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Daily Diet Solutions

• June 19, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I want to have an off track day so I can eat all the foods I can’t while dieting.

  Response: There’s no food I can eat when I’m off track that I can’t also eat when I’m on track. And, when I plan it and eat it on track, I enjoy what I’m eating more because I don’t feel guilty about it. Guilt tastes bad!

  Wednesday, June 19, 2013

• June 18, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  We often hear the sabotaging thought, “I’ve lost weight this week so I can afford to loosen up.” It’s important to remember that you lost weight because of all the things you’ve been doing, and the moment you stop doing them is the moment the scale goes back up.

  Tuesday, June 18, 2013

• June 17, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  If, after you lose weight, you think, “I’d like to lose a little more but I don’t think I can eat less or exercise more,” ask yourself: would my life really be so different if I were a few pounds lighter? Yes, I’d like it, but it’s likely I’d have to work so hard to stay there that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it anyway. In the scheme of things, your life probably won’t be drastically improved if you lose a few more pounds, so instead of thinking about where you’d like to be, think about how much better your life is where you are now.

  Monday, June 17, 2013

• June 14, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you feel frustrated by the food pushers in your life, remember that you can’t control anyone else’s actions, you can only control your reactions. So it’s not their job to stop offering, it’s YOUR job to start saying no. This weekend, if someone tries to push food on you, practice saying no (over and over again if necessary!).

  Friday, June 14, 2013

• June 13, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you think, “I can’t say no when [my friend] offers me food because I’ll disappoint her,” remind yourself, “If I give in, I’ll disappoint MYSELF! Besides – how disappointed will my friend really be? Will she think about it the rest of the day/week/month? Versus how disappointed will I be if I give in? Chances are it’s a whole lot more.”

  Thursday, June 13, 2013

• June 12, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I can’t believe I cheated on my diet, that’s so terrible.

  Response: I didn’t cheat, I just made a mistake. If I cheated on my taxes or on a test – that would be bad. Making a mistake on my diet doesn’t say anything about my moral character; it only says I’m HUMAN. Mistakes aren’t terrible and they won’t impact my overall day or week as long as I recover right away.

  Wednesday, June 12, 2013

• June 11, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Sometimes in dieting (and in life), you just have to say, “Oh, well.” To us, this means: I don’t like this situation, but there’s nothing I can do to change it (not if I want to achieve my goal) so I just have to accept it, stop fighting against it, and move on.

  Tuesday, June 11, 2013

• June 10, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  Any one weigh-in on the scale doesn’t tell you anything because the number is influenced by dozens of different factors. And for some, the scale won’t go down for a period of time and then suddenly drop. It’s important to not get discouraged if the scale doesn’t immediately move. Remember – if you stay on track, the scale will go down again.

  Monday, June 10, 2013

• June 7, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Remember – ANY exercise is better than no exercise. If you’ve been off your exercise plan, it’s important to stop putting it off and start moving. One you get started, you’ll be so glad you did. “Like” our status today if you’re committing to some type of physical activity this weekend!

  Friday, June 07, 2013

• June 6, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you eat one portion of dessert and are tempted to go overboard by having another, remind yourself, “I’ve already had one portion and I really enjoyed it. If I have a second, it won’t taste nearly as good as I’m thinking it will because I’ll be feeling guilty the whole time I’m eating it. Besides, I don’t have to have more now, I can have it again tomorrow.”

  Thursday, June 06, 2013

• June 5, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I just can’t seem to find the time for healthy eating and exercise.\

  Response: It’s not about finding the time, it’s about MAKING the time. I’m always able to somehow make the time for my top priorities. If I keep using "not having time" as an excuse, I'll never be able to lose weight and keep it off.

  Wednesday, June 05, 2013

• June 4, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Remember – it’s not about the calories, it’s about the habit. Every time you eat unplanned food, whether it has 5 calories or 500 calories, you make it both more likely you’ll give in AND harder to stand firm the next time.

  Tuesday, June 04, 2013

• June 3, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  One dieter recently said to us, “I was going through a really stressful time but for the first time EVER I didn’t use it as an excuse to overeat. Instead, continuing to take control over my eating helped me feel better every single day and actually made it easier to deal with my stress. I never knew this before!”

  Monday, June 03, 2013

• May 31, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  No matter what your sabotaging thoughts try to tell you, you will feel better and so proud and happy Monday morning if you stay in control and don’t go overboard this weekend. Remember, thoughts like, “I’ll feel better if I indulge,” or, “it’s okay to eat extra because it’s the weekend,” are just there to SABOTAGE you. Don’t listen!

  Friday, May 31, 2013

• May 30, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Don’t put more on your plate than you intend to eat. If you think, “I’ll put three kinds of cookies on my plate but only try a bite of each,” you’ll be making the situation unnecessarily difficult and causing yourself a lot of potential struggle when you try to stick to just a bite each. If you don’t want to eat it, don’t put it on your plate!

  Thursday, May 30, 2013

• May 29, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I need to cut out certain foods [carbs/dairy/sweets, etc.] from my diet in order to lose weight.

  Response: When has cutting out certain foods EVER helped me to lose weight and keep it off? While doing so many enable faster weight loss, it doesn’t enable permanent weight loss. If I lose weight eating or exercising in a way I can’t maintain, I’ll just gain it back so there’s no point.

  Wednesday, May 29, 2013

• May 28, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “I have to give in to this craving. My body wants what it wants and if I don’t give in, it will just come back,” remind yourself that your body does want what it wants, but ultimately your mind can overcome it. The more you practice resisting cravings and prove to yourself you don't give in, the easier it becomes to keep doing so. So even if the craving comes back, each time you'll be in a better and better position to withstand it.

  Tuesday, May 28, 2013

• May 24, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  This Memorial Day weekend, if you’re at events and think, “It’s not fair I can’t eat normally like everyone else,” remind yourself that you are eating 100% normally for someone (of your age and gender) with your weight loss/weight maintenance goals.

  Friday, May 24, 2013

• May 23, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Each small eating decision counts. It’s a combination of all those little things that enables weight loss, not only because they eventually add up, but because forgetting about them strengthens bad habits and makes it easy to continually make more and more unhealthy eating decisions.

  Thursday, May 23, 2013

• May 22, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I don’t want to practice my diet skills right now. I just don’t feel like it.

  Response: I don’t always want to practice my dieting skills but I ALWAYS want to be thinner/healthier/happier, so I have to do them anyway.

  Wednesday, May 22, 2013

• May 21, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  You can’t eat every time you feel stressed, upset, or sad AND lose weight and keep it off. But, there are other things you can do to make yourself feel better. They may not initially be as effective as eating, but they won’t come with any negative consequences. What are some of the things you do to help you calm down without turning to food?

  Tuesday, May 21, 2013

• May 20, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  One dieter we’re working with recently got back from a trip and said, “Every part of the trip was different and better than previous ones. I didn’t have anxiety about my eating going in, I was able to maintain my control during the trip and didn’t feel at all worried or guilty about what I ate, and, most surprisingly, I even felt great when I got home from trip, knowing I hadn’t gained weight! That’s never happened before.”

  Monday, May 20, 2013

• May 17, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Friday Weekend Warm-up: If you think, “Having to work on healthy eating will ruin my weekend,” remind yourself that since being in control makes you feel great and being out of control makes you feel badly and guilty, working on healthy eating will make your weekend BETTER, not worse. (And remember – our definition of ‘healthy eating’ includes treats.)

  Friday, May 17, 2013

• May 16, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you think, “It’s too hard to think about practicing my diet skills forever,” remind yourself that some of them you won’t have to do forever, and others will start to be become more and more automatic.

  Thursday, May 16, 2013

• May 15, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to eat [this food I hadn’t planned]. It doesn’t matter.

  Response: EVERY time matters because it always has an impact on the next time and the time after that. Every time I resist, I make my resistance habit stronger, but every time I give in, I make my giving-in habit stronger. This time matters!

  Wednesday, May 15, 2013

• May 14, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  The sooner you accept that there is no easy way out for lasting weight loss, the sooner you’ll be able to get yourself to do what you need to do. Stop looking for the magic bullet and start working on healthy eating – it will bring you results (although probably not as quickly or easily as you’d like).

  Tuesday, May 14, 2013

• May 13, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  If you’re feeling discouraged today, DON’T GIVE UP! Whenever you’re working on something really difficult, there will be bumps along the way and it won’t always run smoothly – but that’s okay. The most important thing is to not give up and keep working on moving forward. You will get better at it!

  Monday, May 13, 2013

• May 10, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you make an eating mistake this weekend, remember that you always have the choice to get back on track right after. One mistake doesn’t mean you’re out of control and should wait until Monday to work on regaining it. Make the decision to rebound immediately and keep having a great weekend.

  Friday, May 10, 2013

• May 9, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  You can gain weight eating all healthy food. If you think, “It’s okay to eat this because it’s healthy,” remind yourself that if you take in more calories than your body needs, no matter where those calories come from, you’ll gain weight.

  Thursday, May 09, 2013

• May 8, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’m too tired to exercise.

  Response: Being tired is not an excuse because exercise gives me MORE energy, not less. Don’t think about it – just get up and do it. I won’t regret exercising; I’ll only regret NOT exercising.

  Wednesday, May 08, 2013

• May 7, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Time for healthy eating and exercise won’t magically appear, especially if your life is already busy. Making time for these things often requires realizing where NOT making time has gotten you and then some reprioritizing. Not only do you DESERVE to put yourself first, but it’s necessary!

  Tuesday, May 07, 2013

• May 6, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  If you think, “I have so much weight to lose, it will be so long until I feel better,” remind yourself that dieters end up feeling great WELL before they reach their goal weight because they gain control over their eating. Feeling great is not about the actual number on the scale – it’s a matter of feeling in control of the direction the number is moving.

  Monday, May 06, 2013

• May 3, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you eat out often, chances are you can’t indulge every time and still lose weight. However, remember that the experience of eating out is ALWAYS a treat (no cooking, no dishes, being served), even if the food isn’t.

  Friday, May 03, 2013

• May 2, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you go out to eat with a friend who then expresses disappointment when you order something healthy, remind yourself that it is not your responsibility to make others feel better about what they eat. It is your responsibility to be healthy and make eating choices that work for you.

  Thursday, May 02, 2013

• May 1, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’m too busy to eat healthfully right now.

  Response: That’s just an excuse to make unhealthy choices. In this day and age, there are almost always healthy options available that are as easy and convenient as not healthy ones.

  Wednesday, May 01, 2013

• April 30, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Remember – your body doesn’t know how good you’ve been. Your body doesn’t know all the things you didn’t eat. It ONLY knows what you do eat, so just because you’ve been “good” all days doesn’t mean you can eat extra at night.

  Tuesday, April 30, 2013

• April 29, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  The more you practice dieting skills, the more ingrained they become, which means that dieting gets EASIER! However difficult dieting may feel right now is NOT how hard it will feel in the future, as long as you keep practicing and working on making these things habits. Like any skill, the more you practice, the better you get, so don't give up!

  Monday, April 29, 2013

• April 26, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  This weekend, if you think, “It’s okay to eat extra because everyone else is,” remind yourself that your body doesn’t know or care what everyone around you is eating, it only knows what YOU eat. What everyone around you is (or isn’t) eating is 100% irrelevant to your body, which means you can't base your eating on others.

  Friday, April 26, 2013

• April 25, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you’ve struggled to lose weight in the past, or if you’ve lost weight and then gained it back, it’s important to remember that what you’ve done before just doesn’t work - if it did, you'd be at the weight you want. If you want this time to be different, you have to do things differently, even if it means you lose weight more slowly.

  Thursday, April 25, 2013

• April 24, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I have to eat whenever I feel hungry.

  Response: In reality, I really WANT to eat when I’m hungry, but I don’t need to eat [because I don’t have any medical problems]. While experiencing hunger may not be pleasant, it’s not so uncomfortable that I can’t keep doing what I’m doing. I can handle it!

  Wednesday, April 24, 2013

• April 23, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “It’s okay to eat this one unplanned food, it won’t matter,” remind yourself that slip-ups usually have a more lasting effect on the rest of your day. If you allow yourself to get off track in the morning or afternoon, you’re much more likely to continue making off-track food decisions later in the day. It does matter!

  Tuesday, April 23, 2013

• April 22, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  Many dieters find that once they gain control over their eating, it helps them feel better, and more in control, in general. Feeling in control and on track can have a positive spillover effect into so many other areas of your life!

  Monday, April 22, 2013

• April 19, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you think, “It’s the weekend, I don’t want to think about healthy eating. I just want to relax and enjoy,” remind yourself that if you choose to not ‘think’ about it now, you’ll definitely think about it Monday morning when the scale has gone up and your clothes don’t fit as well. So think about it now, or think about it later, either way you’re going to think about it.

  Friday, April 19, 2013

• April 18, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Remember, cravings are like itches. The more you pay attention to them, the worse they get but the moment you get really distracted is the moment the craving starts to go away. You NEVER need to eat to make a craving go away. Turning your attention completely to something else is just as effective.

  Thursday, April 18, 2013

• April 17, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: When I’m dieting, there are good foods that I should eat and bad foods that I should stay away from.

  Response: There are no good foods and bad foods, just foods that I should eat more of and foods that I should eat less of.

  Wednesday, April 17, 2013

• April 16, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Often dieters say things like, “I had such a hard week.” In many cases, however, it was really only hard for a few hours on a few days, but they tend to let the memory of one or two hard times color their perception of the week as a whole. It’s important to maintain a clear perspective so you don’t get discouraged by circumstances that aren’t an accurate reflection of reality!

  Tuesday, April 16, 2013

• April 15, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  Cutting out all desserts never works for the long term because you’ll eventually eat them again and, when you do, go way overboard. Because of this, it’s actually IMPORTANT that you work treats into your diet to prove to yourself that you can eat them in reasonable portions. Desserts are a necessary part of rest-of-your-life eating!

  Monday, April 15, 2013

• April 12, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you eat out this weekend, go in with a plan! And, remind yourself that you don’t need to eat everything on your plate (because eating it won’t bring the money back), and that just because everyone else is having something doesn’t mean you should (because your body doesn’t know or care what anyone else is eating).

  Friday, April 12, 2013

• April 11, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  In dieting, what we think will make us feel better (like eating when stressed), actually makes us feel worse, and what we think will make us feel worse (like planning our meals in advance), actually makes us feel better!

  Thursday, April 11, 2013

• April 10, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: “It’s okay to eat [this food] because I don’t know how many calories are in it. It’s probably not that bad, anyway.”

  Response: Just because I don’t KNOW how many calories are in it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a lot! My lack of knowledge doesn’t change the reality of what this food is made of.

  Wednesday, April 10, 2013

• April 9, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Mistakes are an unavoidable part of the learning process. You can’t learn to diet successfully without making mistakes along the way, just as you can’t learn to play tennis without missing a few shots. If you have the unreasonable expectation that you won’t make mistakes, it will only make you feel worse, and make it seem like a much bigger deal, when you inevitably do.

  Tuesday, April 09, 2013

• April 8, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  You’re entitled to make mistakes, but you’re not entitled to use one mistake as an excuse to keep making more. No matter how many or how few mistakes you make this week, what matters most is what you do right after. Learning to recover IMMEDIATELY from mistakes is a skill that will help you lose weight and keep it off for good.

  Monday, April 08, 2013

• April 5, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you think, “I’ll wait until Monday to start my diet,” remind yourself that waiting until Monday has NEVER gotten you where you want to be. Instead, break that bad habit and get started RIGHT NOW! By Monday morning you’ll be so glad to already have experienced a few days of healthy eating and feeling better.

  Friday, April 05, 2013

• April 4, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  The more preplanning you do (which means the fewer decisions you’ll have to make on the fly), the better easier and better your day will be. It is so much easier to make good decisions ahead of time, rather than have to struggle to use willpower in the moment to make healthy choices.

  Thursday, April 04, 2013

• April 3, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’m just going to eat this because I don’t feel like thinking about it.

  Response: Even if I decide to eat and ‘not think about it,’ I’ll definitely still think about it when I get on the scale, when my clothes don't fit, and when I’m feeling angry with myself because I'm stuck at a higher weight. No matter what I’m going to think about it, either now (by making healthy choices) or later when I’m facing the consequences.

  Wednesday, April 03, 2013

• April 2, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Once you have positive momentum built up, it becomes so much easier to keep doing what you’re doing. You’ll be less likely to give in to unplanned eating because you’ll be able to say to yourself, “I’m doing so well, it’s not worth knocking myself off track.”

  Tuesday, April 02, 2013

• April 1, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  We asked one dieter: What’s one advantage you’ve gotten from losing weight? She said, “Now, when I hear about an event coming up, my first thought isn’t, ‘I need to lose weight before that’ and ‘Oh no, what will I wear?’ Now, my first thought is, ‘that sounds great, I can’t wait!’” Now you: What is one of your advantages?

  Monday, April 01, 2013

• March 29, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Not getting enough sleep makes everything seem harder, including (or maybe especially) sticking to healthy eating. This weekend, catch up on your sleep! You’ll have more mental and physical energy to do what you need to do.

  Friday, March 29, 2013

• March 28, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you’re working through the Beck Diet Solution book(s), it’s CRITICALLY important to go at your own pace and take the time to master each skill before you move on to the next one. In our work with clients, we usually spend a minimum of one week on each skill, not just one day, so never be afraid to move slowly and at your own pace.

  Thursday, March 28, 2013

• March 27, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to give in and have this one cookie.

  Response: One cookie won’t satisfy me, and if I have it, the ONLY thing it will do is cause me to have an even stronger craving for a second cookie. If I have one, I’ll want two. If I have two, I’ll want three. Don’t get started!

  Wednesday, March 27, 2013

• March 26, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Staying on track when your life gets stressful is hard but by no means impossible. And, staying in control of your eating during stressful times will help you feel better and more in control in general. It has a positive spillover effect!

  Tuesday, March 26, 2013

• March 25, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  Important reminder – you can’t change what has happened in the past, only what you do today and in the future. No matter how you feel about your eating from the weekend, TODAY is an opportunity for a fresh start so focus on what you can do to make it a great eating day.

  Monday, March 25, 2013

• March 22, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Just because your time may be unstructured over the weekend doesn’t mean your eating has to be. If you want to feel in control and have a good weekend –have an eating plan!

  Friday, March 22, 2013

• March 21, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you think, “I can’t believe I haven’t exercised in so long, it’s too demoralizing to start now,” remind yourself, “It doesn’t matter why or when I stopped. What matters is NOW. It doesn’t matter if the last time I exercised was a day ago or a year ago, what matters is whether or not I do it today, and in the days going forward.”

  Thursday, March 21, 2013

• March 20, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to give in to this craving. One time won’t matter.

  Response: EVERY time matters because every time has an impact on the next time, and the time after that. Every time I give in, I make it more likely I’ll keep giving in. Every time I resist, I make it more likely (and easier) to resist the next time. So this time absolutely, 100% DOES matter!

  Wednesday, March 20, 2013

• March 19, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “This craving is so uncomfortable, I’m just going to give in so I don’t feel it anymore,” remind yourself that while overcoming a craving is uncomfortable in the moment, giving in is uncomfortable for SO MUCH LONGER when you feel badly and guilty about it long after.

  Tuesday, March 19, 2013

• March 18, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  We asked one maintainer to tell us the biggest advantage she has achieved as a result of losing weight and she said, “The greatest advantage is being able to more effectively deal with everything in my life. I have more energy, both mental and physical, and I just feel like I’m able to live BETTER on a daily basis!”

  Monday, March 18, 2013

• March 15, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  A mistake is just a mistake and every time you make one, you ALWAYS have the option to turn yourself around immediately. This weekend, if you get off track, make the decision to put it behind you and get right back on track. Monday morning you will be so happy you did!

  Friday, March 15, 2013

• March 14, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Don’t sit down with a big bag or container of ANYTHING. Portion off ahead of time how much you’re going to have and then sit down and eat it. Doing so will ensure that you don’t go overboard and will help you enjoy each bite more because you won’t be constantly asking yourself, “Should I have another one? Is this my last one? Should I have one more?”

  Thursday, March 14, 2013

• March 13, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Dieting is so hard! Why am I doing this?

  Response: Good question! Why AM I doing this? It’s important for me to keep in mind at all times exactly why I’m working on losing weight and what I hope to get out of it. Reading a list, every day, of all these reasons will help me remember that dieting is hard, but the advantages make it worth it.

  Wednesday, March 13, 2013

• March 12, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Many dieters imagine they’ll be happier eating off track but when they actually do, they feel just the opposite: sick, badly, guilty. Remember – the things you think you’ll feel as a result of eating off track might, in fact, just be a fantasy, and the reality of being off track may not feel nearly as good.

  Tuesday, March 12, 2013

• March 11, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  So often we hear from dieters sabotaging thoughts like, “I don’t deserve credit [for my weight loss efforts] because I should already be doing these things.” Here’s what we want them (and you!) to know: No you SHOULDN’T already be doing these things. If it was easy, nobody would be overweight. If it was easy, nobody who ever lost weight on a diet would gain it back. It’s really hard, but you’re learning and making progress, and you deserve credit EVERY step of the way.”

  Monday, March 11, 2013

• March 8, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Being accountable for your actions is a critical part of successful weight loss because it enables you to recognize mistakes, which then allows you to learn from them for the future.

  Friday, March 08, 2013

• March 7, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  It’s not about the calories, it’s about the habit. Every time you give in to a craving and eat something unplanned (whether the food has 50 calories or 500 calories), you reinforce the habit of giving in, making it more likely you’ll give in the next time, and the time after that.

  Thursday, March 07, 2013

• March 6, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: If I don’t have enough time for a long workout, it’s not worth doing anything.

  Response: ANY amount of time spent exercising is better than no amount of time. It’s important to sometimes work out for smaller amounts of time so that I prove to myself that exercising doesn’t have to be ALL or NOTHING, it’s somewhere in the middle.

  Wednesday, March 06, 2013

• March 5, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Because humans can go days without eating (barring any medical issues!), at any given time you never actually NEED to eat something. At that moment you may really WANT to eat, but that’s not the same as needing to eat.

  Tuesday, March 05, 2013

• March 4, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  Repeat after us: Losing weight is hard but with practice, it gets EASIER! It’s hard but by no means impossible. It’s hard but the benefits and advantages of doing so are enormous. Every time I eat I have the opportunity to strengthen good habits and make it even easier the next time. It’s hard, but it’s not always hard, and it GETS EASIER!

  Monday, March 04, 2013

• March 1, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you get off track this weekend, remember that there is NO SUCH THING as “blowing it for the whole weekend,” because if you stay off track, you’ll continue to take in more calories. There IS such a thing as making a mistake and then continuing to make mistakes, but it’s impossible to ‘blow it’ definitively because at any point you get yourself back on track puts you in a better position.

  Friday, March 01, 2013

• February 28, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  At the end of the day, most people forget some (or all) of the food they ate standing up because food eaten standing up just doesn’t seem to register in the mind or body the same way as food eaten while deliberately sitting down. Working on eating every bite sitting down (and slowly and mindfully) is a comfortable way of cutting many calories from your diet because, at the end of the day, you likely won’t miss that food or feel any less satisfied.

  Thursday, February 28, 2013

• February 27, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I did lose a little weight this week but I’m disappointed it’s not more.

  Response: Real life weight loss has NOTHING to do with shows like the Biggest Loser. In real life, losing between ½ a pound and 2 pounds a week is exactly in the right range. Although I wish I was losing weight more quickly, I have to remember that doing so has never enabled me to keep it off. Every pound lost is a victory and ultimately adds up to major weight loss.

  Wednesday, February 27, 2013

• February 26, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you want to lose weight and keep it off, it means you’ll have to learn to tolerate feeling hunger and cravings. While they can be uncomfortable, nothing bad will happen as a result of experiencing them. They’re a normal part of life!

  Tuesday, February 26, 2013

• February 25, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  Remember, when you say “no” to eating something, you’re also saying “yes” to even better things: losing weight, better health, increased self-confidence, feeling proud of yourself, and more.

  Monday, February 25, 2013

• February 22, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you get off track this weekend, remind yourself, “There’s no such thing as blowing it for the whole weekend because the calories will keep adding up. Get back on track RIGHT NOW and make the rest of the weekend great.”

  Friday, February 22, 2013

• February 21, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  It’s important to remember that you’re not doing things like working on healthy eating, resisting cravings, and limiting junk food to punish yourself. Rather, you’re doing them so that you can achieve critically important and life-changing goals.

  Thursday, February 21, 2013

• February 20, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I need to eat to make this craving go away.

  Response: I NEVER need to eat to make a craving go away. Cravings are like itches – the more I focus on them, the worse they get. The moment I start to get distracted is the moment the craving starts to go away.

  Wednesday, February 20, 2013

• February 19, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  On track eating days aren’t perfect days! In order to lose weight and keep it off, you don’t need to be perfect because nobody is perfect. What you do need is to accept your mistakes, not beat yourself up, and get right back on track.

  Tuesday, February 19, 2013

• February 18, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  We asked one dieter what helps keep her motivated to stay on track and she said, “I remind myself that when I’m off track, I feel TERRIBLE. When I’m on track, I feel great. Staying on track feels hard some of the time, but being off track feels hard ALL of the time, physically and psychologically.”

  Monday, February 18, 2013

• February 15, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  It’s easier to stay on track than get back on track. When you have positive momentum built up from the week, don’t let the weekend stop it! Stay on track, keep the momentum going, and Monday morning you won’t have to put forth the effort to get back in control.

  Friday, February 15, 2013

• February 14, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you want to lose weight and keep it off, whether or not you “feel” like doing something (e.g. resisting a craving, taking time to eat breakfast, grocery shopping for healthy food) just isn’t relevant. Ask yourself, “Which do I MORE not feel like: working on healthy eating, or remaining overweight?”

  Thursday, February 14, 2013

• February 13, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’m too tired/stressed/busy to exercise today.

  Response: Exercise will actually help with these things, not make them worse! If I’m tired, it will give me more energy, if I’m stressed, it will provide a productive outlet, if I’m busy, it will be a necessary break to focus on myself and my needs.

  Wednesday, February 13, 2013

• February 12, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Remember – it's not enough to read these Daily Diet Solutions once and expect them to make a difference. Take the time to copy down the ones that are particularly resonant to you onto cards and read them every day. The more you read these helpful ideas, the more they’ll pop into your head when you really need them!

  Tuesday, February 12, 2013

• February 11, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  Successful dieting is a matter of learning specific skills and like any other skills, the more you practice them, the easier they get. However difficult dieting may feel today is not how difficult it will feel in the future. If you keep doing what you're doing, it WILL get easier.

  Monday, February 11, 2013

• February 8, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you think, “it’s not fair that I have to work on losing weight and can’t eat whatever I want on weekends,” remind yourself that everyone has unfairnesses in their lives and this happens to be one of yours. But at least this is one you can do something about!

  Friday, February 08, 2013

• February 7, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Successful weight loss and maintenance is a combination of all the small things you do in a day, not a result of any one big thing. That’s why it’s important to give yourself credit for every big AND small thing you do well!

  Thursday, February 07, 2013

• February 6, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to have this extra cookie because there’s so many other desserts [at this party] that I’m not eating.
  
  Response: My body doesn’t know or care what I don’t eat, it only knows what I DO eat.

  Wednesday, February 06, 2013

• February 5, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  There’s simply no magic bullet that will enable easy, fast, and LASTING weight loss. Instead of fighting against what you need to do, use that time and energy to just get started. Every journey starts with a single step – so commit to taking at least one step today.

  Tuesday, February 05, 2013

• February 4, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  Instead of feeling burdened by having to eat healthfully and exercise, it’s important to remember how LUCKY you are to be able to do these things.

  Monday, February 04, 2013

• February 1, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  The Super Bowl is this weekend! Remember, it’s not all-or-nothing. It’s not as if you can eat everything you want or you can’t eat anything you want. Besides, staying in control of your eating during the game will ensure that you are able to enjoy eating without feeling guilty, enjoy watching the game, AND enjoy all the benefits of continuing to lose/maintain weight.

  Friday, February 01, 2013

• January 31, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Eating half of your (presumably much too big) meal at a restaurant and bringing the other half home is a win/win/win situation: you get to enjoy the meal twice, you pay only once for two meals, AND you get to continue working on healthy eating and healthy habits!

  Thursday, January 31, 2013

• January 30, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Since I didn't lose weight this week, I must be doing something wrong. This isn't working.
  
  Response: Even if I was perfect on my diet, it’s not a guarantee that the scale will go down on any given week. It’s 100% normal for the scale to stay the same or even go up some weeks. I need to keep doing what I’m doing, and the scale WILL go down again.

  Wednesday, January 30, 2013

• January 29, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Even without getting to weight you were at in college or the weight of your thinnest friend, you can still be happy with you are and experience major benefits of weight loss (improved self-confidence, better health, fewer aches and pains, a stable wardrobe, etc.). Remember – it’s so much more than just the number on the scale.

  Tuesday, January 29, 2013

• January 28, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  It’s important to start working on enriching your life NOW, even if you’re not yet where you want to be in terms of weight loss. The more pleasurable things you have going on, the less and less you’ll turn to food to fulfill that role.

  Monday, January 28, 2013

• January 25, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Staying in control of your eating during the weekend is just as important as during the work week. Getting off track every weekend is a recipe for frustration – it will cause you to lose and then gain the same few pounds over and over again. It’s worth it to stay in control if it means seeing real progress!

  Friday, January 25, 2013

• January 24, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Eating every bite of food sitting down can be a relatively painless way of eliminating many calories from your diet because you probably don’t even notice much of what you eat standing up and it likely doesn’t factor into your overall level of satiety.

  Thursday, January 24, 2013

• January 23, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Healthy eating/losing weight should already be easy for me so I don’t deserve credit for it.
  
  Response: No, this shouldn’t already be easy. If it were easy, nobody would be overweight. It were easy, no one who ever lose weight on a diet would gain it back. I need to give myself credit EVERY step of the way, and in doing so, I'll build my confidence and then dieting will become easier.

  Wednesday, January 23, 2013

• January 22, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you’re working on healthy eating and losing weight, it probably means you also have to work on putting your own needs first (at least some of the time) and feeling entitled to ask for what you need. Remember – you can’t be good to anyone else if you’re not first good to yourself.

  Tuesday, January 22, 2013

• January 21, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  It's important to remember that a major benefit of healthy eating and weight loss is SIGNIFICANTLY improved quality of life. Our dieters find that once they gain control over their eating, they feel so much better (mentally and physically) in ways they hadn’t even imagined.

  Monday, January 21, 2013

• January 18, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you go out to eat this weekend and think, “I need to get my money’s worth by eating everything on my plate,” remind yourself that cost of doing so (weight gain, not fitting into clothes, reinforcing bad habits, feeling overly full, getting off track, etc.) is MUCH greater than the cost of leaving food behind.

  Friday, January 18, 2013

• January 17, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  For many people, eating is a powerful coping mechanism for negative emotions because they give it power. They tell themselves, “Eating will help me feel better,” and then it does (in the short term). Instead, remind yourself that eating will ultimately ALWAYS make you feel worse, and then try giving something else power, like drinking hot tea or taking a walk.

  Thursday, January 17, 2013

• January 16, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: “It’s okay to eat whatever I want because I’m sick.”

  Response: My body doesn’t know or care that I’m sick, it will process all calories the same. There are comfort foods that I can eat when I’m not feeling well that are healthy, like soup. Besides, if I eat unhealthy foods to feel better when I’m sick, when I’m healthy again I won’t feel good because I’ll feel badly about having gone off my diet and gaining weight.

  Wednesday, January 16, 2013

• January 15, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Remember, while working on healthy eating is hard some of the time, being overweight is hard ALL of the time, and in so many more ways.

  Tuesday, January 15, 2013

• January 14, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  Feeling comfortable in your own body, being able to move around more easily and do more things, and significantly improving your health are just 3 of some of the life-altering benefits that can come as a result of weight loss. Yes, it can be hard, but the payoff can also be enormous and profound.

  Monday, January 14, 2013

• January 11, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you think, “I worked hard all week, I just want to relax,” remind yourself that if your goal is to lose weight and keep it off, then you can’t use food as a means to relax. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of other ways to treat yourself and relaxing things to do this weekend!

  Friday, January 11, 2013

• January 10, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Remember, it’s a combination of all of the “little” things – like not eating a cookie from the cafeteria, making it a priority to eat sitting down, walking by the candy dish and not dipping in– that will make you lose weight. It’s all the daily things that lead up to BIG weight loss!

  Thursday, January 10, 2013

• January 9, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I don’t want to work on healthy eating right now because I just don’t feel like thinking about it.

  Response: Either way I’m going to think about it. When I’m off track, I spend time thinking about needing to get back on track and feeling guilty about my eating. There’s no such thing as ‘not thinking about it.’

  Wednesday, January 09, 2013

• January 8, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Sometimes when dieters go through a stressful eating situation (like the holidays or a demanding work situation), they do extraordinarily well because they are extra vigilant, knowing it’s 100% necessary. When the stressful time passes, they relax and can stray off track because their guard has gone down. Remember, successful weight loss and maintenance isn’t only a matter of how well you do during hard times, it’s also about every day in between.

  Tuesday, January 08, 2013

• January 7, 2013 - Monday Motivation

  Dieting and losing weight can be very hard, no doubt about that. BUT, it’s important to keep in mind all of the overwhelmingly positive things that will come as a result. It’s hard but it’s undoubtedly worth it. Important things are worth working for!

  Monday, January 07, 2013

• January 4, 2013 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you think, “I’m discouraged by the weight I gained this holiday season,” remind yourself that this weekend is a GREAT time to get back on track and recommit yourself to healthy eating. It doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t eat over the past few weeks. What matters now is what you eat today and every day going forward.

  Friday, January 04, 2013

• January 3, 2013 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Remember, in terms of your eating, you only have to answer to yourself. Don’t let comments or predicted reactions from others influence how you eat. You’re working on healthy eating because it’s an important goal for YOU. You don’t need to explain or answer to anybody else about this!

  Thursday, January 03, 2013

• January 2, 2013 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’m going to eat [this food] because I just don’t care.

  Response: While it’s true I may not care right now, I am DEFINITELY going to care later on when I’m feeling guilty about my eating, when I’ve sabotaged myself, and when I step on the scale. I can’t let this one moment of not caring get in the way of reaching my goals. It’s not worth it!

  Wednesday, January 02, 2013

• January 1, 2013 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Happy New Year’s! Do you have goals or resolutions for the year ahead? If so, remember that it’s important to break big goals down into smaller, more manageable ones. If your goal is to eat more healthfully, perhaps your first step can be something like, “add vegetables to every lunch and dinner,” or “have fruit for at least one snack instead of something else."

  Tuesday, January 01, 2013

• December 31, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  We talked to someone who started her weight loss journey on January 1st, 2012 and today she is down over 50 pounds (and is loving life more than she ever thought). Regardless of where your weight is today, a new year is ALWAYS a great time to start fresh. Commit to a healthy eating plan and by this time next year who knows where you’ll be and how great you’ll be feeling!

