Lifestyle Choices

Behavioral psychologists begin with the notion that eating behavior is learned and maintained as a result of interaction between you and your environment. And their definition of environment includes everything around you—people, events, things you see and respond to. These psychologists are not very interested in deep-seated motives for compulsive eating and they acknowledge that there is nothing you can do to change your genetic inheritance. But what you can do, they say, is to get to grips with overweight by looking at it as a voluntary disorder brought about by habit and environmental stimuli (remember how the habit of eating at certain times or the sight of food triggers hunger in overweight people). Change your environment, they say, and you will alter your habits and your eating patterns so you lose weight and keep it off. (more…)

Lean is supposed to be beautiful. As a result, some women spend most of their adult lives trying to get thin and stay that way. For, in our society, thinness has become a symbol of loveliness, success, self-control, and social acceptability—and being overweight the twentieth-century bete noire of womanhood. You know the kind of thing: “Lose that nasty twenty-five pounds with our super new slenderizing regimen and it will transform your life into a wonderful world of bliss.” Well, don’t believe it. (more…)

Foods (and drinks) that are ‘out’

Avoid sugar in its many disguises and foods that contain fast-releasing carbohydrates with a high-GL score.

Avoid bad fats, which occur in foods high in saturated, hydrogenated, processed fats or damaged fats, such as sausages, fried food and junk food.

Stop eating any foods you’re allergic to, and find alternatives. Avoid alcohol during the first two weeks to a month on your diet, as its effect on the blood is similar to sugar.

Limit or avoid caffeinated drinks. Ideally, avoid coffee altogether and have no more than two cups of weak tea a day. Caffeinated fizzy drinks are very bad news as they play havoc with your blood sugar levels and will leave you craving more. (more…)

Alternative Approaches and L.T.E.P.

All the alternative approaches can be used for long-term psychotherapy. The form the therapy takes is very variable. A fairly average example would be one session a week for three years, possibly combined with attending a group for group psychotherapy for one evening,every two weeks.

Advantages

A therapist who uses some of the alternative techniques may provide the following:

• A far faster process costing less time and money.
• A more effective route to self-expression.
• The possibility of exploring body, feeling and spirit as well as the intellect.
• An emphasis on being more vital rather than understanding why you are not.

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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. (more…)