According to a national survey by the American Dietetic Association, over 40% of Americans choose being on some form of diet as one of their New Year’s Resolutions.  Unfortunately, only 1 in 5 are still on it by the time February rolls around.  As we all know, getting on a diet is easy.  Sticking to a diet is really difficult.

There are some basic things that you can do however, that will significantly increase your chances of sticking with it for more than a day or two.

Use the Buddy System

Remember going swimming in the lake at Summer Camp?  What’s the first thing they always did?  They paired you up with somebody and told each of you that it was your job to look out for the other person.  They even occasionally did “buddy checks” to make sure that you and your buddy really were watching out for each other.

Well, the same concept applies to dieting.  Enlist the help of a “buddy” who also is dieting to help keep you on track. Now you’ve got someone that will hold you accountable to your goals as well as someone that you can help reach their goals. A buddy can encourage, nag, or shame you into sticking to your diet and you can do the same for them.  By working together, you both have a great chance of success.

Take Control of Your Environment

Go through your house, car, and workplace and remove all temptation.  That means throw out all candy, chips, soda, cookies, ice cream – everything sugary and sweet (and loaded with calories) that calls your name in the middle of the afternoon.  Don’t just hide it.  Get rid of it.  Otherwise, you’ll always find a reason to sneak in “just one.”  And once you’ve done that, your diet goes out the window.

The second part of controlling your environment is watching who you spend time around.  Make sure the people you’re normally around have positive  attitudes and eating habits that will support your efforts.  It’s difficult to stay on a diet when all of your friends keep of bowl of M&M’s on their desk.  It’s like trying to quit smoking when everyone around you is a smoker that keeps blowing smoke in your face.

That’s not what you want.  You want people around you that will understand and support what you’re trying to do.  And that might mean making the decision not to meet the guys or girls in the break-room for donuts and coffee every morning.

Make Absolute Rules – and Stick By Them

Although the other two tips are pretty good, I think this one is the most powerful.  Make up absolute rules about what you’re going to do, or not going to do, and then stick by them.  An absolute rule says something like, “I will not eat any candy, period.”

There’s no room for misinterpretation there.  There’s no room for “just one” or “only as a reward after I exercise.”  It’s pretty absolute.  No candy, period.

When you do this and someone offers you some M&M’s, the first thing that will pop into your mind is “I will not eat any candy.”  It provides a mental break, a brief pause for you to think about what you’re doing instead of just automatically reaching for the offered candy.

There’s one thing I know about myself, and probably about you too, and that is that if I allow some room to wiggle out of a rule I’ve set, I probably will find a reason to do so.  And here’s the thing – the “reasons” will all sound sooo good.  Reasons like:

• “I really exercised hard today.  I deserve a piece of candy.”
• “I’ve really done well on my diet and I’ve actually lost 3 pounds.  I can afford to eat just one little piece.”
• “I really need to finish this report but I feel so tired from working out.  Eating some candy will help wake me up.”
• “Just one piece won’t hurt.  I’ll get back on my diet first thing tomorrow.”
• “It’s an emergency!  I need candy to survive!”

Did I get any of yours?  I guarantee that if you leave yourself some wiggle room,  you’ll always find a way to rationalize breaking your diet.  Always.  Rationalization is what human’s do.  So don’t leave any room for it.  Make your rules absolute and then stick by them until you’ve reached your goal.

Lastly, remember that you stick to a diet the exact same way that someone quits smoking or drinking – one moment at a time.  Your goal shouldn’t be to stick to your diet for the next month.  Your goal should be to stick to your diet for the next hour.  You can handle an hour, right?  That’s all you need to do.  Stick with it for one hour.

And when that hour is up, you know what to do.  Commit to sticking with your diet for the next hour.  Before you know it, you’ll have made it through the day, the week, the month and will have reached the weight goal you set for yourself.

Use the Buddy System, control your environment so it supports your goals, make absolute rules and stick by them.  Do these things and sticking to your diet should be a snap.

Hiram
Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach and
Personal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

Technorati Tags: diet, dieting, overeating, nutrition, resolution, weight loss, scale, weight goals, new year

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This is an example of a subconscious “anchor,” an action or a piece of information that gets set by others, but that significantly influences the decisions we make.

