Diet 1 Flashcards
1
Q
Sabotaging thought: I don’t really have to plan my eating do I?
A
Helpful Response: If you don’t plan ahead, you put yourself in the tougher situation of solving problems in the moment. When you feel hungry and look in your refrigerator for something to eat, you might not come up with a diet-friendly solution.
2
Q
Sabotaging thought: It’s so much trouble. I don’t want to do it. (diet activity and plan my eating).
A
Helpful Response: Spontaneous eating–the little nibbles of snacks, leftovers, and other food–is often what keeps dieters from losing weight.
3
Q
Sabotaging thought: I can’t just eat whatever I feel like eating.
A
Helpful Response:Tolerate occasional hunger and cravings and you can learn to withstand them. Stick to your plan. You’ll feel happier in a few minutes.
4
Q
Sabotaging thought: I don’t have time to plan and eat well.
A
Helpful Response: You have to plan and monitor your eating in writing every day. You have to rearrange your schedule so that you will do it!
5
Q
Sabotaging thought: I don’t want to write anything down.
A
Helpful Response: Which is stronger: wanting to lose weight or not wanting to be inconvenienced? Since I do want to lose weight, I’m going to start writing. It’ll probably take only five minutes. I have a choice. I can listen to the resistant part of my mind, or I can firmly and decisively decide to do the writing, even though I feel resistant. It’s great practice to ignore my resistant feelings because they’ll come up again and again when I don’t feel like following my eating plan.
6
Q
Sabotaging thought: I can follow a diet without having to do this.
A
Helpful Response: That might be true–at first–buy why not maximize my chances?
7
Q
Sabotaging thought: Writing a food plan won’t make me lose weight.
A
Helpful Response: If the program only consisted of writing food plans, it wouldn’t work. In this program, however, writing a plan is just one strategy. In any case, I won’t know if I’ll be successful until I try it. I may as well do everything in my power that I can because I really want to lose weight.
8
Q
Sabotaging thought: I’ll write it down later.
A
Helpful Response: I may not get to it later. I have to make this a priority right now.
9
Q
Sabotaging thought: I don’t feel like planning and measuring my food. I know what and how much I’m going to eat. I don’t need to go to so much effort.
A
Helpful Response: If I do only these things I feel like doing, I won’t be able to lose weight and keep it off. Even if I don’t need to do these things to lose weight initially, I have to learn how to make myself implement these crucial skills for the future, when my motivation to stick to my diet isn’t as high as it is today.
10
Q
Sabotaging thought: I don’t like what the scale says so I’m just going to eat whatever I want.
A
Helpful Response: I just started my new eating life. In the future, my weight will go down because I’m finally learning how to diet.
11
Q
Tolerate it!
A
Hungers and cravings aren’t emergencies. I can tolerate them. They’re mild compared to the discomfort when Nick broke up with me.
12
Q
No excuses!
A
Just because I want to eat, doesn’t mean I should.
13
Q
When I want to eat something, I shouldn’t….
A
Check your distraction flashcards!
14
Q
Resistance habit
A
EVERY TIME I eat something I’m not supposed to, I strengthen my giving-in habit. EVERY TIME I don’t give in, I strengthen my resistance habit.
15
Q
Can’t have it both ways.
A
I can be loose with my eating OR I can be thinner. I can’t be both!
16
Q
I’d rather be thinner!
A
Being thinner is SO much more important to me than eating this food!
17
Q
It’s not okay.
A
It’s NOT OKAY to eat this. I’m going to be very sorry if I do.
18
Q
NO CHOICE NO CHOICE NO CHOICE
A
NO CHOICE!
19
Q
I’ll care later.
A
I may not care right now, but I will care a LOT when I get on the scale.
20
Q
Sabotaging thought: It’s too much trouble to use the food plan chart. I don’t really need it.
A
Helpful Response: I may not need it today, but I definitely will need it in the future. If I don’t start learning this skill right now, chances are excellent that I’ll regain whatever weight I lose.
21
Q
Sabotaging thought: I don’t feel like planning and measuring my food. I k now what and how much I’m going to eat. I don’t need to go to so much effort.
