Diet 2 Flashcards
I want to lose weight because I don’t want anymore guilt.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll look better.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll be more attractive.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll wear a smaller size.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll wear more stylish clothes.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll be happy when I look in mirror and in pictures.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I won’t compare myself to others.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll have more confidence.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll feel better in a bathing suit.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll get more compliments.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll have a decreased risk of Diabetes Mellitus type 2.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I will have more energy.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I will make a better impression on people.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll be less self-critical.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because my family won’t remark about my eating or weight.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll be in better health.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because it will help me find a husband.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I will feel more connected spiritually.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll feel in control.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
I want to lose weight because I’ll feel more lady-like.
This is one of many reasons to make this lifestyle change.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t want to change my routine to make time and energy for dieting.
Helpful Response: But I have to face the fact that I won’t be successful unless I do so.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t want to eat differently than other people.
Helpful Response: But that’s the price I pay sometimes to get thinner and stay thinner.
Sabotaging thought: I can lose weight only if I find exactly the right diet.
There is no one right diet. There’s nothing magical about any diet. The only formula for losing weight is taking fewer calories than your body expends.
Sabotaging thought: It is okay if I eat standing up this one time. I’ll eat next meal sitting down.
Helpful Response: “Just this one time” is not OK. I have to face the fact that I probably won’t lose weight or keep it off if I refuse to change my habit of eating while standing up.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t have time to sit down to eat.
Helpful Response: Sitting down isn’t optional. I’ll have to rearrange my schedule so that I do have more time. It is essential for controlling what and how much I eat.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t have time to sit down for every meal and snack.
Helpful Response: Standing up is not an option. I have no choice. I will have to rearrange my schedule so that I do have more time if I want to lose weight and keep it off.
Sabotaging thought: Losing weight is important to me. I’m always aware of why I want to do it, so I don’t need the list.
Helpful Response: When I’m craving, my mind is focused on getting food, not on getting thinner. That’s why I have to cement the reasons in my mind by reading the list everyday.
Sabotaging thought: I can do this on my own.
Helpful Response: It is a million times more likely that this time I’ll be able to lose weight and keep it off if I have to report to my coach and get help when I need it.
Sabotaging thought: What if I get a diet coach and then fail? She will think poorly of me.
Helpful Response: If I pick the right person, I’ll maximize my chances of success. I’m not going to choose a diet coach who will view me negatively just for trying.
Sabotaging thought: I just want M&Ms or whatever not nutritious food.
Helpful Response: Cravings will pass. Assess whether you’re hungry or not. If you are eat something nutritious. If you are craving not nutritious food, tell yourself, you will be happy in 5 minutes when you don’t eat it!
Sabotaging thought: I don’t want to impose on someone.
Helpful Response: First whomever I select as my diet coach will probably consider me worth the trouble. Second, serving as my support person probably won’t be as burdensome as I might believe. Third, the process might bring us closer together. Many people feel honored to serve as support to someone else. Finally I can at least give someone the choice of whether or not to help me.
Sabotaging thought: I should be able to do this myself.
Helpful Response If I could do it by myself, I’d have already lost weight and kept it off. I need to face the fact that I need help–just as many other people do.
Sabotaging thought: I strayed from my diet plan, and I think I gained weight. I don’t want to call and tell my diet coach.
Helpful Response: This is the time I need my diet coach most. In a few minutes, I’ll probably be glad I called. My diet coach won’t criticize me or think poorly of me. If I call, I’ll get the practical help and support I need. The reasons to lose weight that I wrote on my ARC are still important to me, so I should go ahead and call now.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t want other people to be unhappy with me because of the changes I’m making.
Helpful Response: But I’m entitled to do what I need to do to lose weight, as long as I’m not maliciously doing something to make someone else feel bad.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t want to write down a plan for what I’m going to eat. I want to eat spontaneously.
Helpful Response: But I can’t expect to do that and expect to maintain weight loss in the long term.
Sabotaging thought: I haven’t really done anything difficult that far.
Helpful Response: It doesn’t matter whether the changes I make are easy or difficult. I need to give myself credit to build my sense of effectiveness and control.
Sabotaging thought: Some diets are better than others. The media is full of diet that say you can lose weight quickly and easily and still eat anything you want.
