By Awg Ilham bin Hj Md Ali,
Dietitian, Community Nutrition Division,
Public Health Department,
Ministry of Health
PART 1 OF 3
WORKING IT OUT... An overweight boy doing sit-ups at a school in Singapore. AFP
Weight Loss (Behaviour Modification)
"I'm a serial yo-yo dieter and have tried all the fad diets, one of them being high protein low carbohydrates diet. I always look for the easy option. I've finally realised it doesn't exist. I can lose weight on certain fad diets but always revert back to my old eating habits."
Proper nutrition and physical activity are not the only prerequisites to achieving and maintaining appropriate body weight. Behaviour and attitude are supporting factors. Therefore, the real success of losing weight permanently is through changes made in one's lifestyle. Every change works best if you are prepared.
Once you have made up your mind to lose weight, you should make that commitment and go into it with a positive attitude. We all know that losing weight is a challenge. It takes time, practice and support to change lifetime habits. But it's a process you must learn in order to succeed. You and you alone are the one who has the power to lose unwanted pounds.
If you always look at the negative side of things, you'll become a downbeat, pessimistic person. Even slightly negative thoughts have a greater impact on you and last longer than powerful positive thoughts.
The first step you should take is to adopt healthier eating habits. Habits, good or bad, are formed by repetition. Eating habits are no exception.
If you are in the habit of snacking when you watch TV, you were reinforcing that habit until finally it became a part of you. Other habits are formed in the same way.
Some of these habits are: eating while reading, eating the minute you come in the house, eating when the kids come in from school, or eating while cooking dinner.
What you can do is keeping a diary which refers to recording some aspect of your behaviour, such as foods eaten, exercise sessions, medication usage, etc, or an outcome of these behaviours, such as weight.
Self-monitoring of a behaviour can be used at times when you're not sure how you're doing, and at times when you want the behaviour to improve.
Self-monitoring of behaviour usually changes the behaviour in the desired direction and can produce "real-time" records for review by you and your health care provider.
For example, keeping a record of your exercise can let you and your provider know quickly how you're doing, and when the record shows that your exercise is increasing, you'll be encouraged to keep it up.
Some people find that specific self-monitoring forms make it easier, while others prefer to use their own recording system.
A motivation list will help you keep track of the things you want to get out of losing weight.
Here are a few examples:
- More energy to spend quality time with family and friends.
- Fit into all your clothes.
- Live a long, healthy life
- Not be uncomfortable in public
- Not become breathless climbing stairs
- Do "active" things
- Wear nice clothes
The following techniques can be adapted as part of your daily routine in achieving a healthy, long term weight loss:
1. Eat three meals a day in accordance with 'The National Healthy Food Pyramid.' Don't skip meals.
2. Prolong your meals by: eating slowly, putting down your eating utensil between each bite: do not pick up your eating utensil until you have swallowed the bite hesitating between bites, even if you're eating finger foods.
3. Don't shop when you are hungry.
4. Carry appropriate snacks from home and avoid vending machines.
5. Choose a specific place in your home or office to eat all of your meals. This will become your "designated eating place" and should not be changed. Try not to eat at your desk at work. This would make you prone to eat all daylong and not just at mealtime.
6. Engage in no other activities while eating (such as reading or watching television).
7. Do not keep food in any room in your house except the kitchen. Do not keep food such as cookies out on the counters. Do not store items in "see-through" containers.
8. Serve yourself on a smaller plate. Minimise contact with excessive food (serve individual plates; do not put serving dishes on the table).
9. Encourage others to eat appropriate foods with you.
10. Arrange for rewards for each unit of weight loss.
11. Ask family and friends for reinforcement (praise and encouragement).
Next time you go and grab a quick snack, ask yourself - "Am I really hungry?"
You would be surprised at how many times we eat for other reasons such as depression, habit or sheer boredom.
If you find that the reason is one other than hunger, try and replace it with another pleasure to take its place.
(Ministry of Health Public Awareness Programme)
- To be continued
Source: Weekend, 16 August 2008
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