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Conference rocks::weight_control

Title:	Weight Loss and Maintenance
Notice:	PLEASE enter notes in mixed case (CAPS ARE SHOUTING)!
Moderator:	ASICS::LESLIE

Created:	Tue Jul 10 1990
Last Modified:	Tue Jun 03 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	933
Total number of notes:	9931

26.0. "A few thoughts...." by OWL::LANGILL (A Transitory Hallucination) Fri May 01 1987 12:32

    I'd like to open this note for the purpose of discussing the
    psycological aspects of being overweight.  
    
    I want to preface what I say with "these are my beliefs" and by
    believing them I have been able to lose the extra weight and maintain.
    During a period of six months I was able to lose 90 pounds, four
    years ago, and have not put it back on.  In that period of time
    I also did a great deal of research into all aspects of "human eating",
    including nutrition, habits, and the head trip aspects.  I certainly
    don't know everything, but I do know that the following changes
    in my thinking have worked for me.
    
    Dieting is self defeating behavior.
    	When we "go on a diet" we use it as a form of punishment for
    what we feel has been overindulgence or lack of self control.
    Obviously the scale tells us this.  When we stop the diet and go
    back to our old eating habits (overindulgence) we then must diet
    again to punish.  Thus the roller coaster effect.
    
    Rewards are important.
    	When we are trying to achieve weight loss we tend to go on "diets"
    that do nothing but deprive us of the foods that we love.  We might
    be able to sustain this deprivation for a period of time, but
    eventually human nature overcomes and we "fall off the wagon".  Any
    weight loss program that we are going to attempt should include
    all foods, just in smaller amounts.  That way we aren't living for
    the day when we can "go off the diet".
    
    Take one day at a time.
    	Don't try to look at the 25, 50, or 100 lbs that needs to be
    lost as a lump.  Break it down into smaller more manageable portions.
    If a goal of losing five pounds in one month is set it is
    psycologically easier to manage than saying "I need to lose 25 pounds
    by summer".
    
    Don't do guilt.
    	If being thin is a goal for our lives then we have to accept
    the fact that we are going to overeat at certain times.  Holidays
    tend to be filled with special foods and the very act of socializing
    includes eating.  SO WHAT if we overeat, once in a while----we have
    the rest of our lives to take off that pound or two----the key is
    not to do it every day.
    
    There is no hope of achieving permanent weight loss until we really
    understand why we are fat.  (This is of course assuming that there
    is no physical problem).
    	Food is one of the most complicated of the emotional aspects
    of our lives.  As children we were bribed with it, comforted with
    it, punished with it, made to feel guilt with it, and we celebrated
    with it.  Understanding why you eat enables you to disconnect food
    with emotion and use it for what it is - fuel for your body. 
    
    Permanent weight loss cannot be achieved until you change your self image.
    	When you have lived most of your life as a fat person you actually
    see yourself in your mind's eye as fat.  Until we change that picture
    of ourselves the body itself will not change.  It has been shown
    that it takes approximately three years after a major weight loss
    for the individual to actually think emotionally of themselves as
    thin.  (For months after I reached my goal, I still went to the
    size 16-18s when I went shopping.  It continually surprised me to
    find that I ended up in the 3-5s).
    
    Cravings are actually good for you.
    	When you have the "hungry horrors" it is because it needs a
    certain substance that you are not supplying it with.  How many
    times have we eaten whole boxes of cookies, icecream, candy bars,
    or whatever and still not have been satisfied.  We need to learn
    to really listen to our bodies and hear what they are asking for.
    
    If you think like a thin person you will become one.
    	It's interesting to watch a group of people eat.  The behavior
    and the foods that a thin person will use are very different than
    a person who is overweight.  If we mimic these behaviors and foods
    long enough they can become a way of life.
    
    Learn to love yourself.
    	One you do it will follow that you want to be the best that
    you can be.
    