A
Helpful Response: I’m going to need it when my motivation goes down. I haven’t been able to stick to a diet without doing it. It’ll take only three min at most. I really want to lose weight because of all the advantages.
22
Q
Sabotaging thought: I don’t need to write this down; i can remember what I ate.
A
Helpful Response: Not writing things down hasn’t helped me in the past. I undoubtedly forget about some of the food that I eat. I have to make myself conscious of what i’m eating.
23
Q
Sabotaging thought: This is too much work.
A
Helpful Response: I won’t have to write things down for the rest of my life. Besides, it’ll probably be less burdensome than I’m predicting. Why not give the “best” option a try for a week and see how it goes?
24
Q
Sabotaging thought: I’ll wait until I’ve lose some weight. Then I’ll feel more motivated to do this task.
A
Helpful Response: If I wait, chances are excellent that I’ll never do it.
25
Sabotaging thought: I really want to eat this, but I know I shouldn't, but I really want this!
Helpful Response: You don't have a choice. You made a plan, and you'll follow that plan--no -ifs, ands, or buts!
26
Sabotaging thought: I deserve to be able to eat what I want.
Helpful Response: If I want all the benefits of being thinner, I just can't eat whatever I want without planning. I have to make "I deserve to be thinner and feel good about myself" a much higher priority than "I deserve to make spontaneous choices about what I eat."
27
Sabotaging thought: I don't think that I can accept the fact that I can't eat spontaneously.
Helpful Response: I've been giving myself choices about what, when, an dhow much to eat for along time, so it feels natural and right to do so. On the other hand, I have to face the fact that spontaneous eating doesn't work for me. The more often I say, NO CHOICE, to myself, the less I'll struggle.
28
Sabotaging thought: I want to be able to eat spontaneously sometimes.
Helpful Response: Then I have to accept the fact that I won't be able to keep off whatever weight I lose. The price of becoming and staying thinner is to follow whatever plan I establish for myself.
29
Sabotaging thought: It's a shame that I can't eat this...It's bad to waste food.
Helpful Response: Isn't it great that I'm not eating this...This is getting me closer to my goal of losing weight... This is helping me to strengthen my resistance muscle.
30
Sabotaging thought: I just want to finish all of this food!
Helpful Response: Don't you remember how happy you were when you didn't finish it...10 minutes after you didn't eat the last time. Let that be your motivation. :)
31
Sabotaging thought: There is too much anxiety when I have extra food on my plate!
Helpful Response: Even if I want to eat it, I can use my anti-craving techniques and look at my craving flashcards.
32
Sabotaging thought: I don't need t do this, I'll be able to stop eating without practicing this skill.
Helpful Response: This isn't a big deal. I should try it anyway. The worst thing that could happen is that I didn't need to do it. I might not learn from this, but I also might learn a lot.
33
Sabotaging thought: I hate to deliberately waste food.
Helpful Response: Which is better: deliberately wasing food or overeating and gaining weight? What would I tell my best friend if she had this problem? The truth is that extra food will go to waste in my body or go to waste in the garbage. Either way, it'll go to waste. And no matter what I heard from my parents when I was growing up, overeating doesn't help starving people any place in the world.
34
Sabotaging thought: I can't waste food.
Helpful Response: Then I'll always be in danger of gaining back whatever weight I lose. Throwing away food I'm not supposed to eat is an important skill. And I'll either waste food in the trash or waste it in my body as fat. Either way it's wasted.
35
How to figure out if you ate too much...
If you can't easily take a moderate to brisk walk after a meal, it means you've eaten too much and you have an unrealistic definition of fullness.
36
Sabotaging thought: I feel disappointed that I can't eat more.
Helpful Response: It's okay, I'm going to have a snak in three hours- an apple and cheese stick--I can wait. Then read your ARC to remind yourself why it's worth putting up with this momentary disappointment.
37
Sabotaging thought: Oh, I really want to eat more.
Helpful Response: No I'm normally full...I want to be thinner, so I'm going to stop eating now.
38
Sabotaging thought: I like feeling really, really full.
