Behavioral Changes

Changing your behavior is a key component to conquering obesity. Crash diets that cause people to lose weight drastically almost always backfire because there is no change in behavior and habits. Obesity is a lifestyle, and conquering obesity is a lifestyle also. Losing focus is a common problem with those who are trying to lose weight and keep it off.

Most of us do not have goals, and are generally not in the habit of goal setting. Many of us think we have goals, because we have stated what we want. However, if we haven’t written them down in completely positive language, and eliminated goals that conflict with each other, then we don’t truly have goals. What is positive language? A statement that uses positive words and not negative words toward achieving a goal. An example of a positive statement would be, “I weigh 150 pounds. I am fit and trim, and full of energy.” To the contrary, examples of negative statements are, “I will not be fat anymore. I will not overeat. I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I will not eat fattening foods.”

While these negative statements appear to say what you want at first, they truly only say what you don’t want, and the subconscious mind does not know the difference between want and not, it only focuses on subjects. Therefore, if you speak of not being fat, it only hears being fat; if it hears you speak of not overeating, it only hears overeating; and if it hears you being sick and tired of being sick and tired, it only actually registers being sick and tired. The subconscious is very literal, so use positive language at all times.

Notice I also made the statement in the present tense, even though I may currently be 210 pounds and not 160. The subconscious mind does not register the words “I will” either, because it has no concept of past and future. Think of dreams; have you ever dreamed of something and it seemed like it was an episode that took forever, yet when you awoke you realized the entire dream sequence took place in minutes while you dozed off? Or have you experienced a dream where people you know may look as they did many years ago?

This is because the subconscious is simply storing images and words as they happen, not in past or future tense. It is important therefore to speak into your life what you want, and not what you don’t want.

Developing your goals is a process, and will help you in your quest to becoming motivated and staying that way. Ask yourself why you want to lose weight. Carry around a notepad and pen for a few days and write down every benefit you can think of that relates to weight loss. You will use these to develop not only a goal, but also a mission statement. Some common examples are wanting to have more energy to spend quality time with family and friends, being able to fit into all your clothes, improving your health for longevity, wanting to feel comfortable in public, desiring to climb stairs or perform daily tasks without becoming breathless or fatigued, wanting to be more active with your children, or wanting to wear a nice outfit you saw. In a few days, you should be able to write a statement similar to this: “By August 31st I weigh 150 pounds.

I eat foods that are healthy for me, and I enjoy them. I am able to fit into that nice bikini I saw at the beach shop last month, and I look awesome in it. I am able to run and play with my children and have boundless energy. I remain energized throughout the day and am very alert at work. I feel great while following my new meal and exercise plan, and am happy that I am making changes that will improve my health and longevity, so that I am alive and healthy for myself and my loved ones for a long time.” Of course you will customize your statement to fit your life, but you get the point. Make sure all of your statements are positive and in the here and now.

The next step is to keep focused on your goals. Once you write your statement down, keep it posted where you can see it daily, such as next to your bathroom mirror, or stuck on the refrigerator door. You must keep your goals literally in front of you in order to maintain focus. The mind begins to steer you in the direction that you are focused on, just as you steer a car down the road. Letting your goals out of your focus is like looking down or away while driving, or letting go of the steering wheel: eventually you will crash.

Let’s avoid the crash and plan for success.
The first week is always the hardest regardless of what your eating plan is, whether it be low fat, low carbohydrate or anything else you will no doubt feel the uncomfortable feeling of hunger pangs at first. The good news is that if you can make it through the first two weeks you will have a significantly better chance of meeting your goal. Your appetite will become significantly smaller, which will likely escape your notice at first.

Realize that you aim to succeed by all means, but not meeting your goal does not mean total failure. If you end up cheating or missing a scheduled workout its not the end of the world. Beware of beating yourself up and deeming yourself a failure, and instead accept that everyone makes mistakes and get back up on your horse and right back on your plan. We're all human and we are bound to fail once and awhile.
Another obstacle especially amongst Americans is that we tend to want instant gratification.

Perhaps it is the trappings of automated society and high standards of living, but we want things to happen here and now. Keep in mind that this is a process, and things will not happen overnight. There is never something for nothing, so you must give things time to work Especially with the more natural lifestyle-change plans mentioned earlier, it can take weeks before you see improvements; give it time. If after about a month you don't see anything happening, you can then assess what you are doing and make some adjustments.

