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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

212.0. "Bad/Good vs. Off/On" by SRFSUP::TERASHITA (California Girl) Mon Feb 01 1988 13:02

    I had lunch one day last week with a friend at work who is also
    in my WW group, and she said something which disturbed me.  We were
    talking about weighing in on Saturday morning and she said,  "I've
    been bad this week.  I just know that I've gained."
    
    Now, this disturbed me because I was not able to get her to see
    that the reason she gained was not because she had been "bad", but
    simply because she had been eating foods that were not "on program".
    
    I had a greater success rate when I began to see that eating "off
    program" did not mean that I was a "bad person" or a "bad girl";
    it simply meant that I was not following the WW program.  To me,
    this is an important distinction, and crucial to my success.  If
    I feel like I've "been bad", I am much less likely to forgive myself
    and get back on program.  If I go "off program", I simply know that
    the consequence will be a weight gain.  There's enough of a difference
    to me to mean the difference between overall success and failure.
    
    Comments, please?
    
    Lynn

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
212.1	AMEN	WONDER::COYLE	Only 48.8% of my former self!	`Mon Feb 01 1988 15:12`	21
	I agree wholeheartidly!!!!! One of the MOST important aspects of any successful program is NOT overloading oneself with guilt just because of a tempoary laspe. The other important thing is if you go off program for one meal, it time to start on program then at the NEXT meal. This is the whole philosophy of one day/meal at a time. It is also much easier to accomplish in the absence of guilt. I think all of us know the ends we will go to to create an excuse to give up, or the emotions we will try to cover up with food. Guilt is just one of the MANY examples of this. So, remember, you are not BAD just because you are OFF PROGRAM. You were just OFF PROGRAM and NOW is the time to get back on! Good Luck, -Joe
212.2	Also in agreement	STAR::YANKOWSKAS	Is ketchup a vegetable?	`Mon Feb 01 1988 15:24`	7
	The use of "good" and "bad" in this context has driven me bughouse for a long time. Glad to see that there are a couple of other noters who feel the same way I do... py
212.3	in agreement...	ARGUS::CORWIN	I don't care if I AM a lemming	`Mon Feb 01 1988 15:39`	8
	I was going to put in a note saying the same thing, Lynn! I've read a few notes recently where people said they had been "bad", and it really bothered me. Off-program sounds much better, and it is so much more accurate; we're not being bad when we eat the wrong things, even if we feel bad about it afterwards. :-) Jill
212.4	Me, too!!!	VIDEO::VERGE		`Tue Feb 02 1988 08:40`	7
	I agree - being off program is NOT bad - it is just off program. Maybe if we could all get to the point where we recognize this, we will go right back on program instead of feeling guilty, and maybe making things worse. Val
212.5	Not sure	MARCIE::JLAMOTTE	renewal and resolution	`Tue Feb 02 1988 12:31`	12
	I can understand about the terminology of good/bad. On the other hand if we are committed to a goal and we deter from that goal I think on/off program is pretty diluted in it's psychological effect. It is my feeling that being able to control your weight is very much a part of your thinking. I do not believe we choose to be obese but I do believe that being successful in achieving any goal is how we manage the process internally. If it is okay to go on/off program we might tend to do it quite regularly...but if we set up some process for rewarding our appropriate (good) behavior we have a greater chance of success.
212.6	Reward	SRFSUP::TERASHITA	California Girl	`Tue Feb 02 1988 12:38`	5
	For me, the best reward of staying on program is losing (or discarding!) unwanted pounds! Lynn