How to Keep Your Willpower and Lose Your Weight

Presented by: Dr. Caren Baruch-FeldmanWebsite - www. drbaruchfeldman.com

Email - drcarenfeldman@msn.com

Scarsdale Library March 1, 2013

A Little Bit About Me

Before After

Agenda for Today1. Quick Review of Workshop #1. 2. Review key points from Dr. Beck’s

“Diet Solution Book”.3. Apply these key points to your

own life.

Quick Review: Four Books

Workshop #1: The Science of Bad Habits And Willpower: Make New Year’s Resolutions that You Will Keep

Today’s Workshop: How to Keep Your Willpower and Lose Your Weight

Review of Workshop #1

• Willpower is a limited resource.• Glucose hijacks the brain. • Make it a habit.• Prevent, prevent, and then if you can’t prevent, • avoid and then avoid.• Develop beliefs that will inspire you, focusing on the

long term consequences as opposed to the immediate rewards.

What Does Dr. Judith Beck Have to Say?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgF0mShiouY

Key Points from the “Beck Diet Solution”

• Brain before stomach.• Be proactive (write it down, make response cards)• Be mindful (sit while eating)• Pick a weight loss program. • Sit with feeling uncomfortable (mini-fast, meditation,

being able to say, “oh well”). • Recognize sabotaging thoughts and answering back

with helpful responses. • Give yourself credit. Be accepting.

Be Proactive

• Write down everything you are planning on eating.

• Avoid triggers.• Make response cards so you are prepared for

any challenge. • Identify and pick a distraction activity.

1st Response Card: Advantage Card

• A response card is a tool that helps you change your mindset and overcome sabotaging thoughts.

• Read the card everyday and when you are struggling with a craving, temptation, or sabotaging thought.

• By reading everyday you make this into a habit.

• Make your own Advantage Card.

• My Advantage Card

• I’ll look better.• I’ll be able to wear a smaller size.• I’ll be in better health. • I’ll feel better physically. • I’ll feel more in control.

Be mindful

• Be mindful in the way you approach eating.

• Builds resistance muscles and weakens the giving in muscles.

• Sitting while eating.• Eating slowly.• Noticing every bite.• No distractions.

• I need to sit down to eat. When I stand up, I eat too much without realizing it. I might not want to give up this behavior, but I’ll enjoy being thinner more.

• Just this one time is not ok. Each time I stand up, I build my giving in muscle. If I want to lose or maintain weight can’t do this.

Sabotaging Thoughts: Eating While Standing Up

Sabotaging Thoughts Helpful Responses

• I enjoy spontaneous munching. I don’t want to stop while standing up.

• It’s ok if I stand up this one time. It’s just an apple. I’ll eat next time sitting down.

No Pain, No Gain

• Sit with feeling uncomfortable (hunger is not an emergency)

• Mini-fast • Is it worse than root canal? • Is it a craving or hunger?

Helpful Responses to Common Sabotaging Thoughts.

• Hunger is not an emergency. • Stand firm. NO Choice. • Remind yourself of the whole story, not just

the beginning. Remember the whole picture.• Don’t delude yourself. “It’s Not Ok” Response

Card. • Stay away from “what the heck phenomena”.

“Get Back on Track” Response Card.

It’s Not Ok and Get Back on Track Response Cards

It’s Not Ok Response Card

• It’s not ok to go in the kitchen after 9pm. It’s not ok to eat crumbs. Every time I do so I wind up eating more or something that I am not supposed to. I also feel bad afterwards. Even though it does taste good for a few minutes, it is not worth it.

Get Back on Track Response Card

• Okay I shouldn’t have eaten that… I made a mistake… This one mistake is certainly not going to make me gain weight this week. It’s a million times better to stop now than to allow myself to eat more. I deserve credit for stopping.

Give Yourself Credit.

• Give yourself credit for engaging in helpful eating behaviors.

• Write down CREDIT and remind yourself to give yourself credit.

Be Accepting:“Oh Well”

• Saying, “oh well” means I don’t like it this, but I’ll accept this and move on.

• True acceptance allows us to relinquish the struggle and allows us to have the energy to focus on what we can control rather than on what we can’t control.

• I really feel hungry. Oh well.

• I don’t feel like writing down what I ate. Oh well.

• This is too hard and not fair. Oh well.

• I wish I could eat what I wanted all the time. Oh well.

What’s Your Sabotaging Thoughts? What’s Your Responses?

Common Sabotaging Thoughts

• It’s ok to eat this just one time.

• Since I cheated a little I might as well eat whatever I want.

• I’m upset, I should be allowed to eat.

• I can’t stand being hungry.

Helpful Responses• No it’s not ok to eat something I

didn’t plan for. Each time I do, I strengthen my giving-in muscle instead of my resistance ones. If I want to be thin, then I can’t eat when I’m upset.

• I get only a few seconds of pleasure for eating unplanned food, but then I feel bad afterwards. I want to lose weight more than the few seconds of pleasure.

• Nothing tastes as good as seeing the boy who dumped you in high school at your 20 year reunion and he says, “You look really good”.

What I Did Personally to Lose 25 Pounds and Keep It Off

• Make It a Habit.• Keep My Sugar Level Stable.• Avoid My Triggers. • Write It Down.• Make It Public.• Change My Beliefs to Be a Long Term Hedonist by

Remembering the Advantages of Being Thin, Continually Fighting my Sabotaging Thoughts, and When I Fail Forgiving Myself and Going Right Back on Track (and on the scale).

Last Thoughts• The discussion was based on Judith Beck’s The Beck Diet

Solution Book.• Visit the website: www.beckdietsolutions.com• Come back on April 12th at 12 pm for the 3rd and final

workshop-Putting It All Together: Practical Strategies for Making and Keeping the Habits We Desire .

• Can you make a commitment to read everyday the response cards we created: the advantage card, it’s not ok, get back on track cards.

• Make it a habit!!! Not enough to just think about these matters. Need to do it so eventually will become a habit and muscle memory will be formed.

• Feedback for me.