grab things to eat along the way. So set aside half an hour of
calm, relaxed, focused eating for each meal. Mindful eating—when you're
aware of what you're choosing to eat and how much you are eating and
when you are starting to feel full—is difficult when you're grabbing
what you can find and gobbling it in front of the television before
running out the door to a meeting."
9) Stay positive.
"Analyze how you're eating and exercising, but take a benevolent and
accepting attitude," says Dan Kirschenbaum, Ph.D., director of the
Center for Behavioral Medicine in Chicago and a professor of psychiatry
and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University. "Don't be
moralistic. When you eat a piece of chocolate cake, don't think of it as
'cheating.' Instead, focus on staying positive, and see your overeating
as a problem to be solved, not as a moral transgression. Eating is your
normal response to stimuli; it is tough to break established patterns
and keep resisting it all the time. Keep fighting the good fight, don't
give up, be proud of any progress you've made
10) Plus Exercise:
Choose a proram that fits your life style. You can workout at
home,with a personal trainer, In a small group atmosphere or in a
Bootcamp environment.
Just make sure you work with someone that is knowledgeable in fuctional
and metabolic training to get you the best results. There are plenty
of different programs to choose from. Each with their own rewards.
David Knapp NCSF-MCPT,CNS
PRINCETONBOOTCAMPS@YAHOO.COM
HEALTH AND WELLNESS,DIET AND EXERCISE,NUTRITION, PRESONAL TRAINING.FITNESSBOOTCAMPS, SMALL GROUP TRAINING