  Monday, December 31, 2012

• December 28, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Dieters often find it easier to stay in control of their eating during the week because their days are more structured. Remember – just because weekends may have unstructured time, doesn’t mean they have to have unstructured eating. This weekend, work on keeping your eating consistent and you’ll feel great on Monday morning as a result of doing so.

  Friday, December 28, 2012

• December 27, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Some dieters tend to consistently eat until they’re overly full – often saying something like, “I just like to eat.” We remind them that if they work on portion control, they’re not giving up eating, they’re only giving up OVEReating and the uncomfortable sensation of having eaten too much.

  Thursday, December 27, 2012

• December 26, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I can’t throw away this leftover holiday food, it would be a waste of food and money.

  Response: If I eat food my body doesn’t need, it will be wasted in my body by turning to fat. Wasted in the trashcan or in my body, either way it’s wasted. Also, the money is already gone, eating the food won’t bring the money back, but what it may do is cause me to gain weight.

  Wednesday, December 26, 2012

• December 25, 2012 - Tueseday Reality Check

  Remember, your body doesn’t know or care that it's Christmas. While it may be perfectly reasonable to have extra calories today, do it in a deliberate and planned way, instead of just allowing yourself to eat more, telling yourself that it doesn’t count. Also, if you eat extra in a planned way, you’ll enjoy it more because you’ll know that it’s part of your plan for the day!

  Tuesday, December 25, 2012

• December 24, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  \If you get off track with healthy eating, remind yourself that it’s never too late to get back on track. You can make the decision to get back on track right this MINUTE. Don’t wait for the next month, week, day, or hour. Do it right NOW. Prove to yourself that you never have to wait to get back on track, and you can always make the rest of the day/week/month better than it has been.

  Monday, December 24, 2012

• December 21, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  There is NOT ONE single food that you can eat while you’re off track that you can’t also eat when you’re on track. When you’re working on healthy eating, it’s true that you probably can’t eat as much of it as you want, but certainly any food can be worked into your diet in reasonable portions. This weekend, work on eating your favorite food in a reasonable way.

  Friday, December 21, 2012

• December 20, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Whether you plan to have one, two, or three cookies at a holiday party, the most important part is that you stick to your plan. It’s critical to always stick to your plan, whatever that plan may be. The more you do so, the easier and easier it will be to continue doing so and the less effort and energy it will take because you’ll just know, “I always stick to my plan, no matter what.”

  Thursday, December 20, 2012

• December 19, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought The holiday season is so busy, I don’t want to worry about my eating, too.

  Response: It’s true, the holidays can be stressful. But guaranteed I’ll actually feel MORE stress if my eating gets out of control because I’ll feel guilty about it and be worried about gaining weight. Continuing to work on staying in control of my eating will help me to feel less stress during the holidays, not more.

  Wednesday, December 19, 2012

• December 18, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  It's helpful to have a guideline (especially this time of year) like, “No treats until after dinner.” That way, you’ll be more easily able to turn down sweets all day, knowing you get to have some later. If you want dessert during the day, remind yourself, “I don’t need to eat this now, I know I get to have a treat after dinner. I can wait.”

  Tuesday, December 18, 2012

• December 12, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  The better you feel about yourself, the better your holiday season will be. While you may think you’ll enjoy it more if you eat with abandon, likely you’ll feel badly and guilty if you do – which significantly diminishes enjoyment. This year, work on staying in control. This will help you feel better about yourself and your eating, and will help you enjoy the holiday season all the more.

  Monday, December 17, 2012

• December 14, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Achieving a really big goal (like losing and maintaining weight) is really a matter of achieving many smaller goals along the way. This weekend, commit to a smaller goal, like eating everything sitting down or deciding in advance when and how many treats you’ll have. Eventually the small goals lead up to big ones!

  Friday, December 14, 2012

• December 13, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you’ve lost weight and then gained it back in the past, remember that if you want different results, you have to do things differently. Cutting out favorite foods and slashing calories to lose weight quickly ultimately won’t lead to permanent weight loss because it's not maintainable. This time, focus on making changes that you CAN maintain – which makes weight loss maintainable, too.

  Thursday, December 13, 2012

• December 12, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to eat right now because I’m stressed and need a break.

  Response: If I’m stressed, I deserve to relax and take a break. But since I also deserve to lose weight, have improved health, feel better about myself, etc. I need to find other ways to relax without turning to food. Eating in order to relax and losing weight are mutually exclusive goals. I can’t have both!

  Wednesday, December 12, 2012

• December 11, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you want to lose weight, it’s extremely likely you can’t eat treats every time you see them during the holiday season. It’s important to remember that just because it’s the holidays, and just because the treats are there, does NOT mean you’re entitled to eat them each time you have the opportunity to do so.

  Tuesday, December 11, 2012

• December 10, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  The most successful dieters and maintainers are NOT those who never make mistakes – rather they are those who make mistakes and then get right back on track. You do not have to be perfect in order to lose weight and keep it off. What you do need is to be willing to accept mistakes and recover from them right away.

  Monday, December 10, 2012

• December 7, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you have the thought, “It’s okay to eat this because this one time doesn’t matter,” remind yourself that EVERY time matters because you’re either strengthening your resistance muscle or your giving-in muscle. Every time you’re either getting closer to or farther away from your goals. This weekend, work on making every time count in your favor!

  Friday, December 07, 2012

• December 6, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Have you ever thought, “I can get away with not practicing some of my diet skills”? In fact you probably can get away with this – but only for a period of time, and at some point it WILL catch up with you. Achieving permanent weight loss means not trying to “get away” with things. It means accepting what you need to do and doing it.

  Thursday, December 06, 2012

• December 5, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’m too stressed right now to work on healthy eating.

  Response: Even during times of stress, I brush my teeth, put on my seatbelt, take care of my kids, etc. Since I don’t let stress be an excuse to stop doing these things, I also can’t let it be an excuse to stop practicing my dieting skills.

  Wednesday, December 05, 2012

• December 4, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  A cookie has the same number of calories regardless of what day of the year it is, how you’re feeling, what everyone around you is eating, how many other cookies you’ve passed up that day, if no one is watching you eat it, it's free, etc.

  Tuesday, December 04, 2012

• December 3, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  There is a big difference between things that are really hard and things that are impossible. If you feel daunted by the prospect of losing and maintaining weight, remind yourself that it is a matter of learning and practicing (over and over again) necessary skills, not an impossible feat. Telling yourself it’s impossible is an excuse to give up. Telling yourself it’s hard but worth working on is a motivation to keep moving forward.

  Monday, December 03, 2012

• November 30, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  It’s important to remember that just because you THINK something doesn’t mean it’s true. This weekend, if you think, “It’s okay to eat this because everyone else is /it’s just a small piece/it won’t matter/I’ll start again on Monday,” remind yourself that these are just sabotaging thoughts and not true reflections of reality.

  Friday, November 30, 2012

• November 29, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you go into the break room at work and see some unexpected treat, walk right out! Remind yourself that you’re not really missing out on anything because if you had never seen it, you would never have wanted it. Then remind yourself why it’s worth it to resist and all the good things that will come as a result.

  Thursday, November 29, 2012

• November 28, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s better to just not have any treats during the holiday season.

  Response: I need to get away from all-or-nothing thinking and remember to look for the middle ground. Cutting out all treats never works because I eventually end up eating them, and then usually go overboard. While it may not be reasonable to have extra holiday treats every day, it’s important plan to have reasonable amounts all throughout the holiday season.

  Wednesday, November 28, 2012

• November 27, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  There is NOTHING magical about losing weight and/or maintaining your weight – no one perfect combination of foods that will enable immediate and permanent weight loss, no magic bullet pill or patch. Once dieters accept this and stop looking for a quick fix, it allows them to just do what they need to do - exercise and eat in a consistent and healthy way.

  Tuesday, November 27, 2012

• November 26, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  The holiday season is upon us! This year, think about all the ways in which you can experience the spirit and joy of the holidays that have nothing to do with eating. Remember, there are many ways to feed your soul without feeding your mouth.

  Monday, November 26, 2012

• November 23, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Remember – eating extra one day won’t necessarily make you gain weight, but continuing to eat extra definitely will. If you ate extra on Thanksgiving, make sure to return to normal eating today and this weekend to ensure you stay on track and feel great.

  Friday, November 23, 2012

• November 22, 2012 - Think Thin Thanksgiving Tip

  This year, consider the strategy of deciding in advance to not take seconds. This way, you won’t have to struggle after you finish eating about whether or not to get more, and you’ll likely avoid the very uncomfortable sensation of feeling overly full.

  Thursday, November 22, 2012

• November 21, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to eat extra because I need to taste everything I’m cooking [for Thanksgiving].

  Response: There is a big difference between tasting a little for flavor and tasting just to eat. Every bite matters because every bite has calories. I can’t fool myself into thinking it doesn’t count!

  Wednesday, November 21, 2012

• November 20, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you’re thinking about going into Thanksgiving without a plan, ask yourself, “When has not having a plan EVER helped me reach my goals?” In our experience, having any type of plan (even if it’s a loose one) is so much better than not having one at all. If you want this year to be different – you have to do things differently!

  Tuesday, November 20, 2012

• November 19, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Important reminder: We can’t change what has happened in the past, only what happens now and in the future. No matter what you ate over the weekend or how off track you may be feeling, that doesn’t mean you have to stay off track! You can change (for the better) what happens now and every day moving forward.

  Monday, November 19, 2012

• November 16, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  The more you prepare in advance, the less stress you’ll have during holidays. This weekend, think about what you can do in advance to get ready for Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it). If not – think about what you can do to prepare for the upcoming week. Then, use the time you’ll free up for de-stressing and self-care activities, like exercise or meditation.

  Friday, November 16, 2012

• November 15, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you have a hard day and then eat in response to it, the only thing you’ll do is make your day harder because you’ll then feel badly and guilty about it. And, you'll likely make the next day harder, too, because once you get off track, it’s more difficult to get back to and stay on plan.

  Thursday, November 15, 2012

• November 14, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’m worried I won’t be able to control my weight during the upcoming holiday season.

  Response: While it is certainly harder to stay in control during the holidays, it’s by no means impossible. I am ultimately in charge of every bite of food I put in my mouth, which means I am ultimately in charge of whether I gain weight, lose weight, or stay the same.

  Wednesday, November 14, 2012

• November 13, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  People usually start dieting when they're highly motivated and so sticking to their plans is fairly easy. However, this initial motivation (which we call the “Honeymoon Stage”) always wears off and then dieting gets harder. This is 100% normal, it happens to everyone, and as long as you keep doing what you’re doing, dieting WILL get easier again.

  Tuesday, November 13, 2012

• November 12, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Even though the prospect of continuing to work on healthy eating during times of stress may seem daunting, many dieters find that when they feel in control of their eating, it helps them feel more in control in general. So what they think might make them feel more stressed actually does the exact opposite.

  Monday, November 12, 2012

• November 9, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  This weekend, remember that it’s not all-or-nothing. It’s not as if you can eat every bite of food you want, whenever you want it, or you can’t ever eat anything you want. There is a huge middle ground between these two extremes, and working on finding it allows you to enjoy reasonable amounts of food AND enjoy all the benefits of weight loss.

  Friday, November 09, 2012

• November 8, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  It’s not enough to read these Daily Diet Solutions once and expect them to make a big difference. What will make a difference is if you copy the ones that resonate with you onto Response Cards and read them every day. The more you read them, the more the ideas will get into your brain!

  Thursday, November 08, 2012

• November 7, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabogating Thought: I messed up a bit on my diet, so I might as well mess some more for the rest of the day.

  Response: If I were drinking water and “messed up a bit” by spilling some on my shirt, would I keep messing up and dump the rest of the glass on myself? Making a mistake (in any situation) is NEVER a reasonable excuse to continue making more.

  Wednesday, November 07, 2012

• November 6, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “I’m upset so I deserve to eat this comfort food to make myself feel better,” remind yourself, “It’s comfort food now but it won’t be comfort food later because I’ll feel badly and guilty about giving in ad eating it, in addition to feeling badly about situation that initially made me upset.”

  Tuesday, November 06, 2012

• November 5, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  We asked a dieter what was one of the best advantages of losing weight for her, and she said, “When I hear about upcoming events like parties, weddings, and family gatherings, my first thought is no longer, ‘I need to lose weight before that event.’ Now the only thing I feel is excited. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

  Monday, November 05, 2012

• November 2, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  When dieters go through a rough patch they may think, “This isn’t worth it.” It’s important to remember that while dieting is hard some of the time, being overweight is hard ALL of the time, and in so many more ways. This weekend, even if dieting feels difficult, remind yourself that it’s hard but it’s worth it.

  Friday, November 02, 2012

• November 1, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you have leftover Halloween candy, it’s important to plan exactly what you’re going to do with it. How much are you going to get rid of? How much are you going to keep? And, for the candy that you do keep, how much and when are you going to eat it? Making these types of plans can go a long way towards ensuring that you stay on track and keep your eating under control.

  Thursday, November 01, 2012

• October 31, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s Halloween so I can eat as much candy as I want.

  Response: No matter what day of the year it is, if I overeat candy, it will have negative consequences. While it’s reasonable to plan to have some candy today, it’s also reasonable to ensure that I eat it in a controlled way so that this day doesn’t throw me off track. It's not worth it!

  Wednesday, October 31, 2012

• October 30, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Sometimes dieters think, “I’ll never achieve and maintain my ideal weight.” We remind them that we don’t even know what their ideal weight is in the beginning because, in our definition, it is the weight they get down to when they are eating and exercising in a healthy and consistent manner. We also remind them that getting there and staying there is purely a matter of learning specific skills and practicing them over and over again until they get better and better.

  Tuesday, October 30, 2012

• October 29, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Important reminder: Although dieting may feel really difficult at times, so many great things come as a result of pushing through. Remember, it’s not as if you have to work hard to be disciplined and control your eating and get nothing in return – actually just the opposite is true. By doing all these things you’ll get the MOST IMPORANT things in return (improved health, self-confidence, pride, reduced physical and emotional pain, etc.).

  Monday, October 29, 2012

• October 26, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Unfortunately there are no ‘healthy food fairies’ that will drop off food for you, so if you want to have healthy foods available, it means you have to make it happen. This weekend, take some time to think about what healthy foods you’d like to eat during the week and go out and buy them! Then make a plan for how and when you’ll eat them.

  Friday, October 26, 2012

• October 25, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Dieters make mistakes most often when they unexpectedly face a hard eating situation. You can limit this by thinking through your day as a whole and taking the time to figure out when dieting might be difficult that day. This way, if it does become difficult, you’ll be in a much better position to handle it because you’ll be prepared mentally.

  Thursday, October 25, 2012

• October 24, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to eat this because I’m working out later and will burn it off.

  Response: I can’t rely on “burning it off later” as an effective way to reduce calories because not only is it possible I’ll end up skipping my workout, but likely I also overestimate the number of calories I burn while exercising, anyway. If I want to lose weight and keep it off, I can’t use the prospect of future exercise as a reasonable excuse to eat something.

  Wednesday, October 24, 2012

• October 23, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  In dieting, you can’t always stop sabotaging thoughts from occurring (after all, most of them are pretty automatic), but you can 100% control whether or not you give in and let them derail you. Remember, just because you think it doesn’t mean it’s true.

  Tuesday, October 23, 2012

• October 22, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  If you think, “Everyone else gets to eat normally, why can’t I?” Remind yourself that you ARE eating normally for someone trying to lose weight (or keep it off)! It’s important to change your definition of ‘normal’ eating and remember that your eating is 100% normal for someone with your goals.

  Monday, October 22, 2012

• October 19, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you think, “I’ll just eat whatever I want this weekend and start again on Monday,” remind yourself that getting off track every weekend is a prescription for gaining weight or staying at a higher weight. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you have to be consistent with your eating, and practice your skills consistently, 7 days a week. We wish it were different but it’s not!

  Friday, October 19, 2012

• October 18, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Dieters often go off track because they think they’ll enjoy themselves more if they’re not restricting their eating. We ask them to really think about how it feels when they’re off track and many find that they actually spend more time feeling badly about themselves and guilty about their eating than they do feeling good. Remember, being off track might not actually make you feel the way you think it will.

  Thursday, October 18, 2012

• October 17, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s just one/one little bit. It won’t hurt!

  Response: Consider the evidence from past experiences. When has “just one” EVER really stayed at just one? When has having “just one” EVER helped me to lose weight and keep it off? Just one actually will hurt because it'll likely turn in to more and it also reinforces my habit of giving in. Remember, it’s not about the calories, it’s about the habit!

  Wednesday, October 17, 2012

• October 16, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “I’ve been good all day so I can eat this [extra food] now,” remind yourself, “Just because I’ve been good all day DOESN'T mean I can eat extra now. It’s the ‘extra’ that will stop me from losing weight.”

  Tuesday, October 16, 2012

• October 15, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  We asked one maintainer how she is able to get herself to do what she needs to do to maintain her weight, day in and day out. She responded, “When I’m in control of my eating and my weight, I feel more like my natural self. When I’m out of control, I feel badly and it shows. It’s worth it to me to do what I need to do because it enables me to feel like me.”

  Monday, October 15, 2012

• October 12, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Successful dieters and maintainers stay successful because they don’t eat whatever they want, whenever they want. Remember – your body doesn’t know or care what day it is, so if you want to be successful (or stay successful) you have to stay in control of your eating, even though it’s the weekend.

  Friday, October 12, 2012

• October 11, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  The more uncluttered your eating environment, the more you’ll be able to enjoy your meal. While eating, if you’re looking at all the bills or the emails you have to take care of, it will make mealtimes more stressful. Take a few moments to make your eating environment more serene, and you'll likely find the whole experience becomes more satisfying, too.