Helpful Response: No scientific research supports there is a “magic” diet, pill, or supplement. If I want to lose weight, I have to consume fewer calories than I expend.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t feel like exercising.
Helpful response: You made a promise to yourself that exercise is mandatory. Just 5 minutes. That’s it.
Sabotaging thought: I won’t do my Beck diet workbook tonight.
Helpful Response: I need to read my ARC at least two times a day if I want to resist temptation. It takes only a few seconds. It’s not a big deal. I might not need it psychologically today, but I’ll need it soon. I have to cement these reasons in my mind for when the going gets tough.
Sabotaging thought: I can do this on my own.
Helpful Response: it’s a million times more likely that this time I’ll be able to lose weight and keep it off if I have to report to my coach and get help when I need it.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t feel like exercising.
Helpful Response: Exercise is mandatory. If I want to be thin for a lifetime, I have to exercise at least 5 min/day.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t feel like exercising. I’m tired.
Helpful Response: Exercise is mandatory. You’ll feel better. Just jump around for 5 minutes in your room. But are you really that tired? You are probably not and are just being lazy. Run 5 blocks. That’s it.
Sabotaging thought: It feels unnatural to make myself eat slowly.
Helpful Response: The more I practice the more natural it will become. It’s an essential skill.
Sabotaging thought: It is stupid to give myself credit.
Helpful Response: Its not childish. Its absolutely essential to my success to recognize my achievements. Not giving myself credit in the past did not lead to permanent weight loss.
Do it anyway.
Even if I don’t feel like using a diet skill. I have to do it anyway. If I do only what I feel like doing, I won’t be able to lose weight and keep it off.
Sabotaging thought: It seems silly to praise myself like getting a star on my paper when I was in grade school.
Helpful Response: Its not childish. Its absolutely essential to my success to recognize my achievements. Not giving myself credit in the past did not lead to permanent weight loss.
Sabotaging thought: I’ll eat standing up just this once.
Helpful Response: “Just this one time” has a tendency to turn into “way too often.” I have to develop a lifetime skill of making myself sit down while eating if I want a lifetime of being thinner.
Give Myself Credit.
I deserve credit EVERY TIME I exercise. I deserve credit EVERY TIME I practice a dieting skill. I deserve credit EVERY TIME I stick to my plan.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t feel like going through the trouble of getting index cards and writing down advantages right now. I’ll do it later.
Helpful Response: To lose weight, I’m going to have to train myself to do what I need to do, not what I feel like doing at the moment. If I put off this task, I might end up never doing it.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t need to remind myself of the reasons to lose weight. I know them.
Helpful Response: I know them -NOW. But think about all other times I strayed from a diet I the past. I sure wasn’t thinking of all the advantages of sticking to it then!
Sabotaging thought: This won’t work for me.
Helpful Response: I don’t have a crystal ball so I don’t know whether or not it’ll work. The one thing I do know for sure is that I didn’t do this in the past and I haven’t achieved lasting weight loss yet. I may as well do it. What do I have to lose?
Sabotaging thought: I don’t want to feel deprived.
Helpful Response: But I can modify my plan to include my favorite foods. Besides, I’d rather tolerate some deprivation and be thinner than eat whatever I want and be heavier.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t want to tolerate hunger and cravings.
Helpful Response: But there are lot of things I can do to decrease my discomfort and if I don’t learn how to get myself to tolerate some discomfort, I won’t be able to maintain the weight I lose.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t deserve credit until I’ve lost all the weight I want to lose.
Helpful Response: Its counterproductive to wait. I need to strengthen the part of my mind that believes I’ll follow the program. I’m only human and might stray from my plan from time to time. When this happens, a sense of helplessness might kick in. Continually building my confidence by giving myself credit can protect from feeling helpless and hopeless and from throwing in the towel. And, actually, the process of losing weight is the hardest part. Once I’ve learned the skills I need, maintaining my weight will be easier. So I deserve lots of credit now since I’m working the hardest.
Sabotaging thought: It feels unnatural to give myself credit.
Helpful Response: Giving myself credit is a skill that Ill build over time. It’s okay if it seems forced in the beginning. The more I practice this skill the better I’ll get at it and the more automatic and natural it will become.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t deserve credit for doing things I should already be doing. These things aren’t accomplishments. They should be easy for me to do.
