Lifestyle Choices

The support of family and friends can be of great importance in fat control.

In Concept 18, the importance of family and friends to successful exercise adherence was emphasized. Family and friends can also help you in changing and adhering to healthy eating practices. It is known that parents who overeat have children who eat more than normal. In these cases, it is important for the entire family to participate in a program to control fatness. Family and friends should provide support for the person trying to gain or lose fat by helping them follow the guidelines presented in this Concept, rather than tempting the person to eat improperly. It should be pointed out that there is sometimes a danger of overemphasis on fat loss by a friend or family member. This can have the opposite effect of that intended if it is perceived as an attempt to control one’s behavior. Studies have shown that the use of extrinsic rewards such as money or special gifts for achieving goals may be effective in the short term, but may result in resentment rather than adherence over the long term. Encouragement and support rather than control of behavior is the key!

Group support can be one of the best reinforcers of proper eating and exercise behavior.

Group support has been found to be beneficial to many types of individuals who are attempting to change their behavior. In Concept 22, the importance of group support in reducing stress is discussed. Alcoholics have found that the support of others is critical to their rehabilitation; Alcoholics Anonymous grew as a result of this need. If you want to alter your body composition, especially to lose body fat, group support is important if you are to make permanent life-style changes in diet and exercise. Groups such as Overeaters Anonymous and Weight Watchers have been organized to help those who need the support of peers in attaining and maintaining desirable fat levels for a lifetime.

The Facts Concerning Other Strategies for Fat Control

There are some personal strategies that can be of assistance in eating and exercising to attain and maintain a desirable level of body fatness. Some of these are listed here.

1. Avoid food fantasies. Sometimes the thought of food is what causes overeating. Practice restructuring your thought process to something other than food fantasies. Use mental imagery to create a mind’s eye view of something you enjoy other than food. When food fantasies occur, you may want to exercise or engage in some activity that refocuses your attention.
2. Avoid weight fantasies. Sometimes the thought of being excessively thin or muscular occurs. By itself, this may not be bad. If, however, it causes you to become discouraged and makes your goals seem unattainable, it is bad. When weight fantasies occur, do some other activity to redirect your focus of attention or imagine something other than the weight fantasy. Altering mental fantasies takes practice.
3. Avoid negative self-talk. One type of negative self-talk occurs when a person starts self-criticism for not meeting a goal. For example, if a person is determined not to eat more than one serving of food at a party, but fails to meet this goal, he or she might say “It’s no use stopping now; I’ve already blown it.” It is not too late. Failing to meet goals can happen to anyone. Negative self-talk makes it easy to fail in the future. A more appropriate response would involve positive self-talk such as “I’m not going to eat anything else tonight. I can do it.”

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