It is great to build alliances with people who are striving to reach the same type of goals you are, and avoid spending excessive time with those who do not share the same goal you do-at least in the beginning of your new regimen. You might want to make an assessment of who you spend time with currently and what practices you engage in with them. Do you have regular associates that you binge with? Do you often go out with friends or family and visit restaurants that serve unhealthy foods?

Although this is probably the hardest thing to do, you will have to excuse yourself from such activities for a while in order to accomplish your goal as you build up will power. After a few weeks, your habits will have changed and you will be able to resist temptation a lot better than you used to. One good practice is to exercise with a friend. Studies show that people who exercise with a friend are more successful at exercising consistently. You can keep each other accountable. Knowing that someone is waiting for you to exercise with them can be great motivation to show up and get it done.

POPULAR DIETARY TREATMENTS

Americans spends millions of dollars each year on diet books, products, and weight-loss plans. With all of this dieting, you would think obesity would be decreasing every year instead of increasing. So, why aren’t they working?

Because people are doing the wrong things! These popular diets often offer promises of quick weight-loss with no hunger, and the majority of those dieters who do succeed end up gaining the weight back plus some within a year. This is because they haven’t properly planned their diet and adopted The Diet Mindset! First, we’ll discuss some of these diets and then talk about what you can do to lose weight and keep it off.

DIETS
Moderate Fat Diets: These diets are made up of about 25% fat, 60% carbohydrate, and 15% protein. They encourage the intake of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and essential fatty acids found in foods like olive oil and salmon. These diets are usually nutritionally balanced if the dieter eats a variety of foods from all categories. For example, Weight Watchers operates on a point system where foods get a number of points based on calorie, fiber, and fat content. Dieters get a specific amount of points they can use for the day.

While it’s not encouraged, they may choose to spend most of their points on carbohydrates instead of balancing it out. This could lead to deficiencies in nutrients such as calcium, iron, and zinc. However, if followed properly, these diets can be successful methods for losing weight and keeping it off.
Low and Very Low-Fat Diets: Diets in this category include the Dr. Dean Ornish’s Diet and the Pritkin Plan, among others. They are made up of about 13% fat, 70% carbohydrates, and 16% protein. These diets are mostly vegetarian diets and don’t recommend eating a lot of meat.

Like the low-carb diets, you can eat unlimited amounts of certain foods. Because you can’t eat a lot of meat, these diets are deficient in zinc, vitamin B12, and essential fatty acids. Also, it is so restrictive that people find a hard time staying on it for life and end up gaining their weight back.

WEIGHT-LOSS RECOMMENDATIONS
So what should you eat if you’re trying to lose weight? The majority of obese people eat too much, and they eat too much of the bad stuff. But even if you’re eating the good stuff, you can still eat too much. So, you first need to know what to eat, and second, you need to learn how to recognize when you’re full and when you’re really hungry.

It’s also important to remember that your weight should be lost gradually. Don’t expect miracles overnight like some fad diets promise. When you first start dieting, you will probably lose more water weight, therefore you may be losing more pounds initially. But, if you’re doing it right, your weight loss will slow down to an average of one to two pounds per week. Studies have shown that you can only lose three pounds of fat per week, so anything over that is water loss or muscle loss, which you need to stay away from.

Weight Loss: The Two Words That Guarantee Success (or failure)

DID you know that being successful with losing weight starts with just two words?

Two words will either guarantee you'll lose weight, or guarantee the you WON'T lose weight.

You see, words are very powerful. Especially the words that we say to ourselves... our self-talk.

Whatever we say to ourselves goes directly to our subconscious and is accepted as complete truth.

Did you catch that?

Whatever you say to yourself or others is accepted as a complete truth to your subconscious mind.

How do you describe yourself?

Do you see yourself as healthy, slim and energetic?

Or do you see yourself as heavy and overweight?

Do you tell yourself (or complain to others) that "you can't" lose weight?

If you say to yourself....

"I am fat" ... your mind says OK, you're fat and gets to work in the background on taking actions that make (and keep) you fat.

or

"I am healthy and slim"... your mind says, OK, and gets to work in the background on taking actions that make (and keep) you healthy and slim.

[Note: You literally can't lose weight
if you see yourself as overweight...
your mind won't let you. This is one
reason so many struggle with losing
weight... and keeping it off. ]

Your subconscious doesn't argue with you, or reason with your statement. It just goes to work following your instructions.