Anchors are everywhere and can take a number of forms.  The food companies are experts at making their food products look (color), sound (sizzle), smell (aroma) and feel (texture) soooo good that your mouth instantly starts watering.  An anchor gets set that makes you suddenly stop in front of that specific food the next time you’’re in the grocery store.

Now, a study to be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Consumer Research reveals that the eating habits of the people we eat with can have a significant influence on our own food intake.

Now, I know what you’re thinking.  You’’re thinking, “”Of course.  Eating with big people who eat massive quantities of food will make me want to eat massive quantities of food as well.””  However, it turns out that it’’s not the “big people” you need to watch out for.  It’s the skinny ones with big appetites that you need to avoid.

All of us tend to mirror the actions of those around us, especially of the people we want to be like or who exhibit some characteristic (like being thin) that we want to have as well.  If you see a thin person grab a double helping of mashed potatoes in a buffet line, you’’re subconsciously going to think, “hey, that person is thin, I want to be thin, they’’re eating mashed potatoes, so I’’ll have some too.”  It’s called the “I’’ll-have-what-she’’s-having” syndrome and it’s a perfect example of the power of anchoring.  Unfortunately, the next thing you know your jeans are fitting a little too tight.

Of course, there are plenty of positive examples of anchoring as well.  In my Cardio Class for example, there’s a 17 year old guy that’’s in fantastic shape.  Whenever, we run sprints together, I can’’t help but try to out run the guy.  In fact, according to my heart rate monitor, I frequently push my heart rate well above my theoretical maximum just trying to keep up with him.  Of course he always beats me, but considering that there’’s a 40 year difference between our ages, I don’t feel too bad about my performance!  Although I know I’’m getting sucked into a competition I can’’t win, I still get some positive benefits from it.

So how do you prevent the way your own mind works from totally destroying your diet?  Here are some tips:

1.  Be aware of the anchors that are constantly trying to influence your behavior. In everything from shoes to toothpaste, “Madison Avenue” is constantly trying to get you to associate their product or service with a “gotta-have-it-now” state of mind.  See it for the sales pitch it is and then you choose how you will respond.

2.  Keep food in its proper place. The main purpose of food is to fuel your body, period.  Food is not for pleasure, or a form of escape, or something to help you cope with an unpleasant experience.  Work on any false beliefs or misconceptions you might have about food, or that involves food, because until you do, overeating will always be a part of your life.  Yes, this will be hard, especially if you belong to a culture where food is an integral part of every social event.

3.  Don’t let the group dictate your diet. Realize that your mother was right: – be careful who you associate with because your friends will shape you, including your eating habits and portion sizes.  Decide on what a normal meal is for you and then stick to it, no matter who you’’re with or where you go.  If you don’’t normally eat dessert, don’’t order one just because everybody else is getting one.

Finally, keep a close watch on your skinny friends -– especially the ones with bad eating habits!

Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach andPersonal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

P.S.  Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.”  This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – no email, no cookies, no catch.  Download and enjoy!

[tags]fitness, health, diet, eating, skinny, fat, food, anchor, behavior, overeating, weight[tags]

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2. Why Do We Overeat?

The food was great and there was plenty of it.  Like everybody else, I stuffed myself.  So now I’m sitting at my desk trying to make it through the rest of the afternoon feeling sleepy and miserable from overeating.

So why did I do it?  What is it that makes us stuff food into our bodies until we literally feel sick — and then push in a little more when the dessert tray comes around?  If we knew that, then maybe we’d know what to be on guard against.  We could then figure out a way to prevent ourselves from going too far.

When I was a kid, my mom used to say it’s because my eyes were bigger than my stomach.  That may still be true, but here are a couple more ideas I came up with:

1.  Food is Sensual – and We’re Sensual People.

Think about walking into a room where a feast has been laid out.  Your senses immediately get overwhelmed by all the smells and aromas of the foods.  Your eyes try to take in all the colors and textures.  You can still hear some of the dishes sizzle.  And when you take your first bite, you’re in heaven.  It’s not only a feast for the stomach, it’s a feast for the senses.

Face it.  Eating is a sensual experience, and because it is, we always want more.  We tend to overindulge – and overeat.  For some people, this essentially becomes an addiction.

