Get Paid To Lose Weight!

Even under the best circumstances, with the best intentions, and using an effective weight loss program, we are ultimately creatures of habit.  The psychological and behavioral aspects of losing weight are therefore extremely important factors which can often make the difference between success and failure.  Researchers at Duke University have found that it can take up to seven times for us to permanently change even the most simple of habits...and eating is anything but a simple habit.  What, when, where, how and with whom we eat are quite often complex constellations of habits which can be even more difficult to change.  So, part of the reason people may discontinue diets has to do with difficulty in changing habits.  Here are some suggestions to help with such influencing factors:

Self-talk

If your self-talk is critical, worrisome and negative, it can worsen your depression and promote old behaviors.  You need to teach your inner voice to be a coach.  The job of a coach is to provide guidance, inspiration and praise.  A coach tells the truth objectively without belittling.  A coach provides direction and support.  Positive self-talk makes you feel happier and more motivated to stick with your weight loss program. 

Troublesome thoughts

When you feel down, ask yourself, "What have I been thinking that made me feel this way?" Thoughts have a tendency to persist and grow, so that by the time you notice them, they have snowballed into big negative patterns.  If it's difficult for you to identify your troublesome thoughts, keep a journal and write down the thoughts you have just before you eat.  Or take periodic thought inspection breaks.  If you find yourself being critical, making excuses, or being negative, take a moment to replace this talk with accepting, supportive and encouraging thoughts. 

Reasonable goals

If your goals are too high or you expect change over night, you're doomed to fall short.  You'll start to criticize yourself and feel like a failure.  Avoid setting abstract goals like "I want to lose thirty pounds." You need specific, concrete behavioral goals such as, "I'll increase my exercise to 30 minutes a day, five days a week, and I'll eat 1200 to 1400 calories a day." Avoid strict commands like "I'll never eat another cookie," or "I'll always exercise every day." Such resolutions are sure-fire tickets to failure.  Leave room to make mistakes or deviate somewhat, because human beings are not perfect. 

What did you do right?

If you have a tendency to dwell on your mistakes, this can rob you of your motivation - why bother trying if you're always going to fail anyway?  So give yourself credit where credit is due.  You'll be more encouraged to keep going on your weight loss program. 

Solve problems

What if no credit is due?  What if you sat around the house for an all-day binge?  Again, what you tell yourself is crucial.  If you beat yourself up mentally, you'll just feel worse; if you ignore the incident, it will probably happen again.  Instead, tell yourself, "O.K., I did not have a good day, but that doesn't mean I'm terrible." Learn from your mistakes, don't let them defeat you. 

Accept yourself

Some people are afraid that accepting themselves at their current weight will lead to inaction - they won't feel the need to change their habits.  However, belittling and criticizing yourself will not motivate change, it will tempt you to feel better quickly, which may lead to behaviors you've been trying to change.  Self-acceptance means acknowledging truthfully your good qualities and your imperfections.  It also means taking care of your body as you would a prized possession.  So, remember to love and accept yourself, and know that you are in control.

Define your weight loss goal

If you have 20 pounds or less to lose, it can be helpful to set a date for reaching your goal.  With a 1000 calorie a day program you can lose one to three pounds per week.  For example, if you are taking a trip one month from now, you can set a reasonable goal and the trip can give you the incentive to stick to it!

Weight loss "mantras"

If you find yourself hungry at 10 or 11 o'clock at night after having a good dinner, develop a personal message to yourself, for example, something simple like, "Remember why you are doing this," (losing weight, that is) and mention you goal to yourself, "because I'm going to Hawaii, " or "because I want to achieve optimal health," or simply "because I really want to lose this weight!" The desire to lose the weight must be stronger than the self-sabotaging behaviors, so repeat the message several time out loud.  Active vocalization emphasizes the re-programming that you are accomplishing.  Also, several times a day, visualize yourself at the weight you want to be, and support yourself by saying, "I can do this!"

Weight loss stumbling blocks

Many people eat when in fact they are not feeling hungry.  They eat when they're lonely, or bored, or angry, or feeling empty inside.  This is how food can become like a drug or an addictive substance.  They may temporarily feel better, feel full physically, but that empty feeling is still there.  During times like these it is very important to be one's own best friend.  Allow yourself to feel lonely, depressed or bored.  It's really okay to feel all these emotions; everyone does from time to time.  If the feelings get too overwhelming, do something to pamper yourself.  Take a relaxing bath, read your favorite book, or do whatever you usually do to feel good.  Love yourself with determination.

Tips to Reduce the Quantity of Food You Eat:

Tips to Increase the Amount of Physical Activity in Your Day:
Tips to Eliminate Eating Cues that Promote Overeating:

 
Remember: The dietary, exercise, and emotional work you do for yourself, though hard at times, will provide you with the chance to feel well and healthy and to establish new patterns for taking care of and nurturing yourself.  Think well! Eat well! Be well!
 
A strong secondary factor which can influence why people may discontinue weight loss programs is physical and not psychological.  Many people have food sensitivities.  In the brain, food sensitivities can cause intense cravings for the foods which mirror addictions.  The very same pleasure/pain pathways in the brain which are activated with drug and alcohol and tobacco addictions are also the ones activated for food addictions.  In most diets, the patient will be asked to exclude the most common food sensitivities (like grains, dairy, and eggs).  This can cause intense withdrawal symptoms and cravings for the foods which manipulates and drives behavior to eat the foods.  Studies show that it can take up to two weeks for these withdrawal symptoms and cravings to dissipate.  This is a common reason why most diets fail within the first two weeks.  Understanding this and making it through to the third and fourth week can make a substantial difference in any weight loss program.
 
Cheating on our diet is definitely different than cheating on other diets.  Our goal is to change your biochemistry, to change you from a fat storing machine into a fat burning machine.  Insulin is one of the body's strongest signals to store calories as fat and ketones are an important signal that the body is burning fat calories for energy.  Using hCG with our diet will keep insulin levels low and ketones high.  However, a single bite of cake, or bread, or rice, or potato chip can cause an immediate reversal to this: insulin will spike and ketones will crash.  These effects can last several hours.  This means that once insulin spikes, you will revert back into a fat storing machine.  Insulin is also a signal for the body to crave more carbs.  So, not only will you store calories as fat, but you will also begin to crave more foods which will ultimately be stored as fat.  But these effects are not permanent.  Once insulin levels go down again and ketones begin to rise you can once again revert back to burning fat calories as food.  As long as you have not gone for more than 6 weeks off of our diet and off of the hCG you can immediately resume the program without going through the loading phase again and expect to see positive results.  You may have lost some time in regards to shifting your biochemistry for effective weight loss, but you have certainly not lost the battle.  Your ability to burn fat again is a dietary choice and an hCG shot away.

A Note About Your Health
 
It is not unusual for individuals involved in a weight loss program to come down with an acute viral respiratory illness (such as the common cold).   This likely occurs because not only are you mobilizing fat during weight loss, you are also mobilizing toxins.  The majority of toxins stored in the body are fat soluble, which means they are stored in fatty tissue.  Researchers at the University of Texas have found that somewhere between 95-98% of Americans have significant levels of toxins stored in fat tissue.  Furthermore, when the body increases fat mobilization by 30%, there is a corresponding 18-23% increase in the mobilization of fat soluble toxins released into the blood.  One of the most sensitive types of cells in our body to toxins are our immune cells.  Their abilities to recognize and respond to infectious agents (such as cold viruses) will be significantly compromised.  Supporting the liver and other organs of detoxification can often improve your body's ability to handle the increased release of toxins thereby limiting their deleterious effects on the immune system.