Chapter 3
Break 5 Habits
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Changing any habit can be challenging. Changing
a habit that has been going on for many years, that
involves our emotional, social and psychological
lives, is difficult. But change is possible. Here are
5 habits to break that can make a difference
in your weight.
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Matthew
Clark, Ph.D.
Psychology
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By using the right strategies for you, you
can succeed in breaking the five unhealthy habits detailed in
this chapter. Try these ideas:
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Have confidence in yourself. If we believe
in ourselves, we can succeed.
Anticipate urges and plan strategies for managing
urges. If every day at work, for the past 10
years, when I’m under stress I’ve walked to
the break room and had a candy bar, I shouldn’t
expect my desire for candy bars to just disappear.
Having an urge is OK. Giving in to the urge is
the problem.
When you get an urge:
1.
Tell yourself the urge will last for at most 20 minutes — just manage the next
few minutes.
2.
Do something. Mentally distract yourself (call a friend, read a book), use positive
self-talk
(remind yourself of your goals), or physically do something (clean your
house, take a
walk).
Focus on what you’re adding to your life. Many
people losing weight have told me it often seems
that they’re avoiding doing things, like not
eating ice cream. Sometimes, it can be more
successful to focus on what I need to do, rather
than what I’m trying not to do.
Use social support. Being around positive people
that we care about can help us make changes.
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Changing habits is challenging, but with
confidence and the right strategies, you can succeed.
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What:
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Don’t watch TV while eating
(or, flipping it around, no eating while watching TV). Same applies for any “screen
time,” such as
computer use. And, spend
only as much time watching TV as you do exercising.
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Why:
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Studies show that watching
TV contributes to increased weight — you aren’t moving, and there’s also a good
chance that
you’re sipping or nibbling
on something. If you establish the rule of no TV or “screen time” while eating,
and only as much
time watching TV as time
you spend exercising, you’re breaking one bad habit (mindless nibbling) while
developing a good
one (being more active).
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How:
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Put a sticky note on the
TV and the remote control to remind yourself that you need to exercise before
watching TV or
while watching TV.
Put a sticky note on your
computer to remind yourself not to eat while using the computer.
Build up TV time by exercising
before you turn on the set. Don’t use TV minutes before you’ve earned them.
Turn the TV off while eating
— you may be more likely to overeat if you get lost in a TV show and don’t pay
attention to
how much you’re eating.
Exercise while watching
TV. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.
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Some ideas include:
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› Walking “laps” around the living room
› Walking on a treadmill
› Using a stationary bike
› Marching in place
› Doing calisthenics
› Lifting weights
› Using exercise bands
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If you’re watching a longer
program, exercise during the program and take recovery breaks during the ads,
or vice
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versa if you’re very new to exercise.
If you’re pinched for time,
record programs and skip through the commercials when you watch later on. This
can
reduce watching time by
about one-third.
Record your TV time as you
do exercise time, using The Mayo Clinic Diet Journal.
The two times
should match.
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Use a weekly TV programming
guide to schedule exercise at the times when your favorite shows are on. There’s
no
reason to exclude enjoyment
while you control the amount of time you watch. Stick to your schedule once it’s
set.
Skip the TV altogether and
go outside for a walk, bike ride or run, or to do vigorous yardwork.
Look for alternatives that
help you break the habit of watching TV as you do other things. You’re more likely
to move
more if you listen to the
radio or to books on tape. Put on some music and move!
“Out of sight, out of mind,”
may be the best way to reduce the temptation of turning on the TV. Move your set
so that
it’s not a focal point of
the room.
Watch TV at only one place
in the house. Disconnect or remove all other TVs. In particular, TV sets located
in
bedrooms and kitchens can
lure you into motionless watching.
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Use positive self-talk — “I can do this!”
instead of “I can’t do this.” Talk yourself up, not down.
Focus on positives, not negatives.
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What:
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If you want something sweet, eat fresh fruit.
Otherwise, no sugar from common sources — candy,
table sugar, brown sugar, honey, jam, jelly,
desserts, sweets, and foods that contain more than a tiny
amount of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup
(such as soda and some coffee drinks).
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Why:
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Sugar has calories but no nutritional value.
Sugar intake has increased tremendously in the United
States over the past few decades and has
contributed to the increase in obesity.
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How:
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Before you start the program, rid your home of
sweets and sodas, stock up on fresh fruit, and replenish it regularly.
Keep fresh or unsweetened
frozen or canned fruit available at home and at the office so that you’ve got
healthy snacks
available.
Instead of sugar, put fresh
fruit on your morning cereal, toast, pancakes or plain yogurt.