Helpful Response: I need to accept that this sensation is not what is considered normal. I'm really eating beyond fullness, which has contributed to my being overweight.
39
Sabotaging thought: My diet plan says I'm allowed to have unlimited amounts of certain foods. What's the harm of eating lots of them?
Helpful Response: I'm going to have many, many experiences in which I don't have access to these unlimited foods: at restaurants, buffets, and social gatherings. If I haven't repeatedly practiced eating to normal fullness, I'm likely to eat too much of the foods I have to limit in those situations.
40
Sabotaging thought: What if I end up feeling hungry before it's time to eat again?
Helpful Response: I learned on Day 12 that hunger is not an emergency, that I can tolerate the sensations of hunger, and that, if I don't focus on it, the hunger WILL dissipate. If I still don't feel confident in my abilities to tolerate hunger, I should repeat the Day 12 tasks in addition to completing today's task.
41
Sabotaging thought: I really enjoy eating a lot of food. What's the harm in eating lots of low-calorie or "free" foods?
Helpful Response: There is potential harm. I have to get used to what normal fullness feels like. Although I may fill up on low-calorie foods today, at some point I'll be tempted to fill up on other foods. I really want to learn to be a normal eater.
42
Sabotaging thought: It's okay to eat this because --it's not a whole piece, I'll eat it only this one time, it's not that fattening, I'll make up for it by eating less later, it wont matter, I paid for it, It'll go to waste, I'll disappoint someone if I don't, everyone else is eating it, I'm celebrating, no one will see me eating it, it's just the crumbs, it's free, I really want it. It's a special occasion, I'm upset and I just don't care, I'm craving it, and I'll probably just eat it eventually.
Helpful Response: It's not okat to eat unplanned food of any kind. I'm just trying to fool myself. Every single time I eat something I'm not supposed to, I strengthen my giving-in muscle and weaken my resistance muscle. I might feel good for the few seconds I'm eating, but I'll feel bad afterwards. If I want to lose excess weight and keep it off, I absolutely must stop fooling myself.
43
Sabotaging thought: It's okay to eat this because the amount of food is so small.
Helpful Response: Just because it doesn't have many calories doesn't mean I should eat it. I shouldn't! I need to use every opportunity I can to break myself of the habit of eating things I haven't planned.
44
Sabotaging thought: It's okay to eat this because otherwise I'm wasting money.
Helpful Response: I'm better off wasting money than gaining weight.
45
Sabotaging thought: It's okay to eat this because I have never had the experience of tasting this wine or trying this dessert.
Helpful Response: When have you ever remembered a taste of wine or spoon of dessert? After the few seconds of eating it, the memory is gone and you never remember anyway. You do however remember the times when you didn't eat a dessert or drink wine, and that made you extremely happy!
46
Sabotaging thought: It's okay to eat this because I want it --and, besides, I don't really care.
Helpful Response: I might not care right at this moment, but I'll care in a few minutes--I'll be unhappy if I eat something I shouldn't. And I sure will care when I find that I'm not losing weight.
47
Sabotaging thought: I can't believe I let myself eat this! I've really blown it..I might as well eat whatever I want for the rest of the day and start dieting again tomorrow.
Helpful Response: 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. However, I need to draw the line right now. Here's the line, right here, where I stop this unplanned eating. Otherwise the calories WILL add up, and you will gain weight!
48
Sabotaging thought: I ate something I shouldn't have, now what's the point in dieting today. I might as well enjoy the rest of the day and eat whatever I want!
Helpful Response: If I've eaten something I shouldn't, I haven't blown it. It's not the end of the world. I can start following my plan again right this minute. Just because I made a mistake doesn't mean I should keep on eating. That makes not sense. It's a million times better to stop now thatn to allow myself to eat more.
49
Sabotaging thought: I can't believe I ate that! I'll never lose weight.
Helpful Response: What would my diet coach tell me if she knew I ate this? She would say. "Don't feel bad. Everyone overeats from time to time. You can start again right now. It's not such a big deal. Give yourself a break."
