Site Search

The Key To Weight Loss Success – Change Your Eating Behavior

By Jason Morgan

Do you yo-yo between following a nutritional plan and weight loss (being “good”) and falling off the plan and regaining weight (being “bad”)? It’s a frustrating but common cycle. In order to break this self-defeating cycle and make lasting lifestyle changes, behavior modification strategies--rather than diets—are the key.

Enlisting the aid of qualified professionals (e.g., a registered dietitian, a physician, a personal trainer and/or a psychologist) will make it easier to interrupt old behavior patterns. You can also use the following tips to help you:

  1. Stop Dieting. How can you lose weight if you don’t diet? Creating a deficit of about 500 calories a day for one week should result in a 1-pound weight loss. Most people can create a large part of this 500-calorie-a-day deficit just by exercising and making moderate changes in food intake. Strict dieting can have very negative consequences.

  2. Be Aware of Physical Hunger Signals. Internal hunger cues--such as a rumbling stomach, a slight headache, fatigue, irritability and decreased concentration--are meant to remind you to eat to maintain your energy requirements and your natural set point weight. Becoming more aware of physical signals of hunger and satiety can help you regulate your food intake.

  3. Rating of Perceived Hunger (RPH) Scale. Using this scale can make you more aware of your internal hunger and satiety cues. Think of 0 as indicating extreme hunger and 10 as signaling extreme fullness. With the scale in mind, begin to read your body’s signals. Your target range should be between 3 and 8. If you go to 0, you may eat too much too fast, particularly since it takes your brain 15 to 20 minutes to sense that your body is full. You should begin to eat at 3 on the RPH scale and stop at 7 or 8, when you’re comfortably full and satisfied.

  4. Distinguish Between Emotional and Physical Hunger. Physical hunger is a physiological process that occurs every three to four hours. Emotional hunger involves eating when you’re sad, happy, anxious or bored. Understanding when you are trying to satisfy emotional needs with food can help you find more appropriate ways to meet those needs.

  5. Mix It Up. There are no good or bad foods (some are much better than others)--all foods are okay when eaten in moderation. Forbidding certain foods may simply make you want them all the more. If portion control is a problem with particular foods, try to measure out one serving of these types of foods and put them back in the pantry.

  6. Do Not Skip Meals. Eating frequently throughout the day (about every 3 hours) will stimulate your metabolism. Skipping meals (including breakfast) can decrease your metabolism. Remember…You create your metabolism. You are not a victim of it!

  7. Don’t Believe the Hype. A safe weight loss is 1 or 2 pounds a week, not 20. Be wary of most supplements and products claiming quick weight loss. Product testimonials may or may not be true; spokespersons may or may not have any credentials. Remember, a healthy body comes from exercise and proper nutrition.

  8. Be Supportive, Not Critical. People lose weight at different rates. Weight may drop off quickly at first and then plateau, or vice versa. The important thing is that long-term behavior gets results. Reassure yourself that you are working hard and remember that hard work pays off.

  9. What’s On Your Mind? Do you find yourself thinking “I will never lose weight” or “I feel fat”? Watch for thoughts that are negative or irrational, rather than supportive of your goals. Understand that “fat” is not a feeling. You are in control of your emotions.

  10. Reward Behavior Changes Not Changes On the Scale. You are probably used to rewarding yourself and being rewarded by others for losing pounds, rather than for altering your behavior. Create a system of rewards for the positive changes you make, such as completing all your scheduled workouts for the month or eating all of your meals on time during the week, rather than the numbers you see on the scale.

About the Author:

Jason Morgan is an ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer and owner of Muscleworx Personal Fitness Systems located in Carolina Beach, NC. He is a featured writer for Snows Cut Monthly and various fitness publications and web sites. His website is http://www.muscleworx.com