    Hope this doesn't sound too  preachy.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
26.1	To the contrary	TALLIS::SLEWIS		`Sun May 03 1987 13:47`	4
	It doesn't sound preachy to me -- sounds very healthy,realistic and inspiring. Thanks for typing it in.
26.2		MASTER::EPETERSON		`Fri Jun 19 1987 11:26`	27
	Great topic! I am a person who has lost over 100 pounds on diets no less than 4 times in my life. Once I get going there is no stopping me until I reach goal. The weight, however, always comes back, and it brings some of its friends along for good measure. Well, here I go again. I have now lost 42 pounds. The difference is that I am doing it by a life style change, not a diet. Other times I have lost weight, I would go for days and days on 1000 calories or so. Not only is that unhealthy, it is in the long term unrealistic. No wonder I would reach goal and then binge after all that pent up deprivation! Now when I am tempted to "under eat" for a short term loss, I tell myself that this is a life long style of living I am going for. I am not on a diet, so I will eat EVERY day in a way that I could live with each day for the rest of my life. For some reason this gives me perspective. Just as an aside, I find that I binge mostly because I have so many built up feelings of deprivation. I now indulge in ways that are non-fattening. One thing that really "hits that hungry spot" for me is a massage. It feels soooooo good and it makes me feel more "body aware" for days. I have found a great little place in Marlboro, Mass that gives a full hour for a reasonable price($30). Wanna know where??? Send mail and I'll getr back to you. Marion (who_should_be_able_to_cross_her_legs_by_August!)
26.3	Don't kid yourself	RSTS32::KASPER	Beverly T Kasper	`Mon Nov 09 1987 16:16`	23
	> When you have lived most of your life as a fat person you actually see > yourself in your mind's eye as fat. Until we change that picture of > ourselves the body itself will not change. It has been shown that it takes > approximately three years after a major weight loss for the individual to > actually think emotionally of themselves as thin. This has a corrolary that you may want to watch out for -- once you've finally convinced yourself that you're no longer fat, if you start to regain the weight, it'll take a while before that fact sinks in. You'll keep going to the size 5's, and not being able to accept ending up in the 16's! Those of us whose bodies tend to fat will have to watch it for the rest of our lives. This can be a depressing thought, but remeber how much better you feel slim! Keep track of your weight; ask a friend to let you know if they think you're adding pounds back on (most people will keep quiet out of kindness unless you let them know it's not what you want). The only way to be slim for life is to continue to eat responsibly, and exercise consistently. Easier said than done, eh?
26.4	More thoughts...	MARCIE::JLAMOTTE	renewal and resolution	`Mon Feb 15 1988 08:09`	32
	I looked through the directory and figured this note was the most appropriate to share some thoughts with you. My thoughts are somewhat contradictory to the base note though. I personally feel that there are very few people who are overweight because of a psychological reasons. I have read quite a bit about neuro-chemicals, metabolism and other aspects of our physical being that convinces me that many of us have true physical deficiencies that contribute to our obesity or overweight. As I stated in another note I participated in a study at MIT that convinced me that my overeating is a result of a chemical imbalance in my brain. By changing my diet I have been able to control my weight a little better then in the past. What has also occurred is I do not have the mood swings that were so prevelant when I ate everything and anything. Discovering and believing this theory has helped me deal with guilt and I no longer feel guilty about my weight. That helps a lot in dealing with the problem. The other thing that I have to deal with is my compulsiveness...which is symptomatic of people who have a lack of the chemical serotin. I am beginning to think that I will avoid situations where I might have a problem. I cannot go to parties every weekend or I will be huge. So I am trying to be more selective in the situations I choose to be involved in. If I think I might have a problem with food at a particular event I decline unless the event is so important that I can't miss it. To me it is worth it to change my lifestyle to feel healthy.
26.5	Psychological Self-Defeat	SRFSUP::TERASHITA	California Native	`Mon Feb 15 1988 11:52`	24
	This weekend at WW we were talking about eating triggers, and how to manage them so that we are in control and not a victim of the circumstances that trigger our eating responses. One woman brought up the point that when she was "on a diet", she did not feel in control, but rather felt that the "diet" was telling her what and how much to eat. Consequently, she was able to follow the "diet" for only three of seven days a week. On that fourth day, she made a beeline for Colonel Sanders and stuffed herself with fried chicken and biscuits. Psychologically, she was defeating herself with the concept of "being on a diet". She was only in the third week of the WW program, and had not yet been able to accept the fact that the WW program is "for life"; that it has to do with educating ourselves and re-training our responses to situations that trigger over-eating. The only way I have been able to avoid the same reactions is to think of the Food Plan as a way to live, and not a "diet" that I'll discard when I reach goal. Hope some of you feel the same. Lynn