Have you ever wondered why you can't lose weight or keep off the weight you've lost? You certainly know many people who don't struggle with eating the way you do. Are you different? You probably are, but not necessarily for the reasons you think. Consider the following questions:
- Do you sometimes eat even when you're not really hungry? In other words, can you easily tell the difference between being hungry and just wanting to eat?
- Are you sometimes concerned that you might not have an opportunity to eat? Do you ever have such thoughts as, What if I get hungry later?
- Do you sometimes eat past the point of mild fullness?
- Do you fool yourself about your eating? In other words, do you sometimes tell yourself that it "won't matter" if you eat a small piece of something you're not supposed to eat?
- Do you comfort yourself with food?
- If the scale goes up, do you sometimes abandon your diet altogether?
- Do you sometimes eat because it doesn't feel fair that you can't eat just like everyone else?
- Do you stop dieting as soon as you've lost weight?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you possess characteristics that can make dieting difficult.
characteristic 1
You Confuse Hunger with the Desire to EatNaturally thin people are more easily able to differentiate between when they’re truly hungry because their stomachs are empty and when their stomachs aren’t empty but they have a desire to eat.
Thin people say to themselves,
I know I’d like to eat [that food] ... But I just ate a little while ago ... I’m not going to have it. You, on the other hand, may label any desire to eat as hunger. You probably get the idea that you ought to eat whenever your stomach feels empty and you feel an urge to eat.
The Beck Diet SolutionTo think like a thin person, you must learn to tell the difference between hunger and the desire to eat so that you can make better decisions about when it’s appropriate to eat and when it’s not. You’ll do so by paying attention to how your stomach feels before and after meals. You’ll also do such experiments as purposefully making yourself hungry so that you learn to recognize what true hunger feels like.
characteristic 2
You Have a Low Tolerance for Hunger and CravingsMost thin people feel hungry and occasionally notice cravings, but they don’t dwell on these feelings. Generally, they don’t think that much about food
at all. They figure they’ll always be able to find something when they’re
hungry or be able to withstand the hunger if it’s not convenient to eat. Usually, they have no problem holding off until their next snack or meal.
When you’re hungry or have a craving, though, you might dwell on these feelings. You probably worry about when you’re going to have an opportunity to eat again. Maybe you even become preoccupied with thoughts of food. You’re likely to overestimate how strong your hunger and cravings will get and how long they’ll last. It’s likely you’ll try to get rid of them right away by eating. In fact, some people who struggle to lose weight experience hunger and cravings as emergencies: I must eat now!
The Beck Diet SolutionIn this program, you’ll discover for yourself that hunger and cravings are not emergencies, and you’ll learn how to tolerate them. As you’re reading this, perhaps you’re thinking,
I know I don’t have to eat when I’m hungry or having a craving ... I want to eat.
You’ve probably read about hunger strikes, so you know people can go for days without eating. If you’ve ever fasted for a religious observance or a medical procedure, you know firsthand that hunger waxes and wanes.
Excerpted from 'The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person' by Judith Beck. Copyright© 2007 by Judith Beck. Excerpted by permission of Oxmoor House, Inc., a division of Southern Progress Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
