Article  from Dr Susan Lark

For many women, the start of the new year brings talk of resolutions and goals, and often includes a desire to lose excess weight. Therefore, I thought it only fitting to discuss goal setting and weight loss, and arm you with several techniques to reach your personal weight loss goals. While these techniques are centered on weight loss, many of my patients have found them to be effective in reaching any goal that they set.

As a doctor, I have a vested interest in your health. Being an overweight woman can have devastating effects on your well-being, both physical and emotional. However, as a woman, I know how daunting the process of losing weight can be. That’s why I believe you have to mentally prepare to change your eating patterns, outline a plan, and make a commitment to that plan before you can even embark on your 2008 weight loss journey. Today we will discuss what I believe to be the first four vital steps in any weight loss plan: Goal setting, Lean on others, Accountability, and Determination (GLAD).

goal-setting

My long time colleague and friend Christine Rosche has spent 25 years in the field of nutrition, weight, and stress management, and has worked with thousands of patients in an interdisciplinary clinic since 1985. She is a nationally certified biofeedback therapist and has a Master’s Degree in Public Health. Over the past 20 years, Christine has developed an integrative, comprehensive approach to weight loss entitled The Light Living Program. The program includes goal setting, taking responsibility, motivation, accepting and loving your body, and healing emotional eating. Included in this program are several steps that I have advocated for years, as well as new and exciting insights regarding weight loss. In her new book, Light Living: A Whole Person Approach to Well-Being and Weight, Christine discusses the importance of setting clear goals regarding your weight loss. What your goals are will be unique to you, so spend a little time being realistic about what you’d like to achieve.  And remember that achieving the end results of your goals is a process that takes time and patience. The best way to do this is to break down each of your goals into small, realistic steps.  For example, if you’d like to lose 50 pounds, focus on losing just four pounds each month for the next 12 months. Similarly, if one of your goals is to exercise more, be realistic about your physical abilities, as well as the type of exercise that you enjoy the most. Christine shared a great story with me that really reflects this point.

One of her patients, Sara, came to her for a weight loss consultation. Sara had not exercised regularly in over 15 years and no one had been able to help her stick with a workout program.  No matter what type of exercise routine she tried, she quickly became bored and would quit. However, after three sessions with Christine’s Light Living Program, Sara’s energy levels and motivation increased significantly, and she decided to start using an exercise machine at home while watching her favorite home videos. She started with just one day a week, then increased to 2-3 days a week. To her surprise, she found that for the first time, she enjoyed the exercise sessions and began to look forward to them. It has now been six months, and Sara has not only reached her weight loss goal, but she is still using her exercise machine five days a week, while enjoying her favorite films and videos.

Finally, you need to make your goals real and concrete. Specifically, this means writing your goals down, being as specific as possible, and reading them aloud. You may want to place them where you can see them each day. This will serve as a constant reminder and help to keep you on track. You should also share this list with those who are close to you, which leads us to step number two.

Lean on Others

Making and maintaining changes of any kind can be difficult. And with so much of our social lives centering on meals, lunches, and other food-related activities, watching your weight can be intimidating. That’s why I advocate building a support network around your goals.

Christine also recommends sharing your goals and dreams with the significant people in your life, setting up times and dates to check in with them by phone or in person. Not only will this help you stay motivated, it also keeps you honest. It may be easy to find excuses for eating that hot fudge sundae or not doing your morning walk, but it becomes more difficult if you know someone is counting on you to succeed, and supporting you throughout your journey.

Accountability

And speaking of excuses, another huge step in any weight loss plan is accountability. You must take conscious responsibility for your weight loss and reaching your goals. So many times I’ve heard women say, “I just don’t have time to exercise.” Or, “How can I practice stress relaxation techniques with five kids running around?” Even, “Good food costs more than junk food and I don’t have the money right now to eat that way.”

If any of these excuses sound familiar, then you need to pay special attention to this step. By putting the responsibility outside of yourself, you are guaranteeing that you will fail. Next time you hear yourself using these kind of excuses, stop and identify the emotions that could cause you to sabotage your efforts. Frequently these will include resistance, rebellion, anger, frustration, fear, or sadness. Recognize that the emotion is the weak link, not the excuse you’ve created.

Determination

W. H. Murray, a member of the Scottish Himalayan Expedition, once said, “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.”

In order to be successful, you must be 100 percent committed to achieving your weight loss goals. That also means that you need to be willing to do whatever it takes to reach your goals. If you say that you are committed to being a healthy and trim woman, but you aren’t willing to change your eating patterns, or don’t want to make the connection between feeling sad and eating chocolate, or won’t make the time to be more physically active, then you are placing limits on your success.