  Thursday, October 11, 2012

• October 10, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I don’t deserve credit for my efforts along the way, I only deserve credit once I reach my weight loss goals.

  Response: If I were teaching a child to read, would I give him credit for each new word he learned, or would I think, “He’s got so much more to go. He only deserves credit once he can read chapter books”? It’s crucial to give myself credit each and every step of the way so that I can gain the confidence to know I can keep moving forward and learning new things.

  Wednesday, October 10, 2012

• October 9, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  You can eat a slice of pumpkin pie in 5 bites or in 25 bites. Either way it's the same amount of food, but if you eat it in 25 bites, you get to enjoy it 20 more times.

  Tuesday, October 09, 2012

• October 8, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Important reminder: If you think, “It’s not fair that I have to work hard and struggle with my weight,” remember that EVERYONE has unfairnesses in their lives and this is one of yours. However, unlike many unfairnesses, this is one that you can actually take control over and make better by learning and practicing specific skills. Although it may be true it’s unfair you have to work hard to lose weight, at least there are things you can do!

  Monday, October 08, 2012

• Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Remember, if you eat your food slowly and mindfully, you can get so much more enjoyment from it (even if you’re eating less!) then if you quickly wolf down food without really noticing what you’re eating. This weekend, take the time to SLOW DOWN and really enjoy every bite you eat.

  Friday, October 05, 2012

• October 4, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you want to eat something but it’s not on your plan for that day, remember – you can always plan to eat it the next day. Even if what you’ve planned isn’t the thing you most feel like eating at that moment, that’s okay! You’ll survive! What you have planned is likely still something that you like and will enjoy.

  Thursday, October 04, 2012

• October 3, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Since I’m not feeling well, I deserve to take care of myself by eating whatever I want.

  Response: The real way to “take care of myself” is to fill my body with healthy foods that will help me feel better – physically and psychologically. Besides, my body doesn’t know or care that I’m sick so it’s not okay to eat a lot of unhealthy foods just because I don’t feel well.

  Wednesday, October 03, 2012

• October 2, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Often dieters say things like, “Once I lose weight, I’ll try new sports/start dating/join activities, etc.” But the truth is you shouldn’t wait! It’s important to start enriching your life now because doing so will help you to lead a busier, happier life, which will support your weight-loss efforts.

  Tuesday, October 02, 2012

• October 1, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Food never tastes as good when you’re feeling guilty about eating it (or know you will in the future). Dieters often think they'll be dissatisfied if they make healthy choices, but often the opposite is actually true: When they eat healthfully, enjoy what they’re eating without guilt, and feel good about themselves, they wind up feeling MUCH more satisfied.

  Monday, October 01, 2012

• September 28, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you eat out and/or at other people’s houses this weekend, remember – you don’t always have control over what is served but you ALWAYS have control over how much of it you choose to eat.

  Friday, September 28, 2012

• September 27, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  It can be helpful to have an “Eating Out Protocol” that you follow each time you eat out, like looking at the menu ahead of time and deciding what to order, planning in advance whether or not to have bread/alcohol/dessert, reading your Advantages List and Response Cards before you go, and as soon as you get your food, physically or mentally mark off how much you’re going to eat.

  Thursday, September 27, 2012

• September 26, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to eat extra because I’m at a restaurant.

  Response: If my goal is to lose weight and keep it off, I can’t eat extra every time I eat out. How many times per week (or month) do I eat out? What about eating extra on weekends, holidays, special occasions, birthdays, etc.? The opportunities to eat extra are endless, so I need to figure out in advance when and where it’s reasonable to do so – it can’t just be a given.

  Wednesday, September 26, 2012

• September 25, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Many people tend to vastly overestimate the number of calories they burn while exercising. Unless they have a very intense workout, our dieters eat about the same amount of food regardless of whether or not they’ve exercised that day. This is a helpful mindset to have because it combats against the sabotaging thought, “It’s okay to eat this [unplanned food] since I exercised today.”

  Tuesday, September 25, 2012

• September 24, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Successful dieting is really a matter of learning a series of necessary skills. And, like any other skill, the more you practice them, the better you get and the easier it becomes to keep doing them. However difficult dieting may be at any given time is NOT how difficult it will be a month, a year, or five years down the line because you’ll have that much more practice by then.

  Monday, September 24, 2012

• September 21, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  You likely won’t be able to reach your weight loss goals if you keep thinking, “I’ll eat whatever I want this weekend and start dieting again on Monday.” Waiting until Monday doesn’t work because you’ll consistently undo all your hard work from the week. This weekend, DON’T wait until Monday – just keep doing what you’re doing! Guaranteed you will be so glad you did.

  Friday, September 21, 2012

• September 20, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  It’s important to remember that good eating days are not necessarily perfect eating days. Dieters may very well make eating mistakes on good eating days – but when they do, they get immediately back on track and don’t lose their sense of control, so the mistakes are very minor. You don’t have to be perfect to have a 'perfect' day!

  Thursday, September 20, 2012

• September 19, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’m not going to do my dieting tasks because I don’t want to.

  Response: ‘I don’t want to’ is just my adolescent rebellion talking. Listening to that voice has NEVER helped me reach my goals so I’m not going to pay any attention to it.

  Wednesday, September 19, 2012

• September 18, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Dieters can learn just as much from successes as they can from challenges. When dieters face difficult situations and stay in control, they can think about what enabled them to be successful and how to replicate it in the future. But, just as importantly, when dieters make mistakes it’s critical to use them as learning experiences and figure out why it happened and what they can do (or say to themselves) differently the next time.

  Tuesday, September 18, 2012

• September 17, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  In dieting, the number on the scale is not the only thing that counts; it’s also about how dieters feel about themselves and their eating. When dieters gain control over the eating and know that they aren’t at the mercy of their hunger, cravings, and emotions, they feel GREAT, regardless of whether or not the number on the scale is what they ultimately want to see.

  Monday, September 17, 2012

• September 14, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Remember, there’s nothing magical about losing weight. If you take in more calories than your body needs (even though it’s the weekend) you’ll gain weight. This weekend, work on finding ways to relax and treat yourself that don’t involve food. While doing so may not initially feel as pleasurable, remind yourself that it doesn't come with the hugely negative consequence of gaining weight.

  Friday, September 14, 2012

• September 13, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  When you make a dieting mistake, what do you usually say to yourself? How does that compare to what you would say to your best friend if she told you she made a mistake? Very likely you’d be a lot nicer (and more constructive) to your friend than you are to yourself, which isn’t fair! When you make a mistake, be kind to yourself. It will help you recover more quickly and feel better in general.

  Thursday, September 13, 2012

• September 12, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I don’t want to practice all of these skills before starting my diet because that will take too long.

  Response: When has jumping right into a diet EVER helped me to lose weight and, more importantly, keep it off? Now I’m doing things differently by FIRST learning skills that will enable me to actually stick to my diet before making major changes in my eating. Besides, if it takes an extra two months in the beginning, what does that matter in the course of the rest of my life?

  Wednesday, September 12, 2012

• September 11, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  People who have never fasted for a religious or medical reason often don’t know the following: hunger comes and goes, it doesn’t just get worse and worse until it becomes intolerable, and it doesn’t even begin to approach the level of physical discomfort caused by other things (like surgery, labor, migraines, etc.). Hunger is not something that needs to be feared!

  Tuesday, September 11, 2012

• September 10, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Instead of thinking about having to eat healthfully and exercise as burdens, remember that you’re fortunate enough to be able to do them. How lucky are you to have healthy food available? How lucky are you to be able to exercise? These things are not burdens, they’re blessings, and it’s helpful to conceptualize them as such.

  Monday, September 10, 2012

• September 7, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  This weekend, focus on what you CAN eat, not what you can’t. While it’s true you probably can’t eat (and drink) everything you want and lose weight, you can still enjoy reasonable portions of lots of foods AND reach your weight loss goals.

  Friday, September 07, 2012

• September 6, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Think Thin Thursday Tip: When you eat because you’re feeling sad or stressed, remind yourself that what you’ll ultimately do is turn one problem into two – the original one that made you sad or stressed, and now additionally the problem of feeling badly about your eating, getting off track, and potentially jeopardizing your weight loss.

  Thursday, September 06, 2012

• September 5, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Oh no, I’ve eaten something I shouldn’t! I’ve really blown it for the day so I might as well just get back on track tomorrow.

  Response: If you were washing your nice china and dropped a plate and it broke, would you say, “Well, I’ve blown it now!” and then throw the rest to the floor? Of course not! Making an eating mistake is like dropping a plate. You can stop the damage after one and be fine, but the more you go on to eat off track, the more plates you throw to the ground.

  Wednesday, September 05, 2012

• September 4, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Eliminating certain foods from your diet is a recipe for gaining weight back. If, for example, you decide to cut out pasta, but you really like pasta, in back of your mind you probably know that you’re going to eat it again – and when you do, you may go way overboard. It’s critical to not cut out ANY foods from your diet entirely but instead learn how to eat them in reasonable portions. This is the only way to ensure that you’ll be able to maintain the changes you make and keep off the weight you lost.

  Tuesday, September 04, 2012

• September 3, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Especially on days when controlling your eating might be more difficult (like holidays), it’s extra important to have a plan. Think about it: have you ever made a plan and regretting doing so? Having a plan takes away the burden (and struggle) of having to continually make spontaneous eating decisions, enables you to feel good about what you’re eating, and allows you to have a great day that isn’t tarnished by feeling bad about your eating.

  Monday, September 03, 2012

• August 31, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Friday Weekend Warm-up: In our work with dieters, we don’t use the word “cheat” because it often has a negative and moralistic undertone. Instead, we use the word “mistake” and remind dieters that when they make dieting mistakes, the only thing it says is about them is that they’re normal and human. This weekend, if you make a dieting mistake, remind yourself that it’s not a catastrophe and that it doesn’t mean you’re bad or weak person. Then get right back on track and continue having a good eating weekend.

  Friday, August 31, 2012

• August 30, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Cravings go away either when you decide to definitely give in OR when you decide to definitely NOT give in. It's important to remember that often the uncomfortable part of a craving is really the anxiety of wondering whether or not you’re going to give in. Once you firmly decide to not give and instead do something to distract yourself, the craving starts to go away.

  Thursday, August 30, 2012

• August 29, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I don’t want to do things like eat slowly and mindfully because I like eating while zoning out in front of the television

  Response: It’s true that there are some real disadvantages of trying to lose weight, and not eating in front of the television is one of them. But I can either continue eating while zoning out OR I can get everything on my Advantages List. Which is more important to me?

  Wednesday, August 29, 2012

• August 28, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  You are ENTITLED to do what you need to do in order to lose weight and be healthy, as long as you're not purposely hurting other people. To be a healthier and happier person, it’s necessary to prioritize your own needs and not always put them last. Remember, you can’t be good to anyone else if you’re not good to yourself, first.

  Tuesday, August 28, 2012

• August 27, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Just because losing weight is hard, doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Just because starting a healthy eating plan can be scary, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. We often have to work hard and face fears to accomplish our most important goals in life – and dieting/losing weight is no different!

  Monday, August 27, 2012

• August 24, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  In healthy eating and dieting, portion size is the key. It’s reasonable to enjoy your favorite foods, just not in huge quantities. Remember, especially if you eat out in restaurants this weekend, you likely can’t eat everything on your plate (and still lose weight) because the portions are too big. “Like” our status today if you’re committing to NOT be part of the Clean Plate Club this weekend!

  Friday, August 24, 2012

• August 23, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  In dieting, like in many things in life, it’s rarely all-or-nothing. It’s not as if you either can eat as much as you want, whenever you want or you can’t eat any food you enjoy. There is a huge middle ground! You can definitely have some favorite foods, some of the time while also enjoying all the benefits of weight loss. Remember: it’s NOT all-or-nothing.

  Thursday, August 23, 2012

• August 22, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’ve made a mistake on my diet, that’s so terrible! I’ve really blown it for the day.

  Response: I haven’t blown it for the day because I’m entitled to make mistakes. I’m human, it’s going to happen. What I’m NOT entitled to do is let one mistake be an excuse to continue making more. Get back on track right now!

  Wednesday, August 22, 2012

• August 21, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  You wouldn’t expect to instantly learn to play the piano or become a skilled tennis player in one day. Dieting is no different – no one masters it immediately. Start by making small changes, practice them, get better, then make more changes, practice them, and get better. Eventually you’ll become more and more successful at staying in control of your eating, but it never happens overnight!

  Tuesday, August 21, 2012

• August 20, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – you can’t change what has happened in the past, you can only change what happens today and in the future. No matter what happened with your eating over the weekend, today is a new day so make it a good eating day and start the week off feeling great!

  Monday, August 20, 2012

• August 17, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Friday Weekend Warm-up: It’s never the absolutely perfect time to start dieting, so instead of waiting for the “right” time, or even waiting until Monday, start right now! Make this weekend a good eating weekend and prove to yourself that you never have to WAIT for the right time – you CREATE the right time.

  Friday, August 17, 2012

• August 16, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Sometimes when we ask dieters what (sabotaging) thoughts led them to overeat, they say, “I wasn’t thinking anything, it just happened.” However, unlike digestion or the beating of your heart, eating is NOT automatic. Ultimately you are in charge of every bite of food you eat – which is good news! This means that you can learn to control your eating by really taking time to figure out what sabotaging thoughts you were having and coming up with strong responses to them.

  Thursday, August 16, 2012

• August 15, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: The healthy food on my diet plan costs more than the food I really want to eat. I can’t justify spending the extra money.

  Response: It’s worth it and I’m worth it! What a great way to spend money – toward a goal that I really, really want to achieve.

  Wednesday, August 15, 2012

• August 14, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Sometimes dieters have trouble turning down food when people make comments like, “Oh, you’re not going to have any? Then I guess I won’t, either.” Remember – it’s NOT your responsibility to make others feel better about their eating choices. It IS your responsibility to make good choices for yourself so that you can be a healthier (and happier) person.

  Tuesday, August 14, 2012

• August 13, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  It’s unhelpful to worry about whether or not you’ll be able to keep up with your diet a year from now because by the time a year has passed, you’ll have that much more practice and experience under your belt. Instead, ask yourself: Can I do it today? If the answer is yes, then do it! The rest will take care of itself.

  Monday, August 13, 2012

• August 10, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Friday Weekend Warm-up: The more you focus on your mistakes, the worse you feel. The more you give yourself credit for all the great things you’re doing, the better you feel, the more momentum you build, and the easier it gets to continue doing well. This weekend, make a commitment to CREDIT.

  Friday, August 10, 2012

• August 9, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  One of the hardest parts of dieting is the struggle – the “should I eat this? It’s not on my plan…but it looks really good…but you’ll regret it later…but this one time won’t matter,” etc. The reason dieters struggle is because they give themselves a CHOICE. We don’t struggle to take showers, get up with our kids, or put on our seatbelts because we don’t give ourselves a choice about it. Once dieters accept that these are the things they just have to do, dieting gets EASIER.

  Thursday, August 09, 2012

• August 8, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’ve blown my diet for the day so I might as well keep eating and get back on track tomorrow.

  Response: It’s not as if, at a certain point, the calories stop adding up. If I go on to eat 2,000 more calories, my body will count them. If I go on to eat 4,000 more calories, my body will count those, too. It makes NO SENSE to continue eating off track because the more I eat, the more weight I may gain. Get back on track RIGHT NOW!

  Wednesday, August 08, 2012

• August 7, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “I don’t have time to exercise now, I’ll do it later,” ask yourself, “When has ‘doing it later’ ever gotten me the results I want?” It’s so helpful to PLAN IN ADVANCE when you’re going to exercise and then just do it – no excuses!

  Tuesday, August 07, 2012

• August 6, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  When dieters say to us, “Dieting is so hard! Why am I doing this?” we answer, “That’s a great question. Why ARE you doing it?” and then we have them review their list of all the reasons they have for wanting to lose weight. When dieting gets tough, it’s crucially important to remind yourself of exactly why you’re doing it and exactly what you hope to get out of it.

  Monday, August 06, 2012

• August 3, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Overeating during the weekend will likely cause you to feel guilty and badly about yourself – no matter how much your sabotaging thoughts try to convince you otherwise. On the other hand, maintaining control of your eating during the weekends will help you continue losing/maintaining weight AND feel good about yourself and your eating. It’s a win/win!

  Friday, August 03, 2012

• August 2, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you make a dieting mistake, it’s important to continue eating normally for the rest of the day. If you tell yourself, “I just ate too much so I’m not going to eat anything else today,” you may feel anxious or panicky when you get hungry later in the day and wind up eating way more than you would have if you had just decided to eat normally.

  Thursday, August 02, 2012

• August 1, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to eat this because it’s just a little bit.

  Response: It’s not about the calories, it’s about the habit. Every time I give in and eat unplanned food, I make it more likely I will the next time because I’ll be able to say to myself, “I gave in last time, so it’s okay to do it again this time.” Whether the food has 20 calories or 200 calories, it still reinforces the habit of giving in.

  Wednesday, August 01, 2012

• July 31, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Food simply isn’t as enjoyable when you know you’re going to feel guilty about it later. When you’re making food decisions, remind yourself that the eating experience isn’t limited to just when the food is in your mouth – it also includes how you feel about it after.

  Tuesday, July 31, 2012

• July 30, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  In dieting, like everything else in life, you WILL make mistakes. If you were learning to play the piano and hit a wrong key, you wouldn’t think, “This is so terrible! I should just give up right now.” Of course not! You’d know that with practice you’ll get better. Dieting is no different - mistakes are just mistakes and not an indication that you should give up.

