Spark a new you

Change the way you think about food and exercise

W ith the new year, you swore off sugar and promised to exercise. And you did, for a few weeks. Then the little voice started whispering, "I deserve pizza." "Bathing-suit season is still months away, why kill myself?" "I've already blown it, so why bother?"

Errrr. Rewind. Time to hit Pause for a moment. If you're struggling to lose weight, pay attention to your inner dialogue. It's no wonder you've tried to silence nagging thoughts with ice cream. They deserve to be drowned out. They need to be drowned out.

To lose weight, you need to do more than eat the right foods. Experts say you also need to choose the right thoughts, so here's how you can record right over that ugly old soundtrack.

You think: "I just had a tough workout. I need to eat."

New script: "After working up a sweat, my body deserves to be pampered."

Action: Establish some nonfood rewards.

"It's typical to use food as a reward for a good workout," says Steven Todd, director of personal training at Bally Total Fitness centers in Metro Detroit.

"When you were a kid and you skinned your knee, your mom gave you a cookie," Todd says. But now that you're all grown up, and not so much at risk for skinning your knee since you're mostly seated these days, it's important to go with different types of goodies for rewards.

"Most people overestimate how many calories they burn in exercise, while underestimating how many calories they consume," Todd says. The average workout burns 250-300 calories. That's one slice of pizza or two measly cookies. So you don't end up negating all your hard work, pat yourself on the back with a good book, a funny movie or a day at a spa.

You think: "Once I lose weight, I can have a cheeseburger .... lasagna .... ice cream!"

New script: "I can enjoy all my favorite foods in moderation."

Action: Indulge reasonably.

If you find yourself salivating over all the foods you'll be able to eat once you can "finally eat like normal again," consider yourself warned: You're about one step away from eating for four.

"If you can't stick to what you're doing to lose weight for the rest of your life, it will backfire," says Cynthia Sass of the American Dietetic Association. Swearing off foods is a recipe for a binge.

Plan to regularly enjoy your favorite foods in moderation, Sass recommends. For example, get one freshly baked chocolate chip cookie from a bakery instead of making a batch at home, or go out for a scoop of ice cream instead of buying a pint.

You think: "I need to (insert any dreaded task here). Let me get a snack."

New script: "I'm going to start this project and then see if I'm hungry."

Action: Delay gratification a bit.

"Many people use eating to procrastinate on challenging tasks," says Kimberly Floyd, author of "Moneywise Weight Loss: The Faith-based Plan for Building a Better Body on a Budget" (Wellspring Omnimedia, $15.95).

Unfortunately, no matter how much you eat, you still have to file those tax returns. Give yourself 15 minutes to work on your task. If you're hungry after that, eat. "But by then, you will probably be committed to finishing what you've started and will no longer want to eat."

You think: "When I lose weight, I'll go shopping take a vacation be happy."

New script: "I'm going to enjoy my life now."

Action: Pursue fun so you don't get sidetracked by drudgery.

Putting your life on hold until you lose weight communicates that you don't deserve nice things unless you are a certain size, Floyd says. Instead, adopt an attitude of "I live my life now." Go on that trip, get a nice wardrobe (you can always alter it as you go down in size), or apply for that better job, Floyd says.

"When you accept yourself as you are while you are working on your health goals, you get a self-esteem boost, which will improve your odds of losing the weight."

You think: "I've already eaten all this junk, so I might as well give up."

New script: "I can eat something healthy today."

Action: Get back on the horse, pronto.

"If you fell halfway down a flight of stairs, you wouldn't throw yourself down the rest just because you already went down some!" says Cindy Sherwin, a New York-based nutritionist. "You would pick yourself up and pull together. No one needs to cause more injury when the option of getting up and back on track is right in front of them."

Rather than using a pint of pistachio ice cream to lick your wounds, have a healthy meal as soon as you can to steer you back toward your goals.

You think: "Bathing-suit season is months away, I have plenty of time to get in shape."

New script: "I try to eat healthy most of the time."

Action: Adopt a long-term view.

The problem with wanting to get in shape for bikini season is that once that's over, there you are again.

"It's a short-term view," says Lauree Ostrofsky, a life coach in New York City. "For real change, you need a long-term commitment."

Replace in-the-moment thoughts along these lines: "There are a lot of things I still want to do, and lots of events (such as grandchildren!) that I want to be around for and able to enjoy. Eating healthy food the majority of the time will help me get there."

By Anna Roufos
Source: www.detnews.com