Helpful Response: If I don’t give myself credit for essential behaviors, I’ll be less likely to practice these behaviors consistently. If I were naturally thin, had a small appetite, and didn’t have to work at controlling my weight, perhaps I wouldn’t deserve credit. But I’m not naturally thin, I do struggle and I do deserve credit every time I engage in good behavior.
Sabotaging thought: It seems silly to praise myself like getting a star on my paper when I was in grade school.
Helpful Response: It’s not childish. Its absolutely essential to my success to recognize my achievement. Not giving myself credit in the past didn’t lead me to permanent weight loss.
Sabotaging thought: I haven’t really done anything difficult so far.
Helpful Response: It doesn’t matter whether the changes I make are easy or difficult. I need to give myself credit to build my sense of effectiveness and control.
Sabotaging thought: I can learn to eat sensibly after I finish dieting.
Helpful Response: If I don’t learn how to eat sensibly now, what evidence do I have that I’ll be able to learn later? I need to start now.
Sabotaging thought: Since my diet doesn’t say I have to eat breakfast, I’m going to skip it. I’d rather be able to eat more later in the day.
Helpful Response: Skipping breakfast in the past hasn’t allowed me to lose weight permanently. I need to change my eating habits if I want to be successful this time.
Sabotaging thought: I want to try this diet I heard about. It promises I can lose a lot of weight quickly and very easily and without effort. So what if it isn’t nutritionally balanced? I won’t be on it for long anyway.
Helpful Response: A fad diet isn’t healthy, and I’ll need to be on a diet or a variation of the diet for a long time. Promises that sound too good to be true invariably are too good to be true.
Sabotaging thought: I enjoy spontaneous munching. I don’t want to stop eating while I’m standing
Helpful Response: I need to sit down to eat. When I eat standing up, I just don’t notice what I’m eating. I could eat way too much without realizing it. If I want to be thinner, I have to impose this rule on myself. I might not want to give up this behavior, but I’ll enjoy being thinner so much more.
Sabotaging thought: It feels unnatural to make myself eat slowly.
Helpful Response: The more I practice, the more natural it will become. It’s an essential skill.
Sabotaging thought: If I don’t eat quickly, I’ll inconvenience the rest of my schedule.
Helpful Response: It isn’t reasonable to sacrifice my needs. I deserve to engage in healthy behaviors to reach my goals.
Sabotaging thought: I’m a fast eater. That’s just the way i am.
Helpful Response: Being a fast eater probably contributed to my weight gain. I can’t have it both ways. I can’t eat quickly and also lose weight and maintain my weight loss. Even though eating more slowly will take effort and feel unnatural in the beginning, I’ll get used to it and then I won’t have to think much about it.
Sabotaging thought: I truly don’t have time to eat slowly.
Helpful Response: I need to rearrange my schedule to make the time. If I need to take time for a lifesaving medical procedure three times a day, I’d somehow find the time. I’m not giving eating properly a high enough priority.
Say no to extra food.
Get rid of extra food. It’ll be wasted in the trash or in my body.
It’s okay to disappoint people.
I’m entitled to do what I have to do to lose weight as long as I am nicely assertive.
Put dieting first.
I have to plan my life around exercise and dieting activities, not vice versa. I deserve to put myself first.
Eat mindfully.
I need to eat slowly and mindfully while sitting down–EVERY SINGLE TIME.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t want to ask others to make changes.
Helpful Response: at the beginning, I have to minimize food triggers. And it’s good practice for me to stand up for myself.
Sabotaging thought: if I make changes, I’ll have to tell other people that I’m dieting.
Helpful Response: What’s the big deal,really? The worst that can happen is that someone will be mildly critical of me if I don’t lose weight. On the other hand, this program is probably exactly what I need to succeed this time. Announcing my intention to eat in a more healthful way (I don’t have to say that I’m dieting) makes it more likely that others will go along with the changes I need to make. And it’ll be such a relief not to feel tempted every time I walk into the kitchen or encounter food at work
Sabotaging thought: I shouldn’t inconvenience other people.
Helpful Response: Whom will I inconvenience the most? How inconvenient will these environmental changes really be compared to how much benefit I’ll get? And other people will likely benefit from the changes I make.