2.  We Eat Way Too Fast.

I don’t know why it is but in the “land of abundance,” most of us believe that all the good stuff is going to be taken if we don’t hurry.  We rush to the dinner table, we rush to get our food, and we rush to eat it – I guess so we can go back and get some more.  We usually eat so fast that by the time the stomach signals that it’s full and can’t take any more, we still have another serving of mashed potatoes on the way down.

3.  Food is Always Readily Available

No matter where you are, food is always readily available.  Either there’s a snack machine on your office floor or someone has brought in donuts.  No matter what time of the day or night, there’s a restaurant, diner, or fast-food drive through open. Food is everywhere and it’s become commonplace to be constantly eating, munching, or snacking.

I know that there are probably more but these are the only ones I could come up with after eating so much turkey. So how do you protect yourself from these and prevent yourself from overeating?

First, like the drug addict, admit that you have a problem.  Then, get someone to help you beat it.  To prevent the sensual aspects of food from clouding your judgment, have someone else prepare a plate for you.  Why ask someone else to prepare a plat for you?  Because you don’t have the will power – at least not yet.

Second, slow down when you eat.  My mom used to tell us kids to chew our food 20 times before we swollowed it.  Why 20 times?  No reason.  There’s nothing magic about this number.  The point is to take the time to chew each mouthfull thoroughly and completely before swollowing it.  Really taste the food.  Feel its texture.  You’ll not only enjoy the food more, it will be more completely digested – and you’ll eat less of it.

Third, eat only when you’re hungry.  Yes, I know it’s dinner time but if you had a big lunch and aren’t hungry, don’t force yourself to have another meal.  Don’t eat between meals either (no snacking).  In order to eat only when you’re hungry, you obviously need to allow yourself to get hungry – something that won’t happen if you’re constantly snacking.

If All Else Fails

If you still end up overeating, don’t beat yourself up over it.  Hey, I teach this stuff and I STILL overeat at times.  Just resolve to take the tools I’ve given you and do better the next time.

As for me, I’m headed to kickboxing class.  I’ve got a lot of turkey and pecan pie to work off!

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: eating, diet, nutrition, dinner, overeating, thanksgiving, holidays

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So now what? Well, now it’s time to get back on the wagon but make sure that you do so in a way that doesn’t create injuries or other problems.

When we overeat, we tend to do so on binges, eating a large amount of food over a short period of time, like a 4-day weekend. The result is a couple of extra pounds around the hips or waist the following week. Many people try to take it back off the same way — too much in too short a period of time — and they end up hurting themselves.

Here’s the regimen I’m following:

1. Get your resolve back into shape. The first thing you have to do is to decide to reverse your overeating and inactivity before it becomes a set habit. Don’t beat yourself up over it, just resolve to get yourself back on track.

2. Don’t try for instant results. You’ve slacked off for a couple of weeks, it’s going to take at least as long to get trim again. Oh and by the way, if you’re in the 50+ range like I am, you should already know that it takes much longer to get the weight off than it does to pack it on. Just one of life’s little ironies.

3. Build core strength first. Do not put on a pair of jogging shorts and decide to go “run it off.” If you haven’t exercised in a couple of weeks, your muscles have lost some of their strength and flexibility. If you immediately jump back into an intense workout, you’re going to sprain or tear something. Delay the cardio workouts for a while and work on building back the strength in your lower body (legs, lower back, and abdomen). Lift weights or do squats followed by some stretching exercises in order to lay a foundation you can build on later.

4. Add in a little cardio. Cardio is an important part of a weight loss routine but you’ve got to have the physical strength first, especially since cardio routines tend to be mid to high impact putting a lot of stress on your knees, legs, and feet. Make sure to build up some strength in those parts before you start running, jumping, or jogging.

5. Reduce the calories. You should be running out of turkey left overs by now anyway so begin to make a conscious effort to reduce your portion sizes as well as the number of times you snack in between meals. Also, begin to add more and more green vegetables and salads to your meals.

6. Re-balance your health. Continue to increase your activity level at the same time that you reduce your caloric intake and improve the types of foods you eat. As you begin to move your body back into balance, you’ll start to feel your energy increase.

The key is to take small, but consistent, actions in the right direction. You didn’t put on the extra weight overnight and you can’t work it off overnight either. Slow and steady wins the race, and it will get your body back into a healthy state as well!

Hiram

Technorati Tags: overeating, nutrition, health, weight loss, exercise

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