50
Sabotaging thought: This is too hard. I can't do it. I'll never be able to stop myself from eating like this, I may as well give up.
Helpful Response: Okay so I made a mistake. This was inevitable. It's unreasonable to expect myself to be perfect every single time. I'm not a failure. I can learn something from this experience to help me the next time.
51
Get back on track.
If I eat something I shouldn't have, I haven't blown it. It's not the end of the world. It's just a mistake. Get back on track this minute! Don't keep on eating! That makes no sense. It's a million times better to stop now than to allow myself to eat more.
52
What should you do if make a mistake and eat something unplanned?
Say to yourself. I'm not going to let this one mistake ruin my diet. I am going to go back to my plan right now. It makes no sense to wait till tomorrow. If I do, I'll just gain weight. THEN TAKE 10 DEEP BREATHS (10 sec inhale, 10 sec exhale) and let that be your symbolic line to change gears and immediately get your mind of your mistake and to prevent further unplanned eating. THEN give yourself credit for stopping at any point. You actually stopped MORE unplanned eating! Then schedule a 20-30 minute walk to feel better!
53
Sabotaging thought: How could I have eaten that? I'm never going to succeed at dieting. I should just give up now.
Helpful Response: I'm not going to let this minor setback ruin everything I've accomplished. One mistake does not ruin my diet, but falling back into old patterns WILL. I'm recommitting to my diet right here, right now.
54
Sabotaging thought: It's okay to eat this food that I haven't planned to eat because...
Helpful Response: I have to become an expert at resisting all foods that I haven't planned to eat. If I want to lose weight and keep it off, I just can't eat what I want unless it's on my plan.
55
Sabotaging thought: I don't need to weigh myself. I'll know how I'm doing by how my clothes fit.
Helpful Response: It's important to learn the skill of using the number on the scale as information to guide my eating and exercise plans. I'm fooling myself if I think I can regulate myself without this information. If I'm like many dieters, I probably have a tendency to either overestimate or underestimate my weight, both of which can lead to negative consequences.
56
Sabotaging thought: I don't want to weigh myself; I think I've gained weight.
Helpful Response: I may or may not have gained weight. If I have, it's not the end of the world, but I do need to know so I can figure out what to do. I need to get over my fear of the scale. It's very important that I not avoid facing facts.
57
Sabotaging thought: I'll feel terrible if the number on the scale goes up!
Helpful Response: I'll only feel terrible if I let my sabotaging thoughts convince me that I'm bad or weak for gaining weight. At worst, gaining weight means I might have made mistakes that I can correct during this coming week.
58
Sabotaging thought: I don't think this will work for me. It seems too simplistic.
Helpful Response: It won't take much time or effort to give this a try. What do I have to lose?
59
Sabotaging thought: I don't want to accept the things I have to do. Dieting should be easier.
Helpful Response: I have a choice: I can struggle with what I have to do and feel bad, or I can accept that this is the way it is. It doesn't mean that I like it. There are many things I don't like in my life. I don't particularly like paying bills. I definitely don't like getting up as early as I do for work. I don't like straightening up the house. But I accept them. I don't struggle with these tasks, so they don't cause me much discomfort.
60
Celebrate!
I should celebrate each half-pound loss!
61
Oh, well.
I don't like this, but I'm going to accept it and move on.
62
Sabotaging thought: I should lose a lot of weight quickly.
Helpful Response: Losing weight too quickly may mean my diet isn't healthy enough. If I keep my expectations realistic, I'll feel good when I get on the scale. If i'm unrealistic, I'll feel bad and be more likely to give up.
63
Sabotaging thought: I feel deprived that I have to restrict my food.
Helpful Response: If I want to lose weight, be healthier, feel better about myself, have more energy, fit into clothes better, have more self-confidence, be less self conscious, be proud of myself than I have to accept the fact that the only way I can achieve these benefits is to restrict my eating. I just can't have it both ways. That's just not possible.
64
Sabotaging thought: I feel like eating this dessert!
Helpful Response: Oh well! I don't like this, but I can't change it, so I'll accept it and move on.