  Monday, July 30, 2012

• July 27, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  No matter what the event is, our dieters find that they have a much easier time staying in control of their eating when they have some type of plan. Spend a few minutes today thinking about all of the potentially difficult situations you may encounter this weekend and begin to formulate plans. Guaranteed the time investment now will pay off later!

  Friday, July 27, 2012

• July 26, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you’re worried about turning down food that someone is offering you, ask yourself: Compared to other disappointments in that person’s life, how disappointed will s/he really be if I don’t eat this food right now? On the other hand, if I reinforce the tendency to give in, go off my diet, and jeopardize my weight loss, how disappointed will I be?

  Thursday, July 26, 2012

• July 25, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Sooner or later I'm going to eat the whole box of chocolates so I might as well eat them all now.

  Response: This doesn’t have to become a self-fulfilling prophesy! There are things I can do to make sure this doesn't happen, like IMMEDIATELY either throw away the leftovers or get some distance from them. If I can't get to them, I can't eat them.

  Wednesday, July 25, 2012

• July 24, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “I don’t have time to eat healthy so I’ll just eat whatever is available,” remind yourself that, especially if you spend time over the weekend preparing healthy ingredients, it probably won’t take ALL that much longer. And think about how much time and money you’ll save in the long term when you don’t have health problems as a result of carrying around extra weight!

  Tuesday, July 24, 2012

• July 23, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  No matter how smart, successful, and disciplined you are in every other area of life, this does not automatically guarantee that you will be good at losing and maintaining weight, because doing so takes learning and practice of specific skills. So cut yourself a break and instead start working on what you need to do today!

  Monday, July 23, 2012

• July 20, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you think, “It’s the weekend, I’ve worked hard all week so I deserve to unwind,” remind yourself, “Yes, it’s true I do deserve to relax and unwind this weekend, but I also deserve to achieve everything on my Advantages List, so I have to go about doing that without turning to food.”

  Friday, July 20, 2012

• July 19, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you think, “I’ll start working on my diet tomorrow,” remind yourself that today is yesterday’s tomorrow, which means that tomorrow is today and it’s time to get started RIGHT NOW!

  Thursday, July 19, 2012

• July 18, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s not fair that I have to watch what I eat and other people don’t.

  Response: While it’s true that some people are naturally thinner with naturally smallerr appetites, it’s probably a MUCH smaller percentage than I think. In reality, chances are very high that they’re watching what they eat, too!

  Wednesday, July 18, 2012

• July 17, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  It’s important to not be overly influenced by the number on the scale. If dieters see a higher number, they may get demoralized and overeat. If they see a lower number, they may think that it’s okay to loosen up and eat more. Remember – the number on the scale is just one point of information and shouldn’t impact how you eat on any given day.

  Tuesday, July 17, 2012

• July 16, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  We asked a maintainer how she finds the motivation to keep up with her healthy eating and exercise and she said, “For me, it’s not a choice. I feel better in every single way now that I’m at a normal weight and I would never go back there. I don’t give myself a choice.”

  Monday, July 16, 2012

• July 13, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Over the weekend, it can be helpful to have a few specific goals in mind that you’re committed to following through on, like having dessert just once a day, limiting snacks, and eating everything sitting down, slowly, and mindfully. This way, you’ll know exactly what it is you’re focusing on and have a much better chance of feeling great about the weekend as a whole.

  Friday, July 13, 2012

• July 12, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  When dieters say, “Dieting was so hard this week,” we always question them further and often find out that, in actuality, it was really hard a few times during the week but these experiences were coloring their perception of the week as a whole. In dieting, it’s important to maintain an accurate sense of reality so that you don’t psych yourself out by thinking it’s always harder than it is.

  Thursday, July 12, 2012

• July 11, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I just ate something I wasn’t supposed to. I’ve really blown it! I might as well keep eating whatever I want and get back on track tomorrow.

  Response: If I was washing my nice china and accidently broke a plate, I wouldn’t go to my china cabinet and smash all the rest of it. Dieting is the same – it makes NO SENSE to compound one mistake with more!

  Wednesday, July 11, 2012

• July 10, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you have to be committed to the process. Dieters who undermine their commitment by saying things to themselves like, “Maybe I don’t really need/want to lose weight,” or “Maybe I don’t actually have to do these things,” will have a much, much harder time getting themselves to just do what they need to do.

  Tuesday, July 10, 2012

• July 9, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Every time you go to bed after having a good eating day, you will feel great. And every morning you wake up after having had a good eating day the day before, you will feel great. This week, make a commitment to yourself to FEEL GREAT by committing to having a good eating week!

  Monday, July 09, 2012

• July 6, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you eat out this weekend, it’s important to remember that you don’t always have control over what is being served, but you always can control how much you actually eat.

  Friday, July 06, 2012

• July 5, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Whenever you have a significant dieting experience, like getting through a holiday without losing control, it’s so helpful to take a few moments and write down what you did and how you got yourself to do it. Believe it or not, by the time the next holiday rolls around you may have forgotten!

  Thursday, July 05, 2012

• July 4, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s not fair that I can’t eat like everyone else on the 4th of July.

  Response: My body doesn’t know or care that it’s a holiday. It also doesn’t know or care what everyone around me is eating, it only knows what I eat. But it’s not all or nothing! If I stay in control, I can still enjoy some food AND enjoy all the benefits of losing weight.

  Wednesday, July 04, 2012

• July 3, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “It’s not fair that I have to work so hard at dieting,” remind yourself, “Yes, it is unfair that some people have to work at losing weight and some don’t. But I have to remember that everyone has unfairnesses in their lives and this happens to be one of mine, but at least there’s something I can do about it!”

  Tuesday, July 03, 2012

• July 2, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  It’s a new month and the perfect time to commit to working on a healthy eating plan. Instead of saying, “I’ll start tomorrow/next week/next month,” start RIGHT NOW and if you do, imagine how much better you’ll be feeling by the end of the month!

  Monday, July 02, 2012

• June 29, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  For many dieters, staying in control of their eating is harder on weekends because their days are less structured. But remember, just because your time is less structured doesn’t mean your eating has to be! Sticking to a schedule (like continuing to have regular meals and snacks) can make staying on track throughout the weekends so much easier.

  Friday, June 29, 2012

• June 28, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Any time you make a dieting mistake, it’s important to ask yourself, “Why did that happen? What can I do the next time to change the outcome?” Once you figure these two things out, move on!

  Thursday, June 28, 2012

• June 27, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I don’t deserve credit for practicing my dieting skills because I should have been doing them all along.

  Response: No I shouldn’t have! Before I started this program I didn’t know how to get myself to do these skills and besides, if it was easy, nobody would be overweight. Now that I’m learning, I deserve so much credit for my hard work every step of the way.

  Wednesday, June 27, 2012

• June 26, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Just because food is free, doesn’t mean you should eat it (after all, it’s not calorie-free). Similarly, just because you've paid for it doesn’t necessarily mean you should eat the whole thing. If you eat extra food, even if it's free or you’ve paid for it, you’ll gain weight.

  Tuesday, June 26, 2012

• June 25, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  When dieters get off track, they sometimes forget how much better it feels to be in control of their eating and to be feeling good about themselves and their eating. If you’ve been off track, remind yourself how great getting back on track will feel and start right this moment!

  Monday, June 25, 2012

• June 22, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Remember - no matter what your sabotaging thoughts try to convince you of (Eat a lot of extra dessert! You won't regret it! This one time doesn't matter! You’ll feel great if you go off track!), on track days FEEL SO MUCH BETTER. Have an on track weekend and GUARANTEED you won’t regret it come Monday morning.

  Friday, June 22, 2012

• June 21, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Often much of the food dieters eat standing up doesn’t add to their sense of satisfaction - both physically and psychologically. Making the effort to eat everything sitting down may enable you to cut out hundreds of calories from your diet without even really noticing the difference.

  Thursday, June 21, 2012

• June 20, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotaging Thought

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to go off my plan this one time; it won’t really matter.

  Response: Actually it DOES matter because every time I go off my plan, I make it harder to stick to my plan other times because I open the door to exceptions. Once the door to exceptions is closed, dieting is so much easier!

  Wednesday, June 20, 2012

• June 19, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you have highly tempting food in your house, it’s helpful to have a plan for exactly when you’re going to eat it. That way, it’ll be easier to resist at any one moment because you’ll be able to say to yourself, “I’m not having it right now, but that’s okay because I know I’ll get to enjoy it tomorrow.”

  Tuesday, June 19, 2012

• June 18, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Dieting is not all-or-nothing. It’s not as if your only two options are to eat absolutely no food you really want, or to eat every bite of food you want, every moment you want it. There is SO MUCH middle ground between those two things and successful dieting/healthy eating is about finding a balance that works for you.

  Monday, June 18, 2012

• June 15, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you want to lose weight and keep it off, it’s important to view weekends as a break from work, NOT a break from healthy eating. Remember – there are plenty of other ways to relax that don’t involve food (and won’t cause you to gain weight!).

  Friday, June 15, 2012

• June 14, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  When working on dieting and healthy eating, it’s imperative to have enough time and energy to devote to these things. This won’t magically happen (especially if your life is already busy) so you may have to take steps to ensure that it does, like saying “no” more often, scheduling in your diet and exercise activities, and putting your own needs first. You’re entitled to do all of these things!

  Thursday, June 14, 2012

• June 13, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought The scale was down so it’s okay to loosen up today, I can get away with it.

  Response: I may be able to get away with eating extra for a short period of time, but guaranteed it will catch up with me at some point and undo my progress. Once I accept the fact that I can’t “get away with things” where dieting is concerned, it will be easier for me to just do what I need to do.

  Wednesday, June 13, 2012

• June 12, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Every day you have a good eating day, you build momentum and make it easier to continue having good eating days. It is so much easier to stay on track then have to get back on track.

  Tuesday, June 12, 2012

• June 11, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Whether or not you feel good about your eating from the weekend, it’s over and done. Every day is a new opportunity to have a great eating day and start working towards achieving important goals. Start today, right this minute!

  Monday, June 11, 2012

• June 8, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you work on staying in control of your eating this weekend, not only will you feel good about yourself and your eating, but doing so will also help you reach your weight loss goals. It’s a win/win!

  Friday, June 08, 2012

• June 7, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Many of the skills you use to stick to a healthy eating plan are the same ones you would use to stick to an exercise regimen. Sometimes just simply having an actual (written) exercise PLAN can make a big difference – so make one today and get moving!

  Thursday, June 07, 2012

• June 6, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to eat this [unplanned food] just this one time.

  Response: Every time I make an exception, I increase my dieting struggles because I will be tempted to keep making more and more exceptions. However, if I prove to myself, “No exceptions!” dieting gets so much easier because I don’t have to struggle each time.

  Wednesday, June 06, 2012

• June 5, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you were driving on the highway and missed your exit, you wouldn’t think, “Well, I’ve blown it now,” and continue driving four more hours in the wrong direction. No! You’d get off at the very next exit and turn around. The same is true for dieting – the moment you make a mistake, turn yourself around and get right back on track.

  Tuesday, June 05, 2012

• June 4, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  If you feel your diet motivation lagging, take a moment to really think about all the reasons why it’s worth it to you to lose weight and be healthier. Ask yourself: since these are such important goals, do they merit hard work and extra effort? Are they important enough to not give up on? Then, recommit yourself and get going!

  Monday, June 04, 2012

• June 1, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Staying in control of your eating on weekends can hard but it’s by no means impossible. It may take more practice, but that doesn’t mean you can’t overcome any weekend hurdles. As long as you don’t give up and keep working on it, you WILL get better.

  Friday, June 01, 2012

• May 31, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you think, “I don’t know how many calories this has so it doesn’t count,” or “This one time doesn’t matter,” or “I can get away with eating extra right now,” remember that the only thing you’re doing is fooling yourself. Once dieters stop fooling themselves and start accepting reality, dieting gets EASIER.

  Thursday, May 31, 2012

• May 30, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Dieting is too overwhelming so I might as well give up.

  Response: Dieting does NOT have to be overwhelming. All I have to do is work on one small change at a time, master it, and then move on to the next one. Soon enough, all the small changes will add up to really big ones.

  Wednesday, May 30, 2012

• May 29, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Dieting and healthy eating can be hard, but being overweight can be even harder. Either way it may be hard, but if you put the work in towards healthy eating and dieting, you’ll get so many [more] positive results.

  Tuesday, May 29, 2012

• May 28, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Often dieters think, “I wish I could eat whatever I want and as much as I want.” However, usually when dieters eat in an unrestricted way, they ultimately feel bad and out of control, but when they control and limit their eating, they feel GREAT. Remember – what you may think you want in terms of eating may not be what actually feels good.

  Monday, May 28, 2012

• May 25, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Remember, your body doesn’t know or care whether or not it’s Memorial Day weekend. It also doesn’t know or care if the food you’re eating is free, if everyone else is eating it, or if you’re celebrating. It treats all calories the same regardless of any of these circumstances!

  Friday, May 25, 2012

• May 24, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you feel overwhelmed by all of your dieting tasks, it can be helpful to take a step back and focus on just doing the basics, like reading your Advantages List and Response Cards, eating everything sitting down, slowly, and mindfully, and giving yourself credit. As you build back your confidence to do those skills, you’ll then feel ready and more able to tackle the harder things.

  Thursday, May 24, 2012

• May 23, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to eat this unplanned food because it’s just this one time.

  Response: I’m fooling myself if I think this time doesn’t matter because EVERY time matters. Every time I eat off track I make it more likely I will the next time, which makes dieting harder. Every time I stick to my plan I make it more likely I will the next time, which makes dieting EASIER!

  Wednesday, May 23, 2012

• May 22, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “It’s okay to eat this because I just don’t care right now,” remind yourself that you definitely WILL care later, once the situation has passed and you feel bad and guilty and have potentially jeopardized your weight loss. Because of this, not caring at any one moment is NOT a valid excuse to eat off track.

  Tuesday, May 22, 2012

• May 21, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Every time you have a good eating day, you build momentum to continue having good eating days. Start the week off right by making a commitment to have a good eating day TODAY and you’ll set a positive tone for the whole week to come!

  Monday, May 21, 2012

• May 18, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  When thinking about your weekend eating, it’s helpful to consider it as a whole. For example, if you know you are eating out three times, you can ask yourself, “Of those three times, when will I have bread/alcohol/dessert?” This way you’re less likely to feel deprived at any one meal because you’ll know you’re having it at the next one.

  Friday, May 18, 2012

• May 17, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  When working on losing weight, it’s important to pay attention to (and give yourself credit for) progress you make outside of the number on the scale, such as being able to more easily follow a plan, stay in control at difficult events, stand firm in the face of cravings, or exercise for longer periods of time. All of these things also prove that your hard work is PAYING OFF!

  Thursday, May 17, 2012

• May 16, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to eat this without counting it because I don’t know how many calories are in it.

  Response: Even if I don’t know the calories, it still HAS calories, so of course it counts. Estimating the calories is so much better than not counting at all because at least I’m still being accountable for everything I eat.

  Wednesday, May 16, 2012

• May 15, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  As long as dieters use food as a reward, dieting can feel like punishment. Food is something to be enjoyed, but if dieters want to lose weight they have to find other ways to reward themselves so that maintaining healthy eating doesn’t feel as if they are being unkind to themselves.

  Tuesday, May 15, 2012

• May 14, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  In dieting (as in life) everybody makes mistakes. You’re entitled to make mistakes – but you’re not entitled to let the memory of those mistakes get in your way. Wipe your slate clean and get started right this moment!

  Monday, May 14, 2012

• May 11, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Many dieters find it more difficult to stay in control of their eating on weekends and so it is especially important for them to remember exactly WHY it’s worth it to them to continue working hard. Dieting and healthy eating can be challenging, but its benefits are immeasurable.

  Friday, May 11, 2012

• May 10, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  On any given day, the number on the scale is EXACTLY what it should be, given what you ate the day before, how much energy you expended, various biological factors, etc. Even if you were perfect on your diet, the scale may not go down due to 100 different reasons.

  Thursday, May 10, 2012

• May 9, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s not fair I can’t eat normally like everyone else.

  Response: Actually, I AM eating normally for someone with my goals. And while it may not be fair I can’t eat in the same way as (some) other people, it would be so much more unfair if I couldn’t reach my goals.

  Wednesday, May 09, 2012

• May 8, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Dieting and eating healthy can be hard – but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Likely you’ve accomplished other hard things in your life that you weren’t sure you’d be able to. Just because it can be hard doesn’t give you an excuse to not try.

  Tuesday, May 08, 2012

• May 7, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  No matter what you did or didn’t eat over the weekend, today is the start of a new week and a fresh chance to have a great eating week!

  Monday, May 07, 2012

• May 4, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Are you tired of trying to get back on track every Monday morning after overdoing it on the weekend? This weekend, make a plan and use your skills and come Monday morning you will be so happy you did. Guaranteed you won’t regret even ONE MOMENT that you stayed on track.

  Friday, May 04, 2012

• May 3, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  It’s important to remember that dieters can gain weight if they eat too much food – even if it’s healthy food. Just because it’s healthy doesn’t mean you don’t have to watch portion sizes.

  Thursday, May 03, 2012

• May 2, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to eat this because if I don’t, I’ll disappoint [my friend].

  Response: If I eat off plan, I’ll disappoint MYSELF. Besides, my friend's disappointment will likely be momentary but the disappointment I’ll feel when I go off plan, shake my confidence, and possibly gain weight will last for so much longer.

  Wednesday, May 02, 2012

• May 1, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If dieters want to lose weight and keep it off, they can’t continue eating for emotional reasons. This does NOT mean that they aren’t entitled to feel better, it just means that they aren’t entitled to EAT to feel better.

