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  • Using Psychology to Lose Weight
    Because Dieting and Exercise Alone Don't Work

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  • Dr. Kenneth Schwarz, psychologist and psychoanalyst, and Julie North Schwarz, a writer, are the founders of MariasLastDiet.com.

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« September 2008 | Main | November 2008 »

7 Golden Weight Loss Tips

by Maria's Last Diet


Don't make yourself too vulnerable to temptation
When you're trying to lose weight, put away the sweets. Don't go out to dinner starving. Don't go to the places where you usually eat too much.

Don't play games
If you're cheating on your diet too much, don't make light of it. Pay close attention and figure out why and when you are doing this cheating.

Don't give up your life to a diet
Try not to pick out a weight-loss plan that is very much at odds with how you usually live your life. Find a way to eat that requires you to make only slight changes to your usual behavior. Then you can stick to it, and be comfortable at the same time.

Don't shut the door to help
Make sure to ask for support, advice, and encouragement when you need it. Losing weight is a big thing to do, and you don't need to do it alone.

Don't ignore past failures
On the contrary, look back at your last weight-loss attempts and find the culprits. Don't leave the failure a mystery. Failure is a complex dynamic, and figuring it out is just what you need to do so you can succeed next time.

Don't forget to include blue skies
We all get caught up in work, responsibilities, chores. Especially when you're attempting to lose weight, do include fun relaxing times. It is most important to do so when you are working hard to accomplish something.

Don't ignore your feelings
Your feelings usually say more about you than anything else. If you ignore them or try to brush them aside, you do so at your diet's peril.

Posted by Maria's Last Diet on Friday, October 31, 2008 in Tips | | TrackBack (0)

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Calorie Counting Makes a Comeback

by Maria's Last Diet


Here's a very informative article from the NY Times called "Calories Do Count". It's worth checking out.

      

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/dining/29calories.html?8dpc

Posted by Maria's Last Diet on Thursday, October 30, 2008 in Tips | | TrackBack (0)

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Overeating: What is it? What to do?

by Maria's Last Diet


Dear Maria...

 I've been reading your articles and newsletters for a while now, and I am coming to the conclusion that my eating is an avoidance technique.

I'm starting to see how I avoid all sorts of unpleasant things by burying myself in bowl after bowl of ice cream and other foods.  Something just takes over - it's as simple as that. And eating instead of owning up is so common for me, I don't even know I'm doing it.

You keep saying to become aware. I'm doing it, and it's painful but earth-shaking.

But: what do I do now? I'll keep reading your stuff and hope I find out.

    - Julianne

Posted by Maria's Last Diet on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 in Eating/Weight/Diet Problems | | TrackBack (0)

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Don't Go on a Diet, When...

by Maria's Last Diet


5 TIMES WHEN YOU SHOULDN'T BE ON A DIET

  • When you're sick
  • When you're so busy you can't think straight
  • When you're under a great deal of stress
  • When your doctor says you're thin enough
  • When someone in you life says you should be but you don't want to be

 

Posted by Maria's Last Diet on Friday, October 24, 2008 in Tips | | TrackBack (0)

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Dieting Made Easier in New York City Restaurants

by Maria's Last Diet


In New York City, restaurants are now required to list the number of calories contained in any food they offer on their menus.

This could help overweight people a lot. And there are even some fast food chains that are voluntarily going to display calorie counts of their food - KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. This will take a few years to complete, but it's a good thing.

Here's one big reason why this might help people with their weight control: When people find out the number of calories in food, they are often surprised. They have no idea that a certain size hamburger with soda and fries can be over 1200 calories, or that a bran muffin can actually contain almost 500 calories.

AWARENESS - that's the ticket. We need to be AWARE of what we're eating, and take responsibility for it.

And of course, we need to be AWARE of why we eat the way we do.

You need to use your head to make a change in your body.

Posted by Maria's Last Diet on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 in How to Get There | | TrackBack (0)

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Losing Weight Means Changing the Way You Eat....Duh!

by Maria's Last Diet


If you want to lose weight, you need to change the way you eat. This sounds like a simple answer, but of course it is not. It implies many things, and points to many side issues that will inevitably come up in the process.

Here's a good way to think if you want to make such a momentous change. Ask yourself the following questions and pay close attention to the answers you come up with:

  • What are my options with regard to losing weight?
  • What might be a good first step for me to take?
  • What obstacles do I foresee?
  • How can I deal with these obstacles?
  • What strengths do I have to help me do all of this?
  • What are some other important changes I've made in my life?
  • What did I do to initiate and maintain these changes?

There is no one-way of losing weight that works for everyone. There are a number of possibilities for you.

When you answer questions like these, it will help you personalize a plan for changing your eating so you can lose the weight.

Posted by Maria's Last Diet on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 in Changing/Learning | | TrackBack (0)

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Weighting For Something Good to Happen

by Maria's Last Diet


Dear Maria...

The stock market is crashing
The economy is falling down
My house value is tumbling
Consumer confidence is down, