~ For the main blog, stay right here!
~ For the Austin Blog and the Recipe blog, click on "Profile" (in the bar above) and then click on the blog you want from the list on the left-hand side of the page.
~ For the main blog, stay right here!
~ For the Austin Blog and the Recipe blog, click on "Profile" (in the bar above) and then click on the blog you want from the list on the left-hand side of the page.
Posted at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Had a good meeting of the weekly follow-up group this past Tuesday.
One of the issues that keeps cropping up is the difficulty in setting the next goal once a person has achieved a significant amount of weight loss. For the first month or two, the goal is the weight loss itself. Since the weight comes off fairly steadily, there is a "reward" every few days. It is easy to keep working at it.
Once a person has lost 10, or 30, or 50 pounds (depending on the person), the weight loss slows down or stabilizes. What should the next goal be? To say that "I will lose 4 pounds in the next 4 weeks" does not always do the job. The time frame is long, and there is not enough change in the daily weight to keep up the morale. It is too easy to freestyle (cheat!) for a day or two or three, thinking that one will make up for the freestyling in the next few days and still reach the goal. The problem is, unplanned freestyling for two or three days in a row just brings back the Type 2 hunger, and then it is is easy to slide.
At the meeting on Tuesday, we talked about setting a repetative short-term goal instead of a long-term goal. The short-term goal is simple- I will eat sensibly until my next freestyling day. That's it.
This is an achievable, simple goal. It uses the "happiness trumps pleasure" principle. It provides a positive feedback every few days. The weight loss is no longer the goal! I have tried it over the past few days, and it has made my eating decisions very simple.
I think we are on to something.
Posted at 06:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
In our program, we recommend gentle exercise a few times a week. The exercise should be vigorous enough to increase the rate of breathing, but not so vigorous that one cannot carry on a normal conversation. A brisk walk is great!
We recommend exercise because it improves heart health and general all-around fitness, but NOT as a weight loss strategy. In our experience, too much exercise can actually prevent weight loss by increasing hunger.
A few months ago, TIME magazine published an excellent article on the subject. I am including the link below. Take a few minutes to read it. Conventional wisdom is not always right!
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857-1,00.html
Posted at 03:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Posted at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
I thought I would start with some feedback that I got yesterday.
"I very much enjoyed your talk last night and more
importantly actually learned something about weight management for the
first time in a long while. I have been working in research for
almost 20 years. I have "googled" just about every diet and program
there is and tried most of them. It was exciting to learn something..."
Good to know that one is connecting with people.
Posted at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)