One of the things Christine talks about in her book is the need to take risks. Every woman has a comfort zone within which they live their lives. As she points out, changing your patterns and habits may take you out of this comfort zone and into what feels like risky territory. However, if you are willing to experience this temporary feeling of discomfort, then you’ll soon notice how your new lifestyle pattern feels and works so much better than the old one.

One of Christine’s clients is a great example of this. When Sally began the Light Living Program, she was a self-confessed sugar addict. She felt that the “instant endorphin high” from a bite of chocolate outweighed the fact that she wanted to change her eating patterns. After five sessions in the program, Sally experienced the same positive feelings from eating the healthy foods and taking her amino acid supplements that she did from her old eating patterns. Her energy level had doubled and she found herself now, automatically, choosing the foods that supported her to feel good each day. The old behavior patterns just fell away, easily and naturally.

Over the next year, we will be looking at more of Christine’s work with weight loss, namely motivation, body image, and emotional eating. If you are interested in learning more about her Light Living Weight Loss Program, you can check out her Web site. To order her book or cassette tapes, you can call 1-800-888-1516. Personal or telephone consultation appointments on nutrition and weight loss are also available.  You can also visit my website for information on my Daily Balance Weight Loss Program for women.  Here youwill find information on how to manage weight loss and products to support your weight loss efforts.

Keeping a Food Journal

Numerous studies find that keeping a food journal is one of the most beneficial tools for losing weight and keeping it off. By keeping a written record of your food choices as well as your mood, you can begin to recognize patterns and reroute your eating habits. Make sure your journal answers the following questions:

• What did you eat?
• Where did you eat it?
• Why did you eat it?
• How hungry were you?
• With whom did you eat it?
• How were you feeling when you ate it?
• How did you feel after you ate it?

You can track your progress in your diary as you replace foods that don’t work for your body type with healthier foods. You can also see which stressors in your life may cause you to overeat, or choose unhealthy foods. Every month, go back and reread what you’ve written. You’ll spot trends and weak spots, but most importantly, you’ll also see areas where you’ve made progress — and this will give you the self-confidence you need to continue with the program.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when journaling:

1. Select any kind of journal you want. Some women have used spiral notebooks, others a loose-leaf notebook, still others a gold-trimmed, bound book. Even jotting down quick notes on a Post-It is fine. Whichever style you choose is up to you.
2. Make an appointment with yourself for a few minutes each day to write.
3. Choose a safe, calming location where you can write freely, without being disturbed.
4. Do not censor yourself as you write — write down your emotions, good and bad. Once the thoughts and feelings are on paper, you can always throw these pages out if you choose. The important thing is to get them out.
5. Do not worry about punctuation or grammar.
6. Finally, be free, be honest, be candid — be yourself!

References and Related Reading

• DeSanti, C., et al. 2000. Glucuronidation of resveratrol, a natural product present in grapes and wine, in the human liver. Xenobiotica 30(11):1047-1054.
• DeSanti, C., et al. 2000. Sulphation of resveratrol, a natural product present in grapes and wine, in the human liver and duodenum. Xenobiotica 30(6):609-617.
• Gehm, B.D., et al. 1997. Resveratrol, a polyphenolic compound found in grapes and wine, is an agonist for the estrogen receptor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 94(25):14138-14143.
• Guyton, A.C. 1992. Human Physiology and Mechanisms of Disease. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, PA.
• Hsieh, T.C., and Wu, J.M. 2000. Grape-derived chemopreventative agent resveratrol decreases prostate-specific antigen (PSA) expression in LNCaP cells by an androgen receptor (AR)—independent mechanism. Anticancer Research 20(1A):225-228.
• Lark, Susan and Richards, James. 2000. The Chemistry of Success. Bay Books, San Francisco, CA.
• Lark, Susan. 2000. The Menopause Self Help Book, 4th edition. Celestial Arts, Berkeley, CA.
• Mechcatie, E. Blue light special for moderate acne. Family Practice News October 15, 2002.
• Migraine Information Center. 1998. Journal of American Medical Association.
• Murray, M.T. and Pizzorno, J.E. 1998. Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine 2nd edition. Prima Publishing, Roseville, CA.
• Nachtigall, L.E., and Heilman, J.R. 2000. Estrogen 3rd edition. HarperPerennial, New York, NY.
• Rosche, Christine. 2002. Light Living: A Whole Person Approach to Well-Being and Weight. Christine Rosche, Palo Alto, CA.
• Scharff, L., et al. 2002. A controlled study of minimal-contact thermal biofeedback treatment in children with migraine. Journal of Pediatric Psychology 27(2):109-119.
• Schneider, Y., et al. 2000. Anti-proliferative effect of resveratrol, a natural component of grapes and wine, on human colonic cancer cells. Cancer Letters 158(1):85-91.
• Solomon, P.R., et al. 2002. Ginkgo for memory enhancement. Journal of the American Medical Association 288(7):835-840