Avoid cereals that contain
sugar. Instead, try whole-grain cereals such as oatmeal, and use fruit and spices
to
enhance flavor.
Experiment with spices —
try cinnamon in unsweetened applesauce as a spread on pancakes or toast. Other
spices
that may add sweetness include
allspice, cardamom, cloves, ginger and nutmeg.
Read labels to look for
sugar in products. If corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose,
turbinado
sugar, molasses or high-fructose
corn syrup is listed among the first few ingredients on a label, the product likely
has
a high sugar content and
should be avoided.
Make your own fruit popsicles
by blending one or more fruits with a little juice and freezing the mixture.
Alcohol is counted as a
sugar, and no alcohol is allowed in Lose It!
Substitute fruit juice mixed
with sparkling water for soda. Or make a fruit smoothie in the blender, mixing
fat-free vanilla
frozen yogurt and fat-free
milk with fruit or frozen juice concentrate.
Be creative and test your
culinary skills. For dessert, prepare baked apples or grilled pineapple.
Try new tastes that challenge
and motivate you — and help divert your attention from more familiar, sugar-laden
food.
Serve fruits such as kumquat,
lychee, mango, papaya, pomegranate, star fruit or Ugli fruit, which can be obtained
at
many grocery stores or specialty
food stores.
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To be successful, it helps to believe that
you can lose weight and to visualize yourself accomplishing
your goal. Believe it, see it, do it!
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≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
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NEED TO SOOTH YOUR SWEET TOOTH?
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Why not just stock up
on foods containing low-calorie artificial sweeteners? Sounds like a perfect solution,
adding the
sweetness of sugar without
all the calories or carbohydrates. Not so fast! Many ready-to-eat foods using
low- calorie
sweeteners — such as diet
sodas, candies and cookies — have little nutritional value and should be avoided.
In addition,
new studies have raised
concerns that consuming foods containing low-calorie sweeteners may actually lead
to increased
calorie intake and weight
gain (if you don’t feel inhibited by the sugar, you may eat more than you would
otherwise). Low-
calorie sweeteners can
be part of a healthy-eating plan — if they’re used with care and in moderation.
But in the two-week
Lose It! phase, avoid sugar substitutes.
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≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
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What:
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If you want to snack between meals, make
it only vegetables or fruits and nothing else.
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Why:
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Common snacks typically have a lot of calories
and little nutritional value for their volume.
Vegetables and fruits are just the opposite
— they can fill you up without contributing many calories
to your daily total, and they’re packed with
healthy nutrients. Snacking can be a double-edged sword
— snacking on vegetables and fruits a couple
of times a day can actually help you manage your
weight, while snacking on some conventional
commercial snacks can pack on pounds.
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How:
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Before you start the program,
remove from your home all conventional snacks, including cookies, chips, candy
and
ice cream. Don’t tuck them
away in the back of a cupboard or freezer. Don’t think you can resist the temptation
of
opening the package. Get
rid of them! If it’s in your house, it’s in your mouth.
Stock your home with plenty
of ready-to-eat vegetables and fruits. Don’t expect to get by just on baby carrots
— they
should be one of many different
options you can choose from.
Keep vegetables and fruits
available at the office so they’re handy for snacks.
Try a variety of vegetables
and fruits so you don’t get bored with one kind. For example, for fruit, instead
of the familiar
apples and oranges, try
kiwi, mango, Bing cherries and apricots.
Experiment with sprinkling
different spices and herbs on vegetables and fruits to create new flavors.
Establish a pattern of healthy
eating every day. Space meals at intervals that are not too long. Allowing too
much time
to pass between meals can
create a ravenous hunger that drives you to mindless snacking.
Have some shelf-stable fruits
and vegetables at home, for example, unsweetened canned or frozen fruit, frozen
vegetables or low-sodium
vegetable juice.
If you’re not in the habit
of reaching for vegetables and fruits first, make an effort to choose them anytime
during the
day, both as a snack and
at the beginning of meals.
Identify situations that
lead you to snacking, and then try to avoid them or find alternate activities.
If you habitually snack
during work breaks, try
going for a walk instead. If you can’t resist a candy bar whenever you walk past
the drugstore,
find a different route.
If emotions such as anger or sadness give you ice-cream cravings, call or talk
to a friend who
can listen and help relieve
your urge to snack.
Distraction is one of the
best ways to get you past a snack craving. Prepare a list of enjoyable activities
that you have
at the ready for when a
craving starts. Some form of exercise is an easy method of diverting your attention,
but you
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