At
some point in their lives, people who are
overweight learned some eating behaviors that
caused weight gain. For some, it was in
childhood, when they were told to finish their
plate (regardless of how full they were), or
were punished or rewarded by food. For others,
food became a way of dealing with stress, of
avoiding or putting off difficult tasks or
dealing with difficult people, or a way of
comforting themselves in good and bad times.
If
you accept that your habits or behaviors have
contributed to weight gain, then it makes sense
to use an approach that goes beyond just
reducing calories to lose weight. To make
permanent changes in your body weight, you must
change the behaviors that caused the problem in
the first place. Behavior modification is an
approach that has been used very successfully to
change life habits like smoking, overeating,
stress management, and exercise. Over the past
35 years, much has been learned about how to
apply behavior modification more successfully
and it is now accepted as a very important part
of a good weight control program.
The
Basics of Changing Behaviors
Eating is a behavior, not a part of your
personality. Many of you have identified
yourselves as “emotional eaters”. Instead, think
of eating as something you do, not something
that you are.
-
You have learned to eat a certain way - you
can “unlearn” those ways.
-
If you can observe and identify a behavior
in yourself, you can change it.
The
ABC’s
When you break down a behavior like overeating,
behavior modification recognizes three parts: A
= antecedent or the action, B = behavior of
eating, and C = consequences. For example, the
action of being in a certain place (the
kitchen), or having certain feelings (boredom,
anger, stress) cause B (eating). The C or
consequence of A and B can be weight gain. For
this week, I want to address the “A” and “B”
parts of eating behaviors. The “C” part will be
covered in the
next Weekly Focus message (Reward Yourself).
Learning new ABC’s
Discovering you’re A’s (what causes overeating
for you?) is a matter of observing your own
behavior and writing it down. Instead of just
writing down what you ate, you keep a record of
events - time, place, people, and feelings in a
journal or your day timer. Look at the patterns
- are there people, places, or feelings that
really lead you to overeat? Overeating is not a
character flaw or simply the lack of will power
- it is the result of circumstances and your
reaction to them. If you can identify your most
critical circumstances by taking the time to
make these observations of yourself, you are in
the first stages of changing your overeating
behavior.
If
you are telling yourself “its too much trouble”
or “I don’t have time for that”, than you need
to assess your commitment to your weight goal.
This is an important discovery process and can’t
be ignored. Many of you already know what these
circumstances are for you - you just need to
develop a plan for changing your reaction to
them!
There are several types of antecedents or
triggers:
-
Sensory: these are things you see, smell, or
taste that cause you to want to eat.
Situations like having snacks in a bowl in
the room, hearing someone talk about good
tasting food, seeing a commercial about ice
cream, or taking the first bite of a food
you really like are very strong cues to eat
more, regardless of hunger.
-
Physiologic: these are feelings your body
produces when it needs or expects food.
Headaches, stomach growling, fatigue,
tension, feeling tired, salivating. These
feelings of hunger can be triggered when
real hunger may not be present.
Triggers(cont):
-
Social: others eating food, entertaining,
and other social events that involve food
are situations involving others that can
cause some people to overeat.
-
Emotional: many negative feelings are strong
cues to overeat. Depression, frustration,
anger, boredom, loneliness, guilt,
rebellion, and feelings of deprivation are
some common feelings that lead to
overeating.
Once
you have identified some of your “A”s
(actions/antecedents to overeating) you can make
a plan to change your reaction to them. Below is
a list of common situations or “triggers” that
lead to overeating with some new choices to
replace overeating.
A =
Action/Antecedent
Coming home after work, tired, hungry, need to
relax!
B =
New Behavior
Do
not let yourself be so hungry at the end of the
day that you make bad eating decisions. Instead,
pack an extra piece of fruit, some lowfat yogurt
or other snack and eat it before you get home.
When you walk through the door, you will not be
as hungry, and you will be in a better position
to find another way to relax before dinner
instead of overeating.
A =
Action/Antecedent
Sitting in front of the computer or t.v., time
to grab a snack!
B=
New Behavior
Separate your eating from any other activities.
Eat at your dinner table only. Get some bottled
water or other calorie free beverage and have
that when you are watching TV. or working at
your desk.
A =
Action/Antecedent
Mood
- something has made you frustrated, sad or
lonely - time to grab some “comfort” food”!
B =
New Behavior
Talk
it out with a trusted friend or relative if that
is possible at the time. If not, write it out!
Keep a journal handy and take the time to write
down your feelings, it will give you time to
sort things out instead of eating. Getting a
variety of support from others is important -
sometimes it’s hard to do things by yourself.
That is one reason we have a “diet pals” area in
our member’s section. Sometimes just having
someone to write to can give you a new
perspective and some much needed understanding.
A=
Action/Antecedent
Mood
- you’re angry and feeling resentful - time to
eat something to calm you down!
B =
New Behavior
Sometimes when you are angry you aren’t able to
express it to others (like when you’re angry
with your boss). Eating seems like a harmless
alternative, but it is destructive when it
causes you to feel bad and gain weight. One of
the best ways to “burn off steam” is to actually
burn off calories by taking a walk, hitting a
tennis ball against a wall, swimming, bicycling,
going to the gym. By exercising, you are
actually changing your body’s chemistry and it
gives you a chance to get rid of the negative
energy created by feelings of anger or
resentment.
The
focus on changing your reactions to situations,
feelings, and people is a very important part of
your success in the long term. Identify your
triggers and practice these new behaviors - your
efforts will be worth it!