Sabotaging thought: if I tell my family or coworkers about my diet, they’ll make comments about what I eat.
Helpful Response: I can ask them to not say anything: “It would help me if you didn’t comment on what I eat or don’t eat– can you do that for me?”
Sabotaging thought: I shouldn’t put my needs above the needs of my family.
Helpful Response: I’m entitled to work towards a goal that’s important to me. It’s time for me to practice meeting my needs. Besides, my family doesn’t need junk food. They’d be better off if they didn’t eat it either.
Sabotaging thought: My friends and coworkers will get mad at me for these changes
Helpful Response: Am I thinking realistically? How mad could they get? How long will they stay mad? Is it reasonable to get mad? Remember, I’m not doing this to make them mad. I’m doing this because I need to.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t really know if I want to change my environment.
Helpful Response: Well that may be true, but it’s even more important to me to lose weight. I can’t have it both ways. I can’t resist making changes and lose weight. I’ll go read my ARC right now.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t want to waste food by throwing it out
Helpful Response: If I don’t throw it out, I’ll be at risk for “wasting” it in my body where it will turn to fat. Which is a better way to waste it?
Sabotaging thought: I’m a spontaneous person. I don’t like to schedule my time.
Helpful Response: To lose weight, I have to give up some spontaneity. I wish I didn’t have to, but that’s the way it is–at least for now. Until I’ve developed a routine, I can’t rely on spontaneous shopping and spontaneous food preparation. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t be spontaneous in other ways.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t have the time to do the steps in this program.
Helpful Response: It might be more accurate to say that I’m not willing to make the time. If I had to get a blood transfusion every day to keep myself alive, obviously I’d find the time. While being overweight isn’t necessarily life threatening, I still need to make a serious commitment if I want to diet successfully. I need to look at my Advantages Response Card again and judge whether I really want to lose weight.
Sabotaging thought: I’d rather just see how things go, instead of planning.
Helpful Response: I have to learn the skill of scheduling now in preparation for more hectic times.
Sabotaging thought: If I can’t exercise for 30 minutes, it’s not worth exercising at all.
Helpful Response: Five minutes is better than zero minutes, and it’s essential for me not to break my exercise habit.
Exercise no matter what.
If I don’t feel like exercising, remember: 5 minutes is better than 0 minutes. Say NO CHOICE. The hardest part is getting started; then it gets easier.
Sabotaging Thought: I dont want to exercise.
Helpful Response: I shouldn’t go by whether I want to exercise. If I want to lose weight and keep it off, I need to exercise. There are also lots of other benefits to exercising. I might be making this into a much bigger deal that it really is. I can do this.
Sabotaging Thought: What’s the use of walking for only five minutes?
Helpful Response: Walking for five minutes is better than walking for zero minutes. Exercise is essential, even if I don’t do very much at first. I can build up the amount that I do over time, but I have to start somewhere.
Sabotaging Thought: I’m busy too exercise.
Helpful Response: I have to make exercise a priority. If I needed to exercise each day to stay alive, I’d find the time. I might have to get up earlier in the morning to fit it in, but I shouldn’t feel myself into thinking that exercise is optional.
Sabotaging Thought: It isn’t worth it to me to exercise.
Helpful Response: Research shows that exercise is essential for most people to lose weight and to maintain their weight loss. If I want the benefits of being thinner, I have to exercise.
Exercise helps you stick with your diet.
This is why you have to exercise every day for at least five minutes.
Exercise might help control your appetite.
This is why you have to exercise every day for at least five minutes.
Exercise boosts mood and soothes stress.
This is why you have to exercise every day for at least five minutes.
Exercise burns calories.
This is why you have to exercise every day for at least five minutes.
Exercise preserves muscle tissue.
This is why you have to exercise every day for at least five minutes.
Exercise builds confidence.
This is why you have to exercise every day for at least five minutes.
Exercise makes you feel better physically.
This is why you have to exercise every day for at least five minutes.
Exercise improves your health and helps prevent disease.
This is why you have to exercise every day for at least five minutes.
Exercise includes planned and spontaneous exercise.
You need to do both!
Sabotaging thought: I’m not going to be satisfied until I get to my ultimate goal.
Helpful Response: My ultimate goal may or may not be realistic and is probably far off. I should work toward being happy every time I lose 5 pounds.