  Tuesday, May 01, 2012

• April 30, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  A dieter recently said to us, “For the first time I was able to go shopping and fit into everything I tried on and I actually LIKED what a saw in the mirror. It was the best feeling ever.” It’s important to remember just WHY you’re working on healthy eating and all of the amazing advantages that you get in doing so.

  Monday, April 30, 2012

• April 27, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you think, “ It’s not fair I can’t be spontaneous with my eating on weekends,” remind yourself, “ I can still be spontaneous in many other non-food ways. Besides, all the benefits of weight loss feel so much BETTER, and for so much LONGER, than any one spontaneous decision to eat.” “Like” our status today if you’re making the commitment to stay on track this weekend!

  Friday, April 27, 2012

• April 26, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  It’s important to make sure the diet you choose to follow isn’t overly restrictive and doesn’t cut out your favorite foods because guaranteed that is not a diet you will stick to for the long term. Besides, when has following that type of diet in the past EVER helped you to lose weight and keep it off?

  Thursday, April 26, 2012

• April 25, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotaging

  Sabotaging Thought: Since I’m eating pizza, I need to eat as much as possible because I don’t know when I can have it again.

  Response: Actually, I can plan to eat pizza EVERY SINGLE day if I want. This is not like other “diets” because I am not depriving myself of foods I like; instead I’m just planning in advance when to have them. I don’t need to be in a “last meal” mindset because there is NOTHING I can’t ever eat again.

  Wednesday, April 25, 2012

• April 24, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  While resisting a craving might be uncomfortable in the MOMENT, giving in to that craving and then feeling bad about yourself and your eating will be uncomfortable for so much longer.

  Tuesday, April 24, 2012

• April 23, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  When you're trying to diet and eat healthfully, it's important to remember that it's possible to successfully navigate ANY situation, regardless of the circumstances. While some situations are harder than others, nothing is impossible.

  Monday, April 23, 2012

• April 20, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Many dieters think, “I’ll wait to start doing new things until I’ve lost weight.” This is counterproductive because expanding your activities lifts your mood and gives you many non-food-related opportunities for pleasure and satisfaction. This weekend, don’t wait to try new things - start right away! You never know where it might take you.

  Friday, April 20, 2012

• April 19, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  While it’s often important to respond to your sabotaging thoughts so they don’t get the best of you, there are other times, like if you keep having the same thought over and over again, when it’s best to just ignore them. If, for example, every time you go to get coffee you think, “I really want one of those donuts,” it can be helpful to say, “That’s just a sabotaging thought. Pay no attention to it and move on.”

  Thursday, April 19, 2012

• April 18, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’m going to eat whatever I feel like right now because I don’t want to think about dieting.

  Response: Actually, the only thing I’ll be doing is POSTPONING when I’ll think about dieting because if I go off track now, guaranteed I’ll spend a lot of time thinking and feeling bad about it later. So either I think about it now, stay on track, and feel great, or I get off track, think about it later, and feel bad. Either way I’ll still be thinking about it.

  Wednesday, April 18, 2012

• April 17, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “It’s okay to eat this because I’ve been good all day and turned down many temptations,” remind yourself that your body has no idea how many things you DIDN’T eat, it only knows what you do eat. Saying ‘no’ before doesn’t automatically mean you can say ‘yes’ right now.

  Tuesday, April 17, 2012

• April 16, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  When dieters get off track, they often truly forget how good it feels to be in control of their eating. Therefore, the thought of getting back on track usually feels much more daunting and burdensome than it really is – because once they’re there, they feel so great about it.

  Monday, April 16, 2012

• April 13, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you think, “I just don’t want the burden of thinking about dieting this weekend,” remind yourself: Eating right is a burden, but being overweight is a burden too (physically, psychologically, financially, etc.) EITHER WAY I’M BURDENED, but at least in one way I get to be thinner, healthier, and feel good about myself.

  Friday, April 13, 2012

• April 12, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  When you make a dieting mistake, it’s helpful to NOT use the word “cheat” because “cheating” can have very negative, sometimes moralistic undertones. If you make a mistake in dieting, it doesn’t make you a bad person, it makes you a NORMAL person.

  Thursday, April 12, 2012

• April 11, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: When I’m stressed, I’m entitled to eat to calm down.

  Response: Actually, when I’m stressed I’m entitled to calm down but I’m ALSO entitled to lose weight, be healthy, and feel good about myself so that calmness can’t come from food.

  Wednesday, April 11, 2012

• April 10th, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Your body processes every bite of food you eat in the same way whether or not it’s your birthday, it’s a holiday, you’re tired, you’re stressed, you’re celebrating, everyone around you is eating it, it’s free, no one is watching, you’re on vacation, you’re at a party, you’re bored, etc. etc. etc.

  Tuesday, April 10, 2012

• April 9, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Some dieters think, “I don’t deserve credit until I reach my weight loss goals.” This is 100% NOT TRUE because all the small steps along the way are what add up to the big changes. If you’re not already, right this moment start giving yourself credit for all the progress you’ve made and all the good things you’re doing.

  Monday, April 09, 2012

• April 6, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  This is a holiday weekend for many people, which is a time for celebration and joy. Remember - if you eat out of control, you very likely will feel bad about it and taint your good feelings. If you stay in control, you’ll have a BETTER weekend because you won’t spend time or energy feeling bad and guilty about yourself or your eating.

  Friday, April 06, 2012

• April 5, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  When dieting, you’ll probably be eating less food than you have been so it’s important for you to see all of it spread out in front of you at meal or snack time. This will help you feel more physically AND psychologically satisfied.

  Thursday, April 05, 2012

• April 4, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I don’t deserve credit for my dieting tasks because I should already be doing them.

  Response: No, I SHOULDN’T already be doing these things because I didn’t know how. If this was easy, nobody would be overweight. It’s imperative that I give myself credit and recognize my accomplishments so that I can build my confidence and my sense of self-efficacy.

  Wednesday, April 04, 2012

• April 3, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “It’s unfair that I have to work on dieting,” remind yourself that you have three options. You can give up and continue gaining weight each year, diet on and off and ultimately end up weighing more than you want to, or you can accept that this isn’t fair, move on, and continue doing what you have to do to lose weight. Which option will leave you feeling the most content?

  Tuesday, April 03, 2012

• April 2, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Although answering back to your sabotaging thoughts can initially be difficult, over time as you practice these ideas again and again, you’ll begin to automatically respond to them, even without Response Cards. When this happens, dieting gets a lot EASIER!

  Monday, April 02, 2012

• March 30, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you want to lose weight and keep it off, weekends can’t be an excuse to overeat. However, it’s important to remember that it’s not all-or-nothing: it’s not as if you can eat everything you want or nothing you want. You can still enjoy reasonable portions AND get all of the advantages of weight loss.

  Friday, March 30, 2012

• March 29, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  It is difficult for many dieters to tell whether or not they are actually hungry because they tend to confuse hunger with countless other sensations, like having a craving or feeling tired, bored, stressed, thirsty, sad, happy, etc. Eating according to a schedule can be helpful for dieters because it means they don’t have to rely on their sometimes faulty sense of hunger to know whether or not to eat.

  Thursday, March 29, 2012

• March 28, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I don’t want to exercise.

  Response: I shouldn’t go by whether or not I want to exercise. If I want to lose weight and keep it off, and have good health, I need to exercise. Besides, I might be making this into a much bigger deal that it really is. I can do this.

  Wednesday, March 28, 2012

• March 27, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Tuesday Reality Check: If you make a dieting mistake during the day, remind yourself, “I haven’t blown it. It’s not the end of the world. Start following my plan again RIGHT NOW and stop it at one mistake, don’t turn it into more. It’s a million times better to stop now than to allow myself to eat more.”

  Tuesday, March 27, 2012

• March 26, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  So often we hear from dieters: I want to lose weight so I can finally stop thinking about it. However, the truth is that for dieters who are losing and maintaining their weight loss, their weight will probably still be on their minds – BUT it will be in a really positive and contented way, instead of a negative and frustrated way.

  Monday, March 26, 2012

• March 23, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  To help stay in control, consider making a weekend-specific Response Card, such as, “My body doesn’t know or care it’s a weekend, it processes calories the same and if I eat too much I’ll gain weight. If I stay in control of my eating, I will have a BETTER weekend because I will feel good about myself, not bad. It’s worth it!”

  Friday, March 23, 2012

• March 22, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  When dieting, look out for sabotaging thoughts that start with the phrase, “I’m entitled to eat this because…” (I'm sad, stressed, bored, upset, etc.). If you have to justify to yourself why it’s okay to eat something, it often means you probably shouldn’t.

  Thursday, March 22, 2012

• March 21, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s sad that I can’t eat everything I want, whenever I want.

  Response: Actually, it’s so GREAT that I can stick with my plan and lose weight. It would be so much sadder if I was stuck at an unhealthy weight where I didn’t feel good about myself.

  Wednesday, March 21, 2012

• March 20, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  It’s important to READ a list of all the reasons you want to lose weight every day. If you think, “This won’t help,” remind yourself, “I don’t have a crystal ball so I don’t know yet whether or not it will help, but I do know that NOT doing this has never helped me reach my weight loss goals. It’s worth a try.”

  Tuesday, March 20, 2012

• March 19, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Remember, you can’t change what has happened in the past, you can only control what happens in the future. Whether or not you got off track this weekend, you can start being on track RIGHT NOW and feel good about your eating all week long.

  Monday, March 19, 2012

• March 16, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you’re going out this weekend, it’s very helpful to plan in advance how many alcoholic drinks you’ll have. Remember – alcohol has calories AND can lower your inhibitions to eat more. If you think, “I can’t have fun unless I drink as much as I want,” remind yourself, “It isn’t all or nothing. There is a big middle ground between having no drinks and having lots and lots of drinks.”

  Friday, March 16, 2012

• March 15, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Everybody makes dieting mistakes. Everybody. Once dieters learn how to get right back on track after a slip up, they don’t have to live in fear of them and as long as dieters recover immediately, mistakes NEVER have to lead to them throwing in the towel.

  Thursday, March 15, 2012

• March 14, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s too hard to get myself back on track because it’s too much of a burden to do all the things I used to do.

  Response: Actually, it feels terrible to be off track. When I was doing my dieting tasks before it really DIDN’T feel all that burdensome because I was in control of my eating and it felt GREAT. Once I make myself start doing them again, I’ll be reminded of how much better I feel.

  Wednesday, March 14, 2012

• March 13, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  It’s important to know that when you’re dieting, you won’t lose weight every day, or even every week. However, as long as the number keeps moving down over time, it means you’re doing what you need to be doing.

  Tuesday, March 13, 2012

• March 12, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  When you’re dieting, you are giving up eating some food, some of the time, and you’re probably forcing yourself to do things you don’t want to do (like stop eating). However, it’s important to remember that in doing so you get SO MUCH in return. There’s no denying it can be hard work, but the payoff is enormous.

  Monday, March 12, 2012

• March 9, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  The weekend is a great time to fit in exercise. Remember – 5 minutes is ALWAYS better than 0 minutes. Likely the hardest part is just getting started and once you’re done you definitely won’t regret it.

  Friday, March 09, 2012

• March 8, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  It doesn’t work to tell yourself, “I’ll get through this hard time and then I’ll start dieting” because hard/stressful times never stop happening. Instead, you can learn to maintain control over your eating during hard times, which will undoubtedly help you feel more in control in general.

  Thursday, March 08, 2012

• March 7, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I don’t want to weigh myself because I’ll feel terrible if the number goes up.

  Response: I’ll only feel terrible if I let my sabotaging thoughts convince me that I’m bad or weak for gaining weight. At worse, gaining weight means I may have made mistakes that I can correct during this coming week.

  Wednesday, March 07, 2012

• March 6, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you’re following the Beck Diet Solution program, it simply doesn’t work to only do the skills you feel like doing. If you had an infection and your doctor prescribed you 10 days of medication, you won’t take 5 and expect it to work. Dieting is the same!

  Tuesday, March 06, 2012

• March 5, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Focus on what you can do today. If you think, “I can’t keep this up for a month, a year, or longer” remind yourself, “Forget the long term. I know I can continue to do what I need to do today. If it’s hard tomorrow I’ll deal with it then.” Besides – a year from now you’ll have a year’s worth of more practice under your belt.

  Monday, March 05, 2012

• March 2, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you eat at restaurants this weekend, likely the portions of food will be too big so you’ll have to bring some home or leave some on your plate. Remember – extra food will be wasted in the trash can or in your body. Either way, it’s wasted.

  Friday, March 02, 2012

• March 1, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Eating everything sitting down is helpful because it allows dieters to cut out the calories from bites they would mindlessly pop in their mouths while standing up and it usually hardly registers that they’re eating less.

  Thursday, March 01, 2012

• February 29, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I was so good at dinner that I deserve to treat myself when I get home tonight.

  Response: My body doesn’t know or care about all of the food I resisted eating, it only knows what food I did eat. If I eat more food than my body needs, I will gain weight.

  Wednesday, February 29, 2012

• February 28, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If every time you buy a bag of potato chips you tell yourself, “I’ll be able to stop at one serving,” and then never do, when you’re next tempted to buy a bag, ask yourself, “What’s the evidence I’ll be able to stop when I know I should? This is always difficult for me so why put myself through that?” and buy a single-sized bag instead.

  Tuesday, February 28, 2012

• February 27, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Losing weight will likely affect so many different areas of your life for the better and, as you start losing, you’re undoubtedly discover additional benefits along the way. While dieting can feel hard at times, there’s no end to what you’ll get in return for doing so

  Monday, February 27, 2012

• February 24, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you think, “I just want to enjoy this weekend and not think about food and dieting,” remind yourself, “Either way I’ll think about it. If I overeat I’ll likely have to think about how bad and guilty I feel, but if I stay in control, I’ll think about how good and proud I feel. Either way it will be on my mind, but at least if I maintain control my thoughts will be positive, not negative.”

  Friday, February 24, 2012

• February 23, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  The difference between knowing what you’re supposed to do and getting yourself to do it is figuring out what (sabotaging) thoughts are getting in the way. Once you figure out the thoughts, you can formulate responses, write them down on cards, and practice reading these cards every day. This will enable you to effectively respond to sabotaging thoughts in the moment and not give in.

  Thursday, February 23, 2012

• February 22, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Because I’m stressed out I need to eat.

  Response: No, I may WANT to eat, but I don’t NEED to eat. If I was feeling this way and there was no food available, I would get through it without eating. Just because I want to eat right now doesn’t mean I should.

  Wednesday, February 22, 2012

• February 21, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you eat when you’re feeling stressed, likely once you finish eating you will end up feeling MORE stressed and out of control. Instead, if you focus your energy on calming down (without food) and solving the problem, you will feel better and more in control.

  Tuesday, February 21, 2012

• February 20, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  If you were walking down a flight of stairs and stumbled down a few, would you then say “Well, I’ve blown it” and throw yourself down the rest? No! You would get back up and resume walking. If you stumbled this weekend, immediately pick yourself back up and start eating healthy again.

  Monday, February 20, 2012

• February 17, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Obvious but important reminder – your body has no idea that it’s the weekend. If you take in too many calories on weekends you WILL gain weight or stop yourself from losing weight. However, if you stay in control during the weekend, you WILL feel great about it and not regret it Monday morning.

  Friday, February 17, 2012

• February 16, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  It can be very hard to remember every bite of food we eat each day and so writing down all your eating can be so useful in really knowing how much you’re eating and really being accountable for every bite you eat. If you know you have to write it down, it may help you consider whether or not you really want to eat it.

  Thursday, February 16, 2012

• February 15, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’m too stressed to diet right now.

  Response: It’s true I’m under a lot of stress, but there are times when sticking to my plan has made life easier because I don’t have to think about or struggle over food. If I maintain control over my eating, likely I will feel more in control of my life in general.

  Wednesday, February 15, 2012

• February 14, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Your body counts every single bite of food you eat, whether or not you eat it standing up, very quickly, on your birthday, if it’s only a small piece, by yourself, in the middle of the night, when everyone around you is eating, when it’s free, if it will go to waste, because you’re sad or stressed, if you’re celebrating, etc.

  Tuesday, February 14, 2012

• February 13, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Since there’s probably never a “good” time to start dieting, why not just start today? Think about how much better you’ll feel next Monday morning if you have a whole week of healthy eating and feeling good about yourself under your belt!

  Monday, February 13, 2012

• February 10, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  It’s helpful to go into the weekend EXPECTING that dieting may be more difficult and preparing ahead of time. No one would go into battle without armor, so it’s important to fortify yourself and put on your weekend armor so you’re not caught unawares if it feels harder.

  Friday, February 10, 2012

• February 9, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you’re feeling upset or stressed – even if it’s time to eat, don’t eat! It’s important to prove to yourself that you can calm down without eating and besides, if you’re worked up you won’t really be able to enjoy the food anyway.

  Thursday, February 09, 2012

• February 8, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s sad that I can’t eat everything I want.

  Response: Actually, it’s WONDERFUL that I can stick with my plan and lose weight! The sad thing would be to stay overweight and feel bad about myself.

  Wednesday, February 08, 2012

• February 7, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you can’t turn to food every time you’re upset. Not only will that not solve the problem, you will end up with two problems: the original one and now feeling bad about your eating. When you’re upset, you DO deserve to be comforted but you DON’T deserve to feel bad about your eating.

  Tuesday, February 07, 2012

• February 6, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  When people tell us that they can’t lose weight because it’s too hard, we remind them that likely they’ve done other hard things in life, like getting a degree, being successful at a job, or learning a new skill. Those things didn’t come to them overnight and they had to work hard to achieve success and made mistakes along the way. Dieting is no different.

