How To Really Loose Weight...

Hello All!

I found this chunk of information in my General Psychology book. I sited the author and other information in an attempt to avoid accusations of plagerism. I, in no way, shape or form, created this list. I am simply posting, with reference, this bit to share. It's nothing massivly earth shattering, but I felt good when my college text encouraged me to do exactly what it is that we do here. Hey, if college text is supporting this, maybe there IS method to our collective madness! Enjoy!

Becca

"As we have noted, dieting is usually followed by rapid weight gain. If you really want to lose weight, you must overhaul your eating habits, an approach called behavioral dieting . Here are some helpful behavioral techniques:

1. Get yourself committed to weight loss. Involve other people in your efforts. Programs such as Overeaters Anonymous or Take Off Pounds Sensibly can be a good source of social support.

2. Exercise. No diet can succeed for long without an increase in exercise, because exercise burns calories. To lose weight, you must use more calories than you take in. Burning just 200 extra calories a day can help prevent rebound weight gains. Add activity to your routine in every way you can think of. Stop saving steps and riding elevators. Buy a step counter to track the number of steps you take every day. Walking 10,000 steps per day will burn between 2,000 and 3,500 calories a week (depending on your weight). The more frequently and vigorously you exercise, the more weight you will lose (Jeffery & Wing, 2001).

3. Learn your eating habits by observing yourself and keeping a “diet diary.”Begin by making a complete, 2 week record of when and where you eat, what you eat, and the feelings and events that occur just before and after eating. Is a roommate, relative, or spouse encouraging you to overeat? What are your most “dangerous” times and places for over-eating?

4. Learn to weaken your personal eating cues. When you have learned when and where you do most of your eating, avoid these situations. Try to restrict your eating to one room, and do not read, watch TV, study, or talk on the phone while eating. Require yourself to interrupt what you are doing in order to eat.

5. Count calories, but don’t starve yourself. To lose weight, you must eat less, and counting calories allows you to keep a record of your food intake. If you have trouble eating less every day, try dieting 4 days a week. People who diet intensely every other day lose as much as those who diet moderately every day (Viegener et al., 1990).

6. Develop techniques to control the act of eating. Whenever you can, check for nutritional information and buy groceries and meals lower in calories and fats. Also begin to take smaller portions. Carry to the table only what you plan to eat. Put all other food away before leaving the kitchen. Eat slowly, sip water between bites of food, leave food on your plate, and stop eating before you are completely full. Be especially wary of the extra-large servings at fast-food restaurants. Saying “supersize me” too often can, indeed, leave you super sized (Murray, 2001).

7. Avoid snacks. It is generally better to eat more small meals a day than fewer large ones because more calories are burned (Assanand, Pinel, & Lehman, 1998). However, high-calorie snacks tend to be eaten in addition to meals. If you have an impulse to snack, set a timer for 20 minutes and see if you are still hungry then. Delay the impulse to snack several times if possible. Dull your appetite by filling up on raw carrots, bouillon, water, coffee, or tea.

8. Chart your daily progress. Record your weight, the number of calories eaten, and whether you met your daily goal. Set realistic goals by cutting down calories gradually. Losing about a pound per week is realistic, but remember, you are changing habits, not just dieting. Diets don’t work!

9. Set a “threshold” for weight control.Maintaining weight loss can be even more challenging than losing weight. It is easier to maintain weight loss if you set a regain limit of 3 pounds or less. In other words, if you gain more than 2 or 3 pounds, you immediately begin to make corrections in your eating habits and amount of exercise (Brownell, 2003).

Be patient with this program. It takes years to develop eating habits. You can expect it to take at least several months to change them. If you are unsuccessful at losing weight with these techniques, you might find it helpful to seek the aid of a psychologist familiar with behavioral weight-loss techniques."


Dennis, C., & Mitterer, J. (2011). Introduction to Psychology, 12th ed., pp. 329. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Retrieved from Cengage Learning's eText Collection. via Cengage Learning's eText

*Note-In reference to point #9- I realize that water weight fluxuates and can make us seemingly gain 5-6lbs in the course of a day. I mean, exercise logic here, people. I believe the text is refering to pounds that are creeping up. Not letting them get too far out of hand. I, myself, have a 10lb frame to bounce between depending on water, bloating and the likes. Take it for what it is, folks!