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12/01/2004 Do you gain "6 pounds during the holidays" as most Americans do? Get a jump-start on weight control with this first in a series about controlling eating habits. Then you can ignore the diet hype that hits every January. It takes an average of three years to accomplish a New Year’s Resolution. That helps to explain why weight reduction is so VERY HARD?
To lose weight, a lifestyle pattern needs to be changed FOREVER. It is extremely hard to change behavior. A formed behavior fills a need in an individual’s life, such as a stress-reliever, a comfort, or just plain fun. Food can function as all three.
Food is almost always “there.” Taste, smell, mouth feel – all give immediate pleasure. To some, eating gives their hands something to do in stressful situations. Food can help us relive wonderful memories. Hot buttered popcorn might momentarily carry you back to happy family times. Steaming cocoa on a cold winter day reminds us of the love and care of our Mother. In time of extreme emotional trauma, food is offered as a comfort. In summary – food is a way to REWARD OURSELVES.
Celebration is connected with food. Consider birthday cake, wedding cake, Christmas cookies, Valentine’s candy, Halloween treats, New Year’s Eve punch, Thanksgiving dinner, – and the list goes on. Current media surrounds us with constant suggestions that we eat and/or drink. Food is everywhere available via the ever-present vending machine. No wonder reducing the amounts of what we eat and changing the type of food we eat is so very difficult.
Certain foods are usually connected with reward and certain foods are often coupled with “dieting.” Raw carrots and celery have the “dieting stigma.” Sweets are often used as reward. Have you ever heard a Mother say to her child, “If you will eat all that chocolate ice cream, THEN I will give you some spinach.” Of course not.
What is your attitude toward food? I encourage you to stop and genuinely consider why you eat. Why do you reach for a second helping or an extra nibble of dessert? Why do you think you want a fatty snack, or what ever might be your current eating behavior? These almost mindless habits can maintain your weight above what it should be. Be honest with yourself. When your hand reaches out for food when you really don’t NEED it, determine why you momentarily thought you needed it. That might be your first step toward success.
Your first step toward success might be to consider why you do not get enough physical activity to burn off the calories you eat. Most of us who have less than 25 pounds to lose, need to exert more energy. Physical activity has many rewards, but I will only address burning calories.
Calories only come from; fat at 9 calories per gram, protein at 4 calories per gram, carbohydrate at 4 calories per gram, and alcohol as 7 calories per gram. Controlling weight is as simple as;
CALORIES IN VERSES CALORIES OUT.
There is no magical pill or potion, food combination or dieting technique that will destroy a calorie. Once a calorie is absorbed it is either burned as energy or stored as fat. Reducing calories below about 1500 calories per day for the average adult customarily results in a diet deficient in some vital component. Starvation diets work, but at a great cost to the body.
Each pound of fat (adipose tissue) is equal to 3500 calories. It takes 3500 calories to make one pound of fat. If you only reduce your daily intake by 500 calories, you will lose one pound of fat in seven days. Or, if you choose, you can burn off an extra 500 calories per day in exercise. Regular exercise, over a period of time, actually reduces appetite. Whereas a reduction in physical activity over time, increases appetite.
Burning off calories appears futile to many people. It appears futile only when time, not health benefits are considered.
About 13 potato chips = 100 calories
Walk, moderately, 1 mile = 100 calories
Increase activity by 100 calories/day = one pound in 5 weeks
Or
In addition to activity, decrease intake by 100 calories/day and lose about 2 pounds a month.
“But, I want to lose weight a lot faster than that!” you say? How long did it take you to put on those extra pounds? Did you really gain 2 pounds a week? I don’t think so.
Before you start exercising more, consider these tips.
• Check with your family physician pertaining to the best type of physical activity for you personally
• Do not choose an activity which will be distasteful to you – if you hate doing it, you will likely not do it
• Choose an exercise which can be done almost any time and any place –this will prevent finding reasons to skip it
• Schedule in advance time in your day for exercise rather than waiting until it is convenient – make this a point in your prayers
• Don’t over do it in the beginning. Quit when it hurts – the longer you do it, the more you can do without pain
• Find a partner to exercise with you – even taking a dog for a regular walk add incentive
• If you miss a day or two, adapt your attitude – feelings of guilt and defeat are very poor motivators
• Pat yourself on the back for what you are doing, find someone to brag to, put stars on a chart for each successful day – or what ever makes you have a feeling of accomplishment
• Do NOT compare yourself with others as it usually will be exceedingly discouraging
Start today. Do not wait until “just as soon as the holidays are over,” or “as soon as I can afford to join a spa,” or “when I can afford special shoes” etc. Don’t even wait for first thing Monday morning. Most SUCCESSFUL behavior change starts when and where you make the decision.
Increasing your physical activity should not cost money. Check the “For Sale” section of your local newspaper and note the multitude of expensive exercise equipment for sale – “Like new.” These are testaments to the many individuals who depended on some THING for motivation.
It won’t be easy. Most worthwhile things in this life are not easy. God will give you the strength of purpose if you ask Him. I know.
Next article will be tips to maintain current weight during the holidays.
Written by: Rose Stoia EdD, RD
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