  Monday, February 06, 2012

• February 3, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you’re going to watch the Super Bowl this weekend, remember: you can’t eat (and drink) everything you want, in whatever quantities you want, and still lose weight. But you CAN plan ahead to have some extra treats, stay in control of your eating, and enjoy them guilt-free.

  Friday, February 03, 2012

• February 2, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  It’s not always easy to exert dieting willpower, so it’s often worth it to limit the number of times you need to do so. Whether this means keeping certain foods out of your house, only bringing in individual-sized portions, or putting away leftovers immediately after you serve, the more you cut down the need to use willpower the less you will have to rely on it.

  Thursday, February 02, 2012

• February 1, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: “I just can’t stick to my diet right now.”

  Response: There's a difference between hard and impossible. Saying I “can’t” stick to my diet is essentially saying it’s impossible, which gives me permission to not even try. I need to remember that even though it may be very hard, it’s worth it to try because I feel so much better when I do.

  Wednesday, February 01, 2012

• January 31, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  It is not reasonable to expect that in dieting you will never make mistakes and it’s extremely important to prove to yourself that you can slip up and recover from it right away. This way you don’t have to live in fear of making a mistake, especially since 100% perfection can only be maintained for so long.

  Tuesday, January 31, 2012

• January 30, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Even if dieting didn’t have enormous benefits in terms of weight loss and better health, it would STILL be worth it because being in control of your eating feels so much better than being out of control.

  Monday, January 30, 2012

• January 27, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Are you tired of struggling to get back on track every Monday? Are you tired of undoing all your good work from the week and undermining your progress? Keep these things in mind this weekend when making eating decisions and guaranteed Monday morning you will feel SO HAPPY you stayed in control.

  Friday, January 27, 2012

• January 26, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  We find that for many of our dieters, intuitive eating is difficult because it is far too easy to confuse hunger with other sensations – craving, thirst, boredom, stress, or simply the desire to eat. Because of this, we work with our dieters on the skill of “eating according to a schedule” so that they don’t have to rely on potentially faulty cues to know whether or not to eat.

  Thursday, January 26, 2012

• January 25, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to eat this unplanned food because I’ll eat less and make up for it later.

  Response: Looking back, when has ‘making up for it later’ EVER helped me to lose weight and keep it off? I’ve already proven to myself that this idea just doesn’t work and that spontaneous food decisions have negative consequences. Just stick to my plan and as soon as this food is out of my sight, I’ll be SO GLAD I didn’t have any.

  Wednesday, January 25, 2012

• January 24, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  In order to lose weight permanently, dieters can’t keep turning to food when they’re upset. Although initially difficult, dieters can learn to sooth themselves in many other ways and get to the point where, when they feel upset, they know they’re not going to eat because that would ultimately make them feel much worse. What do you do to soothe yourself when you’re upset?

  Tuesday, January 24, 2012

• January 23, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  You wouldn’t expect to be able to run a marathon if you’ve never run a mile. Dieting is the same – don’t set yourself up for failure by trying to take too many big steps all at once. Start with a few small changes, work until you master them, and then institute more. After all, small steps eventually add up to really big ones.

  Monday, January 23, 2012

• January 19, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Cravings are about want, NOT need. When you think, “I really need this food right now,” remind yourself, “Actually, I really want this food right now, but I want all the benefits of weight loss so much more. It’s worth it to resist because it will get me to my goals.”

  Thursday, January 19, 2012

• January 18, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It will be a waste of money if I go to a restaurant and don’t finish my meal.

  Response: The money is spent whether I eat the food or not. I should focus on the experience of enjoying a night out and enjoying the company, not eating every bite on my plate. Besides, if I bring some home I’ll save money because I’ll have food for another meal.

  Wednesday, January 18, 2012

• January 17, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  When dieting feels hard, it’s important to remind yourself that it hasn’t always been this hard (it’s helpful to think about specific examples of when it felt easier and you were feeling great) and it won’t always be this hard. As long as you keep pushing through, dieting WILL get easier again.

  Tuesday, January 17, 2012

• January 16, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  We asked a maintainer what keeps her motivated, and she responded, “I feel good in my body every single day. Physically and mentally I’ve never felt better, and that is something I’m never willing to give up. So I do what I have to do, and it feel great.”

  Monday, January 16, 2012

• January 13, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you eat at restaurants and feel bad about asking for special requests, remind yourself, “People make special requests all the time and I’m entitled to do so, too. If I were on a very strict medical diet I wouldn’t even think twice about making requests. Eating differently to lose weight and be healthier is just as legitimate.”

  Friday, January 13, 2012

• January 12, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  When it seems unfair that you can’t eat something, remind yourself, “It’s true that it’s not fair. But I need to ask myself: which unfairness would I rather have – not being able to eat this or not losing weight?” Then work on accepting it and move on!

  Thursday, January 12, 2012

• January 11, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to eat this one thing standing up, it won’t really matter.

  Response: Every bite matters because it’s not about the calories, it’s about the habit. Every single time I eat something standing up, I increase the chances I’ll eat standing up next time, too. Every single time I force myself to sit down, I make it more likely I’ll sit down the next time, AND it will be easier for me to do so

  Wednesday, January 11, 2012

• January 10, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  People make New Year’s Resolutions about things that are important to them. If you made the resolution to eat healthfully this year and are having trouble with it, remind yourself that this is STILL an important goal and worth working towards. The results make the hard work worth it, so don’t give up!

  Tuesday, January 10, 2012

• January 9, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Many dieters have a tendency to focus on the one or two mistakes they made that day instead of recognizing the dozens of positive things they have done. We always remind dieters that two wrong things IN NO WAY negates 20 right things, so make sure you keep a realistic perspective of your day as a whole.

  Monday, January 09, 2012

• January 6, 2012 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you make an eating mistake and have the sabotaging thought, “I’ve blown it for the weekend, I’ll start again on Monday,” remind yourself that the calories NEVER stop adding up, and the more you eat the more you will gain. Getting yourself back in control right away will stop you from gaining weight AND help you feel good about your eating for the rest of the weekend.

  Friday, January 06, 2012

• January 5, 2012 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  When dieters have the thought, “I’m too busy to eat healthfully and exercise,” we remind them that these things are ESSENTIAL for their health, and if they’re not in good health then they won’t be well-equipped to do anything else in their lives.

  Thursday, January 05, 2012

• January 4, 2012 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I don’t want to diet because then I’ll be burdened with thinking about food and diet all the time.

  Response: I’m already burdened by constantly feeling bad about my weight and wanting to do something about it. Either way I’m burdened but at least in the in the first case I get to be thinner, healthier, and feel better about myself.

  Wednesday, January 04, 2012

• January 3, 2012 - Tuesday Reality Check

  When people feel anxious about starting to diet, they may tell themselves that they’ll start tomorrow. This makes them feel less anxious because it means they have a plan – but far too often they never put that plan in place. Instead, make it your plan to start RIGHT NOW and guarantee that it will happen.

  Tuesday, January 03, 2012

• January 2, 2012 - Monday Motivation

  Is losing weight/getting healthy one of your New Year’s Resolutions? The sooner you start working on it the sooner you will achieve it, so start taking small steps TODAY towards that goal and all the small steps will begin to add up to big ones.

  Monday, January 02, 2012

• December 30, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Happy (almost) New Years! Our plan is to enjoy New Year’s Eve, but also to stay in control of our eating and drinking so that we can feel good every minute of 2011 and start 2012 in a great place. What’s your plan?

  Friday, December 30, 2011

• December 29, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you think, “It’s not fair I can’t eat normally over the holidays,” remind yourself, “Actually, I AM eating normally for someone with my weight loss goals. And while it may be unfair I can’t eat all the food I want, it would be MUCH more unfair if I couldn’t experience the countless benefits of weight loss.”

  Thursday, December 29, 2011

• December 28, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: My eating has been so bad lately, I’ll just wait until the New Year to get back on track.

  Response: Absolutely not! I will get back on track right now because every minute I eat off track is another minute I feel bad about myself and my eating. It’s worth it to me to get back on track now and start the New Year off right.

  Wednesday, December 28, 2011

• December 27, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  No matter how much or how little control you were able to exert over the holiday weekend, today is a new day. Make today a good day and you will be SO GLAD you did. Being in control of your eating feels great!

  Tuesday, December 27, 2011

• December 23, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  This weekend, if you think, “It’s okay to eat this because everyone else is eating it,” remind yourself that your body doesn’t know or care what everyone around you is eating. It ONLY knows what you eat, so that is not a valid excuse.

  Friday, December 23, 2011

• December 22, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  During the holidays, it’s perfectly reasonable to eat food you only get once a year, but it’s not reasonable to eat huge portions of everything. At this time it’s especially important to eat slowly and mindfully because not only will it help you to enjoy food more, but you’ll also be satisfied with less.

  Thursday, December 22, 2011

• December 21, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: The holidays are stressful and I just want to relax and not have one more thing to worry about.

  Response: In the past I’ve seen that worrying about my weight and feeling bad about my eating is a huge drain. Maintaining control over my eating will actually make me feel better because it’ll help me feel more in control in general AND it will reduce my stress because I won’t have to worry about gaining weight.

  Wednesday, December 21, 2011

• December 20, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “I don’t have time for diet and exercise,” remind yourself that you DO make time for the things in life that are most important to you. If the advantages of losing weight and being healthy are of great importance to you, then make dieting and exercise top priorities and you will find the time NO MATTER WHAT.

  Tuesday, December 20, 2011

• December 19, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  You can’t undo any eating from the past, you can only control what you do eat in the future so there’s no point in berating yourself for past mistakes. Instead, focus on what you can do to make TODAY’s eating a success and you will feel so glad that you did.

  Monday, December 19, 2011

• December 16, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you were driving on the highway and missed your exit, would you say, “Forget it” and keep driving? No! You’d get off at the very next exit and turn around. If you make a mistake this weekend, immediately turn yourself around and get right back on track.

  Friday, December 16, 2011

• December 15, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  You don’t have to give in to a craving to make it go away. Cravings go away when you either decide definitely to give in to it, or when you decide definitely NOT to give in to it.

  Thursday, December 15, 2011

• December 14, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It’s okay to have this extra food, it’s not that much compared to what I could be eating.

  Response: My body doesn’t know or care how much I’m NOT eating, it only knows how much I AM eating. If I take in more calories than I had planned, I’ll gain weight

  Wednesday, December 14, 2011

• December 13, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Losing or maintaining weight over the holidays can be difficult, but it is by no means impossible. If you tell yourself, “I just can’t possibly lose weight at this time,” you’re giving yourself an excuse to not even try.

  Tuesday, December 13, 2011

• December 12, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  Most thin people do NOT eat whatever they want, whenever they want. When dieting feels unfair, remind yourself that likely most people around you are also restricting their eating to some degree. If you’re working on dieting, you’re in very good company.

  Monday, December 12, 2011

• December 9, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Remember, your body does not know or care that it’s a weekend; it processes calories the same regardless of the day of the week. If your goal is to lose weight and keep it off, then weekends are a break from work, NOT a break from healthy eating.

  Friday, December 09, 2011

• December 8, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Holiday treats hanging around your office? It can be helpful to make the decision to not have any while at work, but bring home a portion of whatever looks best to you. That way you won’t have to struggle about whether or not to have some each time you see the treats, and you’ll still be able to enjoy a portion later and not have to worry about eating more than you planned.

  Thursday, December 08, 2011

• December 7, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I’m really stressed out, I need to eat!

  Response: I may WANT to eat, but I don’t NEED to. There are many people who feel stressed without turning to food and if I had been in a stressful situation where food wasn’t available, I’d deal with it without eating, too.

  Wednesday, December 07, 2011

• December 6, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  When dieters say, “I just can’t stick to a diet, I have no discipline,” we remind them that they actually DO have a lot of discipline because they are able to get up with their kids, get to work on time, pay bills, etc. While they may lack consistent dieting discipline, they are clearly capable of great feats of discipline in other areas, so this is not a valid reason to not try.

  Tuesday, December 06, 2011

• December 5, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  Over and over again we hear from dieters how gaining control of their eating has positively impacted their lives in so many ways beyond weight loss and how, as they go, they discover so many new advantages that they hadn’t foreseen at the beginning

  Monday, December 05, 2011

• December 2, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Don’t wait until New Year’s to start working on healthy eating resolutions. Start THIS MINUTE and come January 1st you will be in a much happier and healthier state to begin the new year. “Like” our status today if you’re making a commitment to start New Year’s resolutions a month early!

  Friday, December 02, 2011

• December 1, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Remember, dieting is not all-or-nothing. You are not either 100% perfect on your diet or totally off of it. You are entitled to make mistakes but you are NOT entitled to use those mistakes as an excuse to throw in the towel.

  Thursday, December 01, 2011

• November 30, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I feel discouraged because my rate of weight loss is slow.

  Response: When has losing weight quickly EVER led to me keeping it off? If I keep wishing I would lose faster, it will just make me feel disappointed, instead of proud of the weight I have lost. Besides, it doesn’t matter if it takes 2 months or 2 years to lose the weight because it’s not coming back.

  Wednesday, November 30, 2011

• November 29, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  A very common sabotaging thought is, “Just this one time won’t matter,” but regardless of the situation, every time DOES matter. Every SINGLE time you withstand a craving, resist emotional eating, and say no to unplanned food, you increase the chances you will the next time. Each time you give in, you increase the chances you will give in the next time, too.

  Tuesday, November 29, 2011

• November 28, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  Sometimes when dieters have been eating off track, they actually forget how GREAT it feels to be in control of their eating. We remind them of the multitude of positive experiences and feelings they have had as a result of maintaining control and this helps them to immediately get back on track.

  Monday, November 28, 2011

• November 25, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  How did everyone fare yesterday? If you stayed in control – GREAT! Give yourself lots and lots of credit and keep doing what you’re doing. If you got off track – move on! Make the commitment to getting back on track THIS MINUTE and give yourself lots of credit for doing so.

  Friday, November 25, 2011

• November 24, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Happy Thanksgiving! Remember, today is ultimately a day for giving thanks for the blessings in your life. What food you do or don't eat will not take away from that.

  Thursday, November 24, 2011

• November 23, 2011 - Wednesday Thanksgiving Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Since it’s Thanksgiving, it’s okay to eat whatever I want. Everybody else will be doing that, too.

  Response: My body doesn’t know or care what day of the year it is, it processes calories the same NO MATTER WHAT. My body also doesn’t know or care what anybody else around me is eating, it only cares about what food I eat MYSELF.

  Wednesday, November 23, 2011

• November 22, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  The time and energy for dieting and exercise will NEVER just magically appear, and especially not during the busy holiday season. This means that dieters may need to be more deliberate in figuring out how and when they will make the time and energy, but absolutely, 100%, it’s worth it!

  Tuesday, November 22, 2011

• November 21, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  When our dieters lack motivation, we have them pull out their Advantages List and really think about how important each item is to them and how their lives will be improved when they achieve them. This helps dieters remember why it’s worth it to them to push through this MOMENTARY lack of motivation and not let it stand in the way of reaching their goals.

  Monday, November 21, 2011

• Novemeber 18, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  With the holidays right around the corner, it might be time to start brushing up on some of your skills. Have you been eating everything sitting down, slowly, and mindfully? Reading your Advantages List? Responding to sabotaging thinking? Giving yourself credit? Making time and energy for dieting? If not, make a commitment to work on your basic skills this weekend to help get you in the right mindset.

  Friday, November 18, 2011

• November 17, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Thanksgiving is only a week away! If you think, “I’ll feel really deprived if I don’t get to eat everything on the table,” remind yourself, “If I keep telling myself that I’m going to feel deprived, I definitely will. Instead of concentrating on the things I’m not eating, I need to focus on enjoying what I am eating and spending time with my loved ones.”

  Thursday, November 17, 2011

• November 16, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Though: I’ll never be able to get to the weight I was when I was younger. I should stay where I am, it’s good enough.

  Response: If I’m at a healthy weight then maybe I SHOULD stay where I am and work on acceptance. If I’m not at a healthy weight then it’s NOT good enough because my health is suffering. Yes, it’s true I may never return to my younger weight but that doesn’t mean I can’t still be healthy, feel good about myself, and achieve everything on my Advantages List. Having unreasonable expectations gives me an excuse to not even try, when I can still improve my life so much by working hard and losing weight.

  Wednesday, November 16, 2011

• November 15, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you undoubtedly won’t be able to eat all of the holiday food you want, in whatever quantities you want. HOWEVER, this doesn’t mean that you can’t have a plan for when and how you will enjoy certain treats, and in doing so you will be able to enjoy holiday food, enjoy staying in control, AND enjoy all the advantages of losing weight.

  Tuesday, November 15, 2011

• November 14, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  One of the most important aspects of healthy eating and weight loss is improved quality of life. Our dieters find that once they gain control of their eating they feel SO MUCH BETTER both mentally and physically, in ways they hadn’t even conceived of when they initially started out.

  Monday, November 14, 2011

• November 11, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you tend to splurge on weekends because of sabotaging thoughts like, “I worked so hard during the week, I deserve to kick back and relax on the weekend,” then find non-food-related ways reward yourself for all your hard efforts. In doing so you can feel good about unwinding AND about your eating and maintaining control.

  Friday, November 11, 2011

• November 10, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Dieters need to give themselves credit for every positive eating and exercise behavior so that they are aware of how many great things they’re doing each day. That way, if they make a mistake it is easy to see that they DON’T need to throw in the towel because one wrong thing doesn’t begin to negate the 20 things they did right.

  Thursday, November 10, 2011

• November 9, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Dieting is too hard, it’s not worth it.

