Response Cards

Question 1

I’m hungry I have to eat.

Answer 1

I’m hungry. Oh well, dinner is an hour. I’ll wait.

Question 2

I’m upset. I need to eat.

Answer 2

I’m upset. If i eat, I’ll feel even worse. I’ll go calm myself down using the new techniques I learned.

Question 3

It won’t matter if I eat this unplanned food because it’s only a small piece.

Answer 3

It does matter. If I eat this, I’ll be strengthening my giving-in habit.

Question 4

Uh-oh I might lose control and eat too much at the party.

Answer 4

I know exactly what to do if I’m tempted.

Question 5

I have to eat this unplanned food my hostess is offering.

Answer 5

I’ll politely say “No Thanks” because I’m entitled to stick up for myself, even if my hostess is momentarily disappointed.

Question 6

I can eat on the fly.

Answer 6

NO CHOICE. I have to take the time I need to buy food, prepare it, and eat it slowly, enjoying every bite.

Question 7

There are “good foods and bad foods. I should never have a bad food.

Answer 7

I can eat a favorite food, in a reasonable portion, as often as once a day.

Question 8

I just cheated on my diet. I’ve blown it. I may as well continue eating whatever I want and start again tomorrow.

Answer 8

Okay I made a mistake. No big deal. I’ll start again right this minute so I won’t gain weight.

Question 9

This is too hard. I’m giving up.

Answer 9

It feels hard right at the moment, but this feeling is temporary. I’ll go distract myself and in a few minutes. I’ll be really glad I did.

Question 10

I’m just a weak person where food and dieting are concerned.

Answer 10

I know that if I keep practicing these skills, I will gain control. I’m learning how to be strong.

Question 11

I’ll figure out how to squeeze in these diet and exercise activities when the time comes.

Answer 11

You’re setting yourself up for failure. Extra time will not magically make itself available. You have to plan your life around diet and exercise activities–not vice versa.

Question 12

Dieting should be easy and short term.

Answer 12

The only way to lose weight permanently is to learn dieting skills and practice them every day. Then dieting will get easier and easier.

Question 13

This is too much work; i don’t feel like learning all of these skills. I don’t feel like following my eating plan.

Answer 13

I’m choosing to say NO CHOICE. If I want to lose weight, I have to do what I need to do, not what I feel like doing.

Question 14

It isn’t fair. Other people eat whatever they want.

Answer 14

When dieting seems unfair, remind myself that I’m not alone. This is how all successful dieters and maintainers eat. I have a choice. I can let a sense of unfairness overwhelm me, cheat on my diet, and gain weight. Or I can accept that this is what I have to do if I want all of the benefits of permanent weight loss.

Question 15

I might as well eat as much as I want because I’ll never get to do it again.

Answer 15

That’s not true! You can eat your favorite foods in reasonable portions as often as once a day!

Question 16

I have to lose weight as quickly as possible.It’s okay to change my eating and learn these skills as I go along.

Answer 16

The only way to lose permanently is to master these skills before you start the diet.

Question 17

I don’t have the time to read my Response Cards and Advantages Deck.

Answer 17

I need to start reading them now to develop new pathways in my mind so i’ll know exactly how to respond to my sabotaging thoughts when they pop up.

Question 18

Omigod I weigh so much.

Answer 18

My weight isn’t who I am. It isn’t a measure of my worth. It’s just a number that tells me important information.

Question 19

Sit, slow down, enjoy

Answer 19

it’s important to do this when you are hungry.

Question 20

I don’t want to sit, slow down, and enjoy my food.

Answer 20

I have to eat every bite slowly, while sitting down, so I can fully enjoy it. It’s worth developing this lifetime habit so that I can have a lifetime of being thinner.

Question 21

Every time that I follow the diet, I should have done it anyway. I should only give myself credit if I lose all the weight I need to.

Answer 21

I really do deserve credit for breaking old habits and it is essential for building my confidence. Once my confidence grows, everything will be come so much easier.

Question 22

I don’t feel like exercising.

Answer 22

Exercise is not negotiable for good health. I need to make it be a daily lifetime habit. The hardest part is getting started. I’ll feel so much better when I’m done. So get started!

Question 23

If I can’t do my whole exercise program, it’s not worth doing anything at all.

Answer 23

Remember tha five minutes of exercise is better than zero minutes.

Question 24

Definition of hunger

Answer 24

The gnawing feeling in the pit of your empty stomach.

Question 25

Definition of non-hunger

Answer 25

The desire to eat when your stomach is not empty.

Question 26

I am not actually hungry, but I feel like eating.

Answer 26

No wonder I Want to eat.. I usually do it at this time…But it doesn’t matter; i’m definitely not going to eat now…It’s worth it to me (and my diet!) to resist.

Question 27

I’m about to put food in my mouth at a non-meal time, think what things?

Answer 27

Is this hunger, a desire to eat, a craving, fatigue, negative emotion (stress, depression, loneliness, boredom, or THIRST!?

Question 28

It’s not what I planned to eat oh well.

Answer 28

It’s not what I planned to eat, and I’d so much rather be thinner than have the momentary pleasure of eating this food.

Question 29

I don’t care at this moment and I really want to eat this food!

Answer 29

It is true that I don’t care at this very moment. But if I eat this unplanned food, I am going to care quite a lot in just a few minutes. I know I will feel really bad if I give in, but I will feel terrific if I resist. I need to go do something else!