Why Dieting is Keeping America FatWritten by Virginia Bola, PsyD
There are literally hundreds of diets available to suit everyone's taste: Atkins, Zone, South Beach, low carb, low fat, liquid mixes, vegetarian, all protein. Millions of us are on these different diets. So why are we still fat?The key is our relationship with food. There is just so much of it available: fast food outlets clog our streets, television commercials and 24 hour cooking channels whet our appetites, super chefs tempt us to labor long hours in kitchen to create our own culinary masterpieces. The different diets all have one enormous component in common -they continue this infatuation with food. What can I eat? How many carbs? How many calories? What is allowed? How can it be made to taste as good as possible? Our behaviors continue, even self-destructive kind, because we receive some pleasant reward known in psychology as reinforcement. We continue to overeat because of emotional satisfaction of devouring good tasting food. We will never slim down until we find satisfaction in something other than food. Young lovers forget to eat because they are consumed with other passions. Gamblers neglect meals because psychological thrill is in their games. Alcoholics and drug addicts almost never eat because their primary relationship is with their drug of choice. Corporate ladder climbers and entrepreneurs are slim because they are emotionally invested in their careers and their business and nothing else matters.
| | Why Friends Sabotage Your DietsWritten by Kathryn Martyn, M.NLP
Dealing with Food Pushers, or How to Say No When You Don't AnyA friend's doctor said he should lose 10 pounds and so he is trying to break his sugar habit. He generally eats well during day but his downfall is cookies while watching TV. At an office luncheon when dessert was being served, he said, "No thanks, I don't want any." A well meaning co-worker then foisted dessert on him, shoving it in front of him and saying, "You're doctor is wrong, have some," leaving him staring at dessert then back to us with a sorrowful look on his face. Your Friend Is Trying to Make You Happy His co-worker probably was not out to sabotage him, but more likely was remembering last time she said no when she really wanted to say yes. She wished someone would have made decision for her, albeit against her wishes, and then she could have eaten dessert because it wouldn't be polite to refuse (or some other excuse), so now she's doing him favor. She is wrong, but that's way people generally are. We all understand pain of deprivation and want to make it better for each other. Devise a Plan for Dealing with Sabotaging Food Pushers First, if you do want some dessert, have some, enjoy it and move on with your life. It is not a big deal to have a dessert, even if you're already over full. It's one eating event out of thousands. But when you are being pushed into something you don't want it's no different than being offered drinks when you're underage; peer pressure doesn't stop because you graduate from high school. You Don't Have to Explain: Just Say No
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