65
Sabotaging thought: I don't want to accept the restrictions. There must be an easier way.
Helpful Response: Nonacceptance is going to to lead to struggle, and I'll probably give up and regain any weight I lose. I have to accept the fact that there is no easier way.
66
Sabotaging thought: Its not fair that I can't eat what I want!
Helpful Response: Dieting may not be fair, but I have two choices: I can feel sorry for myself, stop following my plan, never reach my goal, and continue to be unhappy with myself. Or I can sympathize with myself but go ahead and do what I know I need to. Everyone experiences some kind of unfairness in life. This is one of mine. Besides, the greatest unfairness to me would be if I let this excuse prevent me from reaching a goal I strongly want to achieve.
67
Sabotaging thought: I just want to have the cookies or dessert at work!
Helpful Response: When it seems unfair to me that I can't eat something, acknowledge that I'm right. Then ask myself, which unfairness would I rather have: not being able to eat this or not losing weight? Then say, " Oh well!" and get on with it!
68
Sabotaging thought: It's not fair that I can't eat normally.
Helpful Response: Actually, I probably wasn't eating "normally" before, either. Before I started dieting, I was probably eating too often and too much and choosing too many unhealthy foods. I'm now eating normally for a person who has a goal to lose weight.
69
Sabotaging thought: I shouldn't have to deal with this problem.
Helpful Response: I have three choices: 1) I can give up and stay at this weight --or likely, continue to gain weight every year. 2) I can diet on and off. Spend some days/months/years eating whatever I want some days/months/years trying to stick to a diet, and most of the time weighting more than I want to. 3) I can accept the fact that dieting isn't fair and move on, continuing to do what I have to do to lose weight. I'm freely choosing this third option!
70
Sabotaging thought: Why does eating have to be unfair? I guess I understand it, but I really don't like having to live with it.
Helpful Response: That's okay. Of course I don't like it now. But I'll be very happy that I learned to accept unfairness when I've lose weight and been able to keep it off.
71
Sabotaging thought: I can't keep this up for a month, a year, or longer.
Helpful Response: Forget the long-term… Focus on today… I know I can continue to do what I need to do today. If it's hard tomorrow, I'll deal with it then.
72
Sabotaging thought: I feel overwhelmed. This program is way too involved. I can't do it!
Helpful Response: This book willhelp me, step-by-step. I don't have to learn everything in one day. I can reread and practice. I can ask my diet coach to help me.
73
Sabotaging thought: These tasks are too hard. I don't want to keep on doing these things.
Helpful Response: I'm just feeling overwhelmed at the moment. It doesn't always seem this hard. Later on today or tomorrow, it'll probably feel easier again.
74
Don't comfort myself with food.
If I'm upset,don't eat to seek comfort, it won't solve the problem, and I'll just feel worse.
75
Advice to a friend. If my best friend were discouraged, disappointed, or dismayed, what would I tell her?
I would tell her that dieting is supposed to be hard at times. But keep in mind, too, that it will soon get so much easier--then you'll just have brief times when it's difficult again.
76
Sabotaging thought: I'm just not sure I can do it. It's so much work.
Helpful Response: It is a lot of work, but it will get easier once the skills I'm learning get to be second nature, it's worth doing to get all the advantages of the weight loss.
77
Sabotaging thought: I don't know if I can figure out what I'm thinking.
Helpful Response: It's not that crucial to figure it out right now. It's a skill I'll get better at over time. Meanwhile, I can reread relevant parts of the book to jog my memory whenever I need to.
78
Sabotaging thought: I'm not thinking when I stray from my diet. It just happens.
Helpful Response: Eating is not automatic. I just try to ignore my thoughts so I can eat. The next time I'm tempted to stray, I'm going to look for some sabotaging thought that gives me permission, such as, It's okay to eat this because...
79
Sabotaging thought: Most of the time I'm not thinking anything specific. I just feel down or discouraged.
Helpful Response: Actually I am having thoughts that are either leading me to feel this way or are making me feel worse. The more I practice, the better I'll get at figuring out my thinking.
80
Sabotaging thought: I must be stupid for making thinking mistakes.