Sabotaging thought: I won’t be satisfied unless I get down to my “ideal” weight. I don’t deserve credit until I get down to that weight.
Helpful Response: I have to learn to be happy with smaller steps along the way. Celebrating 5-lb losses will boost my mood and confidence.
Sabotaging thought: Losing only 1-2 pounds a week is much too slow!
Helpful Response: How much will it matter a few years from now how long it took? I need to remind myself why its important to lose weight slowly. My long-term success depends on it.
What is hunger?
When you’ve fasted for several hours and your stomach is empty.
What is desire to eat?
Not being particularly hungry, but eating because there is food around.
What is a craving?
A physiological and emotionally intense urge to eat.
Sabotaging thought: I am still hungry after I ate this meal.
Helpful Response: Okay you finished the food I planned to eat for this meal, and I’m still hungry. But that’s okay.. It might take my brain 20 minutes to send a message to my body that I’m full.
Sabotaging thought: I am still hungry after I ate 2 hours ago.
Helpful Response: Okay I’m hungry, no big deal. I’m going to eat again in ___ hours. Here’s a chance to stregthen my resistance muscle.
Sabotaging thought: I am hungry (even though I ate 2 hours ago)
Helpful Response: I’m not hungry.. I just want to eat more, but I’m not going to because I don’t want to strengthen my giving-in muscle.
Sabotaging thought: I am hungry because I did not eat enough.
Helpful Response: If it has been anywhere from 20 minutes up to 3 hours since you’ve eaten a reasonable sized meal, remind yourself that any urge to eat is probably due to a desire to eat, not to hunger.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t need to do this. I know the difference between hunger and craving.
I might know the difference on an intellectual level, but it’s still important for me to experience the difference on a physical level. Chances are, I probably sometimes label a craving as hunger. It’s very important for me to do this exercise so I’ll know whether I really am too hungry too often ( which is a problem I’ll need to solve) or whether I really am too hungry too often ( which is a problem I’ll need to solve) or whether I really am craving (which is a sensation I’ll learn to tolerate).
Sabotaging thought: This task is too much trouble. I don’t feel like doing it.
Helpful Response: It doesn’t take very much time or energy. Why not try it and see what happens?
Sabotaging thought: Why do I need to know the difference? I’m just going to follow my diet plan anyway.
Helpful Response: When I get to maintenance, I can be more flexible with my eating if I eat only in response to hunger. Unless I practice diferentiating between hunger and craving now, I won’t be able to do this successfully and I’ll gain weight.
Sabotaging thought: I know when I’m hungry and when I’m not. I don’t need to fill out a chart.
Helpful Response: Chances are, I sometimes have a desire or craving but label it as hunger–which gives me an excuse to eat. Monitoring the difference today on a chart will make it more likely that I won’t be able to use this excuse in the future and end up gaining weight.
Sabotaging thought: I’m hungry even though its not time for a meal or a snack.
Helpful Response: Oh, well, I wish could eat now, but it’s okay..I can wait.
Sabotaging thought: I’m hungry even though its not time for a meal or a snack.
Helpful Response: Hunger is not an emergency.
Sabotaging thought: I don’t want to feel hungry or feel this weird feeling in my throat or stomach.
Helpful Response: It’s okay to feel hungry. You can withstand hunger.
Sabotaging thought: I want to eat because I am hungry (even though I ate already!)
Helpful Response: Just because you want to eat doesn’t mean you always should.
Sabotaging thought: I need to eat…
Helpful Response: It’s important to distinguish between “need” and “want.” People have actually gone for more than a week withouteating and haven’t died. So, precluding a medical disorder, we definitely don’t need to eat on any given day!
Sabotaging thought: I should eat when I’m hungry. Isn’t that what everyone does?
Helpful Response: Most people don’t eat every time they’re hungry. They wait until their next meal. I need to learn that skill, too.
Sabotaging thought: Why should I deliberately make myself feel uncomfortable by skipping lunch?
Helpful Response: I need to experience hunger to decrease my fear of it. This experiment will help reduce my anxiety about hunger in the future. The best way to get over my fear is to face it. This experiment will strengthen me for the next time I’m hungry and it’s not time to eat.
Sabotaging thought: I’m so hungry. Shouldn’t I be ablet o eat?
