slrm2m2
How to keep the weight off for life...cognitive tools
Dec 26, 2012
Inspired by the Beck Diet Solution, I've made up some wallet size cards with the following on them:
My Reasons to Keep the Weight Off…
1. Less arthritis pain/increased mobility, very important
2. Eliminated health conditions, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, very important
3. General feelings of increased self confidence, very important
4. No social stigma, very important
5. I can do more activities, live a bigger life, very important
6. Maintaining a healthy weight is my insurance policy for continued good health, very important
7. I can wear any fashions/clothing that I desire, important
8. I am role modeling a healthy lifestyle, goal accomplishment and maintaining success to my son, very important
9. I can feel proud of myself, very important
10. I have increased peace of mind, better emotional health, very important
Daily Action Plan…
Read my “reasons for keeping the weight off” card morning and evening.
Recognize positive things I did each day re: eating.
Eliminate trigger foods from my home/work environments
Make and keep an exercise plan.
Practice helpful thinking
Practice Craving Tolerance…
‘I’m feeling a craving but that’s ok. I can tolerate it and it will go away.”
Practice Hunger Tolerance….
“It’s no big deal. I wish I could eat now, but its ok. I’ll wait and eat at my next planned meal.”
Ask myself, “Is it true hunger? A desire to eat (head hunger)?, a craving (triggered by something)?
Getting Back on Track….
“I will get right back on my food plan if I make an eating mistake.”
“It’s not the end of the world. I can start following my food plan again right now at this very minute.”
“ I will eat my planned meals at my planned times and not make in the moment choices about what I eat.”
I will review my eating day each night, identify any problems that arose and figure out what I will do to prevent it in the future.
Motivating self talk…
“I can do what I need to do. I will focus on what I can do today. If it’s hard tomorrow, I’ll deal with that then.”
“Staying on plan may not feel fair, but I have 2 choices. I can feel sorry for myself or go ahead and do what I need to do to maintain my success.”
“Staying on plan is reality. It is what I have to do to reach and maintain my goals”
“I can live with the discomforts of dieting as a necessary means to maintain my success.”
How to respond to sabotaging thoughts….
1. What’s my thinking error?
2. Where’s the evidence?
3. Is there an alternative explaination or way of viewing the problem?
4. What is the most realistic outcome of this situation?
5. What is the effect/impact of believing or challenging/changing this thought?
6. What advice would I give a friend in this situation?
7. What should I do now?
Daily Positive Self Talk….
Staying thin will be life long work, but I will succeed at it.
Eating small portions, planning and tracking my meals, eating protein first and eating lower calorie foods is my way of life and the primary tools I use to stay thin.
I can eat to just a reasonably full feeling.
I’m so glad that I didn’t overeat.
I am learning to respond to sabotaging thoughts and these skills will let me keep off my excess weight permanently.
Positive Self Talk to read each day….
I can use distraction and relaxation techniques to calm down.
I can solve the problems associated with my negative feelings
I have confidence that the scale will go back down if I gain a few pounds.
I can learn from my eating mistakes and recommit to my eating plan immediately.
Hunger and cravings are not emergencies and I can tolerate them until my next planned meal.
During a trigger or craving…
Leave the area with the tempting food
Remind myself, “I have a planned, healthy meal coming up soon”.
“I don’t need to eat this food now, I need to relax and self soothe to tolerate the triggering feelings, which will pass, or I need to distract myself from the distressing feelings”.
“That’s great. I didn’t eat that food!”