This one, small lifestyle change can make a difference between being successful in reaching your weight los.s goals, and continual struggle to lose weight.

It's simple, just replace your current thoughts and words with ones that support your "new" you starting with those two most important words, "I am":

"I am healthy"

"I am slim"

"I am fit"

"I am healthy and trim"

"I am at my goal weight of (your goal) pounds"

Saying "I am" gives your mind a statement and command in the affirmative... as if it were already true.

Do this regularly, every day, and watch your thoughts and self talk closely. If you catch yourself slipping, immediately stop your negative thoughts and replace them with those above, or your own "I am" statements.

Before you know it, your actions and results will start taking shape (literally :) ). It's a proven fact, your mind acts on what you tell it, just tell it what you want!

You CAN do it!

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About the author:

Mark Idzik is a health coach with a national clientele who helps his clients lose weight and make better health choices. Get his free Guaranteed Weight Loss Ecourse by visiting:
http://www.Everyday-Weight-Loss.com/?src=aemp##tips


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Strategies to stop eating junk food !

Here's a great article I found. It contains some great strategies to help with your diet:


FACT: Obesity accounts for 300,000 deaths in the U.S. alone.

Research into junk food and fast food restaurants have found that there is a direct relationship between the number of fast food restaurants located within your local area and obesity rates.

The way in which we eat, and what we eat, is of vital importance to our state of health. The convenience and habitual nature of the problem mean that fast food consumption is so in-grained, that healthy eating is near impossible.

There are no easy ways to fix junk food habits and make them into healthy habits, but I do have 7 quick strategies that you can easily put into place to start into motion your new lifestyle without junk food. I recommend implementing these one at a time, to ensure that you don't overload and burn yourself out.

1. Do your shopping every week. Make it a regular habit to do your groceries every single week on the same day.

2. Make a shopping list on the computer with all the regular foods that you buy, to ensure that you aren't going to run out of food at the end of the week, tempting you to reach for the fast food pamphlet, running out for take-away or buying unnecessary food items.

3. Don't starve yourself !!!!!!! Eat 6 small meals instead of 3 large ones, snacking on healthy foods such as a fat burning apple, protein packed, metabolism raising light salad with boiled eggs and flaxseed oil dressing.

4. Make food your hobby. Join a cookery class. There are often many community classes that you can enrol in inexpensively to learn how to prepare interesting food.

5. Unplug the TV at the point. You will be less likely to sit there and watch it aimlessly if you have to make a conscious effort to turn it on. Particularly around 6-8 pm, the junk food restaurants will advertise, watch a DVD during these times. A recent review of childhood obesity research, has, not surprisingly found that the amount of time you spend watching TV has a direct affect on being overweight.

6. Try this recipe when you are feeling peckish to curb your need to buy junk food, or feeling the urge to have a smoke.

2 eggs beaten
1 Chopped lean bacon rasher - no fat.
1 chopped canned tomato
1/4 cup soy milk/low fat milk
1 finely chopped leaf spinach/frozen spinach
Sprinkling of low fat cheese

Mix ingredients together in mixing bowl. Transfer into a microwave safe bowl and cook on high for 2 minutes or until eggs have solidified. Eat with a low GI bread. You'll find that depending on the quantity eaten, it can be a filling snack or light dinner.

7. When eating out. Avoid the restaurants with the all-you-can-eat option. These restaurants unfortunately encourage people to eat until they are bloated. Researchers found that 20% of weight gain among freshman University students could be attributed to their eating in the all-you-can-eat student dining halls.

References:

Caroli M, Argentieri L, Cardone M, Masi A. Role of television in childhood obesity prevention. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004 Nov;28 Suppl 3:S104-8.

Levitsky DA, Halbmaier CA, Mrdjenovic G. The freshman weight gain: a model for the study of the epidemic of obesity. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004 Nov;28(11):1435-42.

Maddock J. The relationship between obesity and the prevalence of fast food restaurants: state-level analysis. Am J Health Promot. 2004 Nov-Dec;19(2):137-43.

Copyright © 2004 Jenny Mathers. All Rights Reserved.

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About the author:

Jenny Mathers writes for Savvy Fat Burning Foods and creates a research resource to educate and inform about what REALLY is fat burning food.


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