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Health & Wellness

2007-09-01 14:51:00

Weight control requires self control

Do you remember the old excuse some people would give for why they did something they should not have done? The excuse was, “The Devil made me do it.” The line was usually delivered tongue-in-cheek, more as a joke than a real excuse. However, the message was pretty clear. In effect, it was saying, “I was tempted to do something, and so I did it.” It also implied a lack of personal responsibility by placing the blame elsewhere. Ok, I admit that this sounds like a strange way to answer your question. However, I think there is more of a parallel here than you might think. Why do we eat when we are not hungry? It is because we yield to temptation. I don’t mean “the devil made me do it” type of temptation, but temptation none the less. We are tempted to eat something when we are not hungry, and then we yield to that temptation even though we know we should not. So we eat what we shouldn’t, even when we aren’t hungry, and we wonder why we gain weight. What’s wrong with this picture? What are some of the reasons we are tempted to eat, even when we are not hungry? There are probably a lot of reasons, but here are a few of the obvious ones: TIME OF DAY - We have become programmed to eat at certain times whether we are hungry or not. At work, your lunch break may even be scheduled so that you have no choice. “Noon is lunch time” or “6:30 is supper time”. We tend to schedule our day around meal times. SIGHT - How many times have you seen something that looked so good, you could not resist having some? Have you ever said, “It looked so good, I just had to have a piece?” Of course, we all have. SMELL - Just think of the foods that make your mouth water when you smell them. How about chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, or fresh homemade bread? I’m getting hungry just thinking about them. SOUND - Can you hear the sound of popcorn popping and not want some? I love buttery popcorn, and at the right time, it is almost impossible to resist. HABIT - Many times we associate food with a particular activity. For example, can you go to a movie and not stop at the candy counter? It almost seems unnatural to watch a movie and not be munching, What are some of the situations where you are tempted to eat when you are not hungry? I’ll bet that many of them fall into one or more of these categories. In my personal experience, I was really made aware of how much of my eating is done out of habit this past month when I had the opportunity to try out the appetite control patches that I first discussed in the Q&A Times last issue. You will remember that I told about being made aware of this new patch that is totally drug free, but when you wear it, your appetite is greatly reduced. I said that I was going to try it out as soon as the first shipment arrived and I would report back on my experience. First, let me say that the patch worked amazingly well for me. By the third day, I didn’t even think about being hungry. I still ate the foods I like, but I ate a lot less of them, and I lost 8 pounds in my first two weeks without any negative side effects. I love the patch and will continue to use it. However, like Paul Harvey says, “Now for the rest of the story.” I discovered that even though I was not hungry, the patch alone would not keep me from eating. I could still shove food in my face if I wanted to, and I still had to overcome the temptations noted above. I was still programmed to eat at certain times, so I made the decision to eat less. Foods that I like still looked good, smelled good, and tasted good, so I focused on not feeling hungry and passed them by. Will power and commitment have to be part of any weight loss plan, because without them, we are doomed to failure. The thing I really liked about using the appetite control patch is that it made the process so much easier, and I felt great the whole time. However, the patch alone will not keep someone from eating if they do not have some self control. Well, I take that back. There is one way it will keep anyone from eating, but they would have to tape it over their mouth.