Helpful Response: There's nothing wrong with me. Everyone has distorted thinking from time to time. It has nothing to do with intelligence. It just means I'm human. The important thing is to learn what to do about my thinking mistakes. I'm taking the first step right now by identifying them.
81
Sabotaging thought: Either I'm completely on my diet or I'm off my diet.
Helpful response: Making a mistake is definitely not the same as total failure. (All or nothing thinking)
82
Sabotaging thought: Either I'm 100 percent successful or I'm a failure and may as well give up dieting.
Helpful response: this is a thinking mistake called all or nothing thinking. Not true.
83
Sabotaging thought: Since I didn't lose weight this week, I'll never be able to lose weight.
Helpful response: this is a thinking error. You are trying to predict the future negatively, without considering other possible outcomes.
84
Sabotaging thought: Since I gave into that craving, i'll never be able to tolerate cravings.
Helpful response: this is a thinking error. You are trying to predict the future negatively, without considering other possible outcomes.
85
Sabotaging thought: I'll be able to each just a little bit of this food I crave, feel satisfied, and stop.
Helpful response: this is a thinking error. You are trying to predict the future too positively, without considering other possible outcomes.
86
Sabotaging thought: Since I feel like a failure for having strayed, I really must be a failure.
Helpful response: this is a thinking error. You think your ideas must be true even though objective evidence says not.
87
Sabotaging thought: I feel like I just have to have something sweet right now.
Helpful response: this is a thinking error. You think your ideas must be true even though objective evidence says not.
88
Sabotaging thought: People will think I'm strange If I don't drink alcohol a the party.
Helpful response: this is a thinking error. You're sure of what others are thinking, even in the absence of compelling data?
89
Sabotaging thought: She will think I'm rude if I don't try the brownies she baked.
Helpful response: this is a thinking error. You're sure of what others are thinking, even in the absence of compelling data?
90
Sabotaging thought: I deserve to eat this because I'm so stressed out.
Helpful response: this is a thinking error. You are linking two unrelated concepts to justify your eating.
91
Sabotating thought: It's okay to eat this because it's free.
Helpful response: this is a thinking error. You are linking two unrelated concepts to justify your eating.
92
Sabotaging thought: I can't stand this craving.
Helpful response: this is a thinking error. You are making a situation seem greater or worse than it really is.
93
Sabotaging thought: I have no willpower.
Helpful response: this is a thinking error. You are making a situation seem greater or worse than it really is.
94
Sabotaging thought: Since I didn't lose weight this week, trying to lose weight is impossible.
Helpful response: People don't lose weight every single week, even if their eating has been exactly the same. (you are jumping to conclusions)
95
Sabotaging thought: I won't be able to resist the desserts at the party.
Helpful response: No one will force me to eat. I need to prepare myself in advance and use the skills I've learned. (negative fortune telling_
96
Sabotaging thought: I will be able to eat just one cookie, be satisified, and stop.
Helpful response: history shows me that I almost always want more. (positive fortune-telling)
97
Sabotaging thought: Since I feel so hopeless about losing weight, it really must be hopeless.
Helpful response: Everyone gets discouraged from time to time. It's normal. I'll only stop losing weight if I decide to stop following the program. (emotional reasoning)
98
Sabotaging thought: I'm bad for overeating today.
Helpful response: of course I'm not bad. I just engaged in some unhelpful eating behaviors. (labeling)
99
Sabotaging thought: Everyone will think negatively of me if I eat differently.
Helpful response: It's likely that some people will be pleased that I'm losing weight and others won't notice or won't care what i'm eating. (mind reading)
100
Sabotaging thought: If I eat standing up, it doesn't count.
Helpful response: A calorie is a calorie, no matter how I consume it. (Self-deluding thinking)
101
Sabotaging thought: It's okay to eat because I'm so stressed out.
Helpful response: Emotional eating is not okay. I need to tolerate my distress or solve a problem. (irrelevance)
102
Sabotaging thought: I'm totally out of control (of my eating).
Helpful response: I ate some food I hadn't planned to. But I can start following my plan again right this moment.