Helpful Response: It’s good that I’m feeling hungry! People without weight problems feel hungry every day–they just don’t think much about it. They just wait until their next meal to satisfy that hunger. Tolerating hunger (and cravings) is an essential skill to losing weight and then maintaining a healthy weight for my whole life.
Sabotaging thought: I just have a craving for dessert.
Helpful Response: This is great…I’m feeling a craving, but I know I can tolerate it and it’ll go away. It’s great that I’m tolerating it.
How do you get diminish cravings?
The moment you decide you’re absolutely not going to stray from your diet.
How do you weaken the intensity and reduce the frequency of cravings?
You HAVE to stop stop giving in to them!
You want to eat chocolate (and you already ate between 20min-3 hours ago)…what are you going to first do?
Tell yourself: This feeling is just a craving…It’s uncomfortable and intense, but (like hunger), it’s not an emergency!
You want to eat chocolate (and you already ate between 20min-3 hours ago)…what are you going to do after you’ve labeled the craving?
You are going to STAND FIRM and tell yourself that you’re absolutely NOT going to eat the food that you’re craving. You don’t want to strengthen your giving-in muscle and weaken your resistance muscle. Is giving in WORTH the momentary pleasure you’ll get from eating it when you’ll undermind your confidence and feel guilty after eating it?
You want to eat a Snickers and you’ve labeled the craving, and you have stood firm, what else can you do.
DON’T give yorself a choice. NO CHOICE. You can stand this intensity, nothing is going to happen to you. In a few moments, you are going to be proud of yourself!!
Every time you have a craving and you are about to reach for something not nutritious…
IMAGINE the aftermath of giving in–you will feel weak, out of control, upset, and you will feel heavier, guilty, and more-heavy-hearted, and HOPELESS.
If you are tempted to eat something that’ s in your vicinity ie you smell or see the food you can…
Distance yourself from the food you crave.
If you are tempted to eat something that’ s in your vicinity ie you smell or see the food you can.
Drink a no-low calorie beverage.
If you are tempted to eat something that’ s in your vicinity ie you smell or see the food you can…
Relax. Breathe in and out of your nose counting to four as you inhale and to four as you exhale x 3 minutes.
If you are tempted to eat something that’ s in your vicinity ie you smell or see the food you can…
Distract yourself –ie go for a walk, clean something, talk to a friend. FOCUS your attention SOMEWHERE else!
Go the Cravings Flashcards if you are feeling an intense craving!
You made them for a reason!
Sabotaging thought: The next time I have a craving, I won’t be able to tolerate it.
Helpful Response: I couldn’t tolerate cravings in the past, but now I have lots of anti-craving techniques tha tI can use, which will make the craving go away. Besides the discomfort of cravings is mild compared to the discomfort I felt when nick and broke up. I tolerated that, and I can certainly tolerate cravings.
Sabotaging thought: I know myself. The next time I have a craving I won’t want to control myself.
Helpful Response: That’s probably true. But I can keep reminding myself that I don’t want to be at the mercy of my cravings forever. To get rid of them, I’m always going to have to do one of two things: either give-in and eat and never lose the weight I want or use the anti-craving techniques so often I just won’t have many cravings anymore. Once I find out these techniques really work, I’ll be able to wait out my cravings so much more easily. I’ll be glad when I get to the point where I don’t have to be worried when I go to a party or eat out. I’ll know for sure that I can tolerate these urges.
EXERCISE NO MATTER WHAT!
If I don’t feel like exercising, remember: 5 minutes is better than 0 minutes. Say NO CHOICE. The hardest part is getting started; then it gets easier.
Tolerate it!
Hunger and cravings aren’t emergencies. I can tolerate them. They’re mild compared to telling the family that their child died. I’m going to eat again in ____ hours, anyway.
When I want to eat something I shouldn’t…..
Look at your craving flashcards.
Sabotaging thought: I know I should get involved with other activities and refrain from eating this, but I just don’t care.
Helpful Response: It’s true that I don’t care at this moment, but pretty soon I’m going to be feel really bad that I ate this. When I get on the scale on Day 15 (page 85), I’m going to care very much. I f I don’t learn to resist eating food I’m not supposed to have, i’ll never be able to keep off the weight I lose.