  Response: Dieting IS but it also IS worth it. Telling myself "it’s not worth it" is just an excuse to give up and I have to pay no attention to that thought. The advantages of losing weight and the positive impact it will have on every area of my life makes it unquestionably worth it.

  Wednesday, November 09, 2011

• November 8, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Dieters sometimes think it’s not fair that they have to struggle and limit their eating. We remind them that while it’s true it’s not fair, EVERYONE has unfairnesses in their lives, but at least in this case, there are things they can do to make it better.

  Tuesday, November 08, 2011

• November 7, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  If you think, “I’ve been on a diet for 20 years. I’m just not the type of person who can lose weight,” remind yourself, “I’m different now because I’m learning critical skills I didn’t know before. I CAN lose weight, and I will keep losing weight AND keep it off because I will continue to use my skills.”

  Monday, November 07, 2011

• November 4, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you want to lose or maintain your weight loss, you can’t use weekends as an excuse to overeat because you will continually undo all your hard work from the workweek.  Make a commitment to staying on track this weekend!

  Friday, November 04, 2011

• November 3, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you are at an event with no healthy food options, some healthy options are 1) Bring your own food to eat; 2) Either eat before or after, not at the event; 3) Eat what is provided but eat less than you normally would to account for the extra calories.

  Thursday, November 03, 2011

• November 2, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Since it’s almost the holidays, I can’t possibly lose weight at this time.

  Response: That’s just a sabotaging thought. While it may be more difficult at this time of year with all of the extra treats around, I’m ultimately in charge of every bite of food I eat so the holidays don’t have to derail me.

  Wednesday, November 02, 2011

• November 1, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Now that Halloween is over, consider throwing away or donating leftover candy and treats. If you think, “But that would be a waste of money,” remind yourself, “The money is already gone. Eating all of these treats and gaining weight will not bring it back.” 

  Tuesday, November 01, 2011

• October 31, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  Happy Halloween! Remember: I can eat all the Halloween candy I want OR I can be thinner, healthier, more confident, etc. I can’t have it both ways. Take a look at your goals and make a decision for how you will handle the influx of treats at this time.

  Monday, October 31, 2011

• October 28, 2011 - Friday Halloween Weekend Warm-up

  Is it worth it to jeopardize your weight loss and confidence level to overeat this weekend, especially since you’ll likely regret it later? You can enjoy Halloween AND all the benefits of losing weight by maintaining control of your eating. GUARANTEED you will be so glad you did.

  Friday, October 28, 2011

• October 27, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Halloween is just around the corner. We advise our dieters to wait until the last minute to buy candy so they don’t have to put forth the effort to resist it every day unnecessarily and also to buy candy that they don’t particularly like. Anything you can do to reduce the struggle is worth it!

  Thursday, October 27, 2011

• October 26, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I don’t have time to do all my dieting tasks.

  Response: It doesn’t take that much time to actually do everything. What does take time is how long I spend struggling beforehand over whether or not I’m going to do it. I need to make the decision to definitively do these things and the time I spend will be reduced significantly.

  Wednesday, October 26, 2011

• October 25, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Often when dieters have strong ideas like, “I can’t disappoint others,” or “my needs must always come last,” these are traps of their own making. Since dieters are the ones forcing these mandates on themselves, they also then have the power to change their thinking and free themselves.

  Tuesday, October 25, 2011

• October 24, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  All dieters and maintainers go through periods when dieting feels more difficult. The good news: this is completely normal and happens to EVERYONE. Keep doing what you’re doing and dieting WILL get easier again.

  Monday, October 24, 2011

• October 21, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you make an eating mistake this weekend, don’t wait to get back on track - get back on track that exact MINUTE. You’ll be glad you did ten minutes later, and you’ll be SO glad you did Monday morning when you can start the week off feeling good.

  Friday, October 21, 2011

• October 20, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Many dieters have a strong fear of hunger and think that if they get hungry, it will get worse and worse until something bad happens. Doctors permitting, we have dieters skip lunch one day so they can see that hunger actually comes and goes and, compared to the worst pain they’ve ever felt, hunger pangs only rate as mildly uncomfortable.

  Thursday, October 20, 2011

• October 19, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Now that I’ve lost weight I can stop being so careful.

  Response: While I may be able to loosen up a little, I have to remember that I lost weight because of the different ways I am now doing things. The moment I return to my old habits is the moment I start to gain weight back.

  Wednesday, October 19, 2011

• October 18, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  It is a biological impossibility for your weight to go down every day. Daily fluctuations are NORMAL and even if you’ve been perfect on your diet the number on the scale will go up on some days.

  Tuesday, October 18, 2011

• October 17, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  EVERY SINGLE dieting mistake can be turned into a valuable learning opportunity if you take the time to figure out why it happened and what specifically you can do in the future to change the outcome of a similar situation.

  Monday, October 17, 2011

• October 14, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you think, “Weekends should be about fun, not about dieting,” remind yourself, “Eating healthfully and having fun are not mutually exclusive. Just because I may not eat EVERYTHING I want doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy what I do eat. And besides, staying in control of my eating ALWAYS feels so much better than being out of control.”

  Friday, October 14, 2011

• October 13, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Once dieters stop giving in to cravings, cravings lose power over them because dieters know with absolute certainty they can withstand them and when they do, cravings go away.

  Thursday, October 13, 2011

• October 12, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I don’t want to get on the scale because I think I’ve gained weight.

  Response: This is when it’s MOST important to get on the scale so I hold myself accountable. I need to find out if I have gained weight so I can figure out what mistakes I’ve made and correct them. I’m NOT a bad person for making mistakes, but it would be bad if I let the fear of them ruin my chance for success.

  Wednesday, October 12, 2011

• October 11, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Dieters can be excellent at fooling themselves: If I eat standing up, it doesn’t count; if it’s just this one time, it won’t matter; since I’ve already eaten too much it’s okay to keep eating. When dieters are able to accept reality and recognize that such thoughts are sabotaging and false, they are able to overcome them and move forward.

  Tuesday, October 11, 2011

• October 10, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  Consistently working to stay in control of your eating can be difficult and can sometimes feel not worth it, but ultimately the rewards of losing weight are SO MUCH more important and ALWAYS worth it, no matter how hard dieting may feel at any given time.

  Monday, October 10, 2011

• October 7, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  When dining with other people, dieters are much more likely to get distracted by conversation and end up eating a lot more. We advise them to immediately portion off how much they are going to have because that way, even if they eat it while distracted, they won’t wind up consuming more than they had planned.

  Friday, October 07, 2011

• October 6, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  When you impulsively eat standing up, you’re telling yourself that it doesn’t really matter and that there won’t be any consequences. But there will be because EVERY bite of food you eat has calories. Even if you’re only eating vegetables standing up today, tomorrow it might be chocolate.

  Thursday, October 06, 2011

• October 5, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Dieting is too hard, it’s just not worth it.

  Response: Yes, dieting is hard SOME of the time, but not all the time. Looking back, it’s not hard every single minute of every single day. Besides, it IS worth it because my goals are MUCH MORE important to me than never working hard at it. Giving up isn't worth it!

  Wednesday, October 05, 2011

• October 4, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  If you think, “I don’t want to accept the things I have to do for dieting” remind yourself, “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 I have to like it but continuing to fight against acceptance will do NOTHING but make it harder for me to reach my tremendously important goals.”

  Tuesday, October 04, 2011

• October 3, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  We asked a long time maintainer what keeps him motivated and he said, “I don’t wait for motivation, I just do it because I owe it to my daughter, my wife, and MYSELF.” Losing weight and being healthier positively impacts you AND everyone else around you. Do it for them, but most importantly, do it for yourself.

  Monday, October 03, 2011

• September 30, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new month. Don’t wait until the New Year to start making resolutions. Make them NOW and think about how much better you’ll feel, physically and psychologically, come January!

  Friday, September 30, 2011

• September 29, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Drinking water throughout the day is good for you in so many ways. We buy reusable cups with big plastic straws attached, which makes drinking water so much easier. They also come in different designs so get one you like and bottoms up!

  Thursday, September 29, 2011

• September 28, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: My life is so busy, I just don’t have the time to diet correctly.

  Response: I don’t have time because I’m not making time. If I had to get dialysis every morning I would make the time for it NO MATTER WHAT. Dieting takes a lot of time in the beginning so I have to make it a top priority it or will not happen, but as it gets easier it will take less and less time. It’s all a matter of priorities.

  Wednesday, September 28, 2011

• September 27, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Being healthy and maintaining weight loss is a combination of a healthy diet AND exercise. Since 5 minutes of exercise a day is better than 0 minutes, there is no excuse for not finding at least a few minutes each day to get moving.

  Tuesday, September 27, 2011

• September 26, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  So often we hear from dieters, “I felt so good when I stayed in control,” and “I felt really bad when I ate way too much.” When dieters finally learn to gain control over their thinking and eating, dieting feels GREAT, not terrible.

  Monday, September 26, 2011

• September 23, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you eat out this weekend and stay in control, give yourself a lot of credit. When you get home make sure you don’t say to yourself, “I was so good, now I deserve to treat myself,” because you will undo all your hard work. Losing weight is the best treat!

  Friday, September 23, 2011

• September 22, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Dieters can eat a slice of cake in 5 bites or 20 bites. Either way it’s the same amount of food, but they get to enjoy 15 more bites when they eat slowly and in smaller pieces, which greatly increases their level of satisfaction.

  Thursday, September 22, 2011

• September 21, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: I just don’t care.

  Response: While it’s true that I don’t care right at this moment, I’m going to care A LOT a few minutes from now if I jeopardize my diet and weight loss. I can’t let this one moment of not caring influence how I act because I know I will care again, and when I do, I’ll be SO happy and proud I didn’t give in.

  Wednesday, September 21, 2011

• September 21, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Now that I know how to lose weight, it's ok to splurge because I can always lose it next week.

  Response: If I keep giving in and splurging, it'll make it more likely I’ll splurge the next time, and the time after that and will ulitmately make it much harder to stick to my diet because everytime I’m confronted with a treat, I'll struggle about whether or not to have it. No choice, just stick to my diet! It will make things so much easier.

  Wednesday, September 21, 2011

• September 21, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: "People should love me for what I am and not for how I look.”

  Response: This is absolutely true, but it doesn't mean I shouldn't work on losing weight. Maintaining a healthy weight is ESSENTIAL for good health and being in control of my eating feels so much better than being out of control. I'm not losing weight to make people love me, I'm doing it to make MYSELF healthy and happy.

  Wednesday, September 21, 2011

• September 20, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  In life, everyone has to do things they don’t want to do, like turning work in on time, paying bills, and getting up early with their kids. People are able to do so because they don’t give themselves a choice about it. We teach dieters to not give themselves a choice where dieting is concerned, too.

  Tuesday, September 20, 2011

• September 19, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  When dieters go through a rough patch they may think, “This isn’t worth it.” We help dieters realize that while dieting is hard some of the time, being overweight is hard ALL of the time, and in so many more ways. Dieting is hard, but it’s worth it.

  Monday, September 19, 2011

• September 16, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  It's extremely helpful to have a basic plan for the weekend. Think ahead to the eating events you have scheduled (parties, weddings, dinners out, etc.) and decide IN ADVANCE which ones you might eat more at and which ones you won't.

  Friday, September 16, 2011

• September 15, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  If you make an eating mistake, continue to eat normally for the rest of the day. Telling yourself, "I won't eat anything else today," might trigger feelings of anxiety or panic when you get hungry, which could then cause you to eat much more than you would have normally.

  Thursday, September 15, 2011

• September 14, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: Either I'm totally perfect on my diet or I'm not on it at all.

  Response: Dieting is NOT all-or-nothing and treating it this way has NEVER helped me reach my goals. I have to stop allowing a mistake be an excuse for giving up because, like everyone else, I'm not perfect and am definitely going to slip up sometimes.

  Wednesday, September 14, 2011

• September 13, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  There is no magic bullet or magical combination of food that will enable dieters to achieve lasting weight loss. But because dieting is not magic, it means that anyone can succeed once they acquire and PRACTICE, PRACTICE essential skills.

  Tuesday, September 13, 2011

• September 12, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  Food tastes so much better when it is not served with a side of guilt or shame. Dieters often think they'll feel dissatisfied if they make healthy choices but usually they actually feel MUCH MORE dissatisfied when they end up feeling bad about eating unhealthy food.

  Monday, September 12, 2011

• September 9, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  Weekends, with their numerous opportunities for treats, can be difficult. Having a rule for yourself like, "No dessert until after dinner can help you limit your intake because it makes it makes it easier to turn down treats offered during the day, knowing you can have one later.

  Friday, September 09, 2011

• September 8, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  When dieters tell us "I had a really hard week," we ask them, "was it hard for every single hour of every single day?" The answer is always "no." Don't let the memory of several harder times influence your perception of the week as a whole.

  Thursday, September 08, 2011

• September 7, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It's okay to eat this food because everyone else is eating it.

  Response: My body doesn't know or care what anyone else is eating. It ONLY cares about the calories I consume MYSELF.

  Wednesday, September 07, 2011

• September 6, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Initially dieters often think they can get away with not practicing some of the dieting skills. The truth is that yes, for a while you probably can get away with this but if your goal is PERMANENT weight loss then at some point (whether it's 2 months or 2 years from now) it WILL catch up with you.

  Tuesday, September 06, 2011

• September 5, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  Today is a day off from work, NOT a day off from practicing good eating behaviors. Labor Day, along with 20 other holidays, happens every year so it's not a reasonable excuse to overeat. Stay in control and guaranteed Tuesday morning you'll be so happy you did.

  Monday, September 05, 2011

• September 2, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  It's a new month, so it may be time to set some new goals. By the end of September would you like to have lost weight, gained weight, or stayed the same? The number you see reflected on the scale at the end of the month is ultimately up to you, so make a commitment to yourself NOW!

  Friday, September 02, 2011

• September 1, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Everyone makes mistakes. Beating yourself up after a dieting mistake will do NOTHING but erode your confidence and make it harder to get back on track. Instead, recognize that you made a mistake, figure out why it happened, and how you can prevent the same thing in the future. Then move on!

  Thursday, September 01, 2011

• August 31, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It's okay to eat this extra food because I'll make up for it later.

  Response: When has "making up for it later" EVER really worked? I need to learn how to consistently eat about the same amount of food so I'm not constantly tempted to eat more. Once I do this, the struggle will go down and dieting will get easier.

  Wednesday, August 31, 2011

• August 30, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  It's important for dieters to think about the difference between things that are impossible and things that are very difficult. Just because it's hard doesn't mean you can't do it!

  Tuesday, August 30, 2011

• August 29, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  One of the greatest aspects of dieting is how many good things come as a result. It's not as if dieters have to work hard, be disciplined, restrict their food and get nothing in return. Just the opposite is true - by doing all of these things they get THE MOST IMPORTANT things in return (health, self-confidence, control, pride, reduced physical and emotional pain, etc.)

  Monday, August 29, 2011

• August 26, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  We're gearing up for a big storm here on the East Coast. Since healthy food won't magically make itself available, we're planning ahead and making sure we have some available in case we get stuck at home. You should too!

  Friday, August 26, 2011

• August 25, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Dieters may have hundreds of sabotaging thoughts a day and they need to remember that they are THOUGHTS, not necessarily TRUTHS. The thought, "That food looks so good I really want to have some" probably is true, while the thought, "That food looks so good I can't resist" probably isn't.

  Thursday, August 25, 2011

• August 24, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: It's not fair that I can't eat what everyone else is eating so it's okay to eat off track some of the time.

  Response: I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want OR I can be thinner. I can't have it both ways.

  Wednesday, August 24, 2011

• August 23, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Some dieters say they'll start doing more things once they lose weight. We say DON'T WAIT! Start working on improving your life NOW because doing so will help you enrich your life and feel happier, which will bolster your weight-loss efforts.

  Tuesday, August 23, 2011

• August 22, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  Getting of track with dieting can be very discouraging, but it doesn't need to be. If you were learning to play the piano and hit a wrong key, you would never take that as a sign to give up completely. Mistakes happen in ALL areas of life but keep practicing and you'll continue improving.

  Monday, August 22, 2011

• August 19, 2011 - Friday Weekend Warm-up

  If you're going to a party or event this weekend and think, "There'll be so much good food there I won't be able to resist remind yourself, "If I was a vegetarian and all the food had meat in it, I definitely WOULD resist, no question. I may not want to resist, but I know I can."

  Friday, August 19, 2011

• August 18, 2011 - Think Thin Thursday Tip

  Dieting is generally easy in the beginning because motivation is high but some point (whether it's in three weeks or three months) it gets harder. This is completely NORMAL and it happens to everyone, and as long as dieters keep at it, dieting will get easier again.

  Thursday, August 18, 2011

• August 17, 2011 - Wednesday Sabotage

  Sabotaging Thought: The internet has been down in our office all day so it's okay to eat this because I'm stressed.

  Response: It's NOT okay to eat this just because I'm stressed. It wouldn't help solve the problem and would only wind up making me feel worse for going off my plan. Instead I need to get problem-solving oriented and call our cable company again right away.

  Wednesday, August 17, 2011

• August 16, 2011 - Tuesday Reality Check

  Dieters can't have the expectation that will eat like everyone else around them because then they will feel deprived. Dieters need to redefine their definition of "normal" eating because they ARE eating in a completely normal way - for someone who is trying to lose weight and keep it off.

  Tuesday, August 16, 2011

• August 15, 2011 - Monday Motivation

  Dieting, like any other skill, gets easier the more you practice it. If you think, "this is so hard, there is no way I can keep it up forever," remind yourself that it WON'T be this hard forever so that's not an accurate concern. Even though it's hard now, in 2 months it will be easier and in 2 years it will be MUCH easier.

  Monday, August 15, 2011