Thinking Thin

Training your brain to think like a thin person, and other psychological techniques for healthy weight loss.

Dr. Judith S. Beck PhD, is Director of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research and author of The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Oxmoor House). See full bio

January 6, 2009, Diet

How to Keep Your Weight Loss Resolution

DON'T START OUT BY DIETING! In my experience, the major reason that people have difficulty losing weight or keeping it off is that they jump right into following an eating plan before they have learned how to diet.

Almost anyone can lose at least a little weight; you don't necessarily need dieting skills to do so. But you do need these skills if you want to continue to lose weight and keep weight off. You need to learn exactly what to do when dieting gets harder. And it does get harder-for everyone--sometimes within the first week or two, sometimes not for a month or two. People often give up because they don't have the skills to push through the difficult times. Then they regain whatever weight they have lost.

If you've only sailed a boat in calm waters, you don't want to leave on an extended trip without knowing what to do when the going gets tough. You might be able to navigate well when the ocean is calm, but look out if the weather gets rough! You need to learn foul weather skills in advance.

It's the same with dieting. You don't want to run into a rough patch and be ill-equipped to handle it. You need to learn, before you run into a squall, how to motivate yourself when you're feeling unmotivated, how to refocus your attention when you have a craving, how to stick to a plan when you're eating out, and how to get back on track immediately when you make a mistake. These skills are not intuitively obvious, but they can be learned in a step-by-step program. It's too difficult for most people to focus on changing their eating while they're learning these skills. That's why I recommend postponing the start of your diet until you know what to do in stormy weather.