3.15

Two primary goals for weight management are reducing the health risks associated with metabolic disorders and maintaining a desired long-term body weight. For most of us, mental health restoration and lifestyle changes are required to sustain or maintain successful weight management. Yo-yo cycles of dieting and failures are directly related to energy management and set point theory. When it comes right down to it; consumption of sugar and saturated fats (as well as alcohol) are toxic to our mitochondria and impair our body’s ability to flush or rebuild healthy cells that sustain life and longevity. Our forward facing focus is restoring our metabolic function (metabolism). To restore our metabolism, the challenge WE’re taking on is to retrain our perceptions of the reward value of food and beverages. When we challenge the impulsive, emotional UPND pleasure/reward response with accurate and realistic thoughts, we can successfully reduce our UPND food intake and avoid temptations that lead to overeating.

Supervised weight loss programs often encourage the use of food journals or apps for nutrition and calorie monitoring.  These help to build awareness of what we’re eating, but they’re not without controversy. It’s certainly helpful to develop an awareness of what we’re actually consuming throughout the day or a week. That said, for some people this monitoring feels punitive and can become an unhealthy fixation that leads to onset of disordered eating, eating disorders, and associated health problems.  Work with a nutritionist!!!! Think of dietary suggestions as an opportunity to try new foods, new cooking or preparation methods. Enjoy the challenge of being resourceful and adventurous.

Visualize a plate of fries before they’re cooked. You’ve got a raw potato and a quarter cup of vegetable oil. Would you be willing to chomp down on slices of raw potato and chase it with a few shots of oil? Sometimes to build resistance, we just have to play through (or visualize) the consequences of a quick fix.