Allowing Shades of Grey

It's that time of year again. The holidays are over and we've rung in the New Year. Most of us are thinking about resolutions, one of which is probably the desire to eat better and re-commit yourself to that nutrition plan. This article from Psychology Today addresses the mental component of healthy nutritional plans...

People who regain weight after dieting are not failures. But if they see themselves as failures, they may be more likely to regain lost weight.

Regainers tend to have an "all-or-nothing" style of thinking, according to research by psychologists at the University of Western Australia. They see themselves as either a success or a failure, with no options in between. People who keep weight off seem to allow for more shades of gray.

Most people stop losing weight after about 20 weeks of dieting. If an all-or-nothing thinker hasn't reached her goal weight by then, she may see herself as a failure and give up on her new eating habits, surmise Susan M. Byrne and colleagues.

Here are some unhealthy thoughts that may sabatoge your goal:

• "I must be thin." This creates desperation, which undermines a healthy long-range approach to sensible eating. Also, perfectionism pervades this thinking.


• "I must eat until sated." Early humans lived in an environment in which food resources were scarce. While our ancestors had to hunt down squirrels and eat them, we can supersize a Whopper meal and skip the workout.


• "I need immediate results." The demand for immediate improvement undermines commitment to a long-term goal. We think, why bother eating healthfully, when the reward is far off? But dieting requires present-moment frustration and self-denial with little immediate reward.


• "I need comfort." People eat to avoid feelings of loneliness, depression and anxiety. Fatty and sugary food provides immediate comfort and distraction from other issues. Resolving some of these problems may help you overcome poor eating habits


• "It's intolerable to stick to a diet." This thinking renders you helpless. People who are easily frustrated want easy solutions. We're seduced by fad diets because they appeal to that immediacy. Yet people who rely on fads suffer high failure rates. When you diet with the short term in mind, you don't learn strategies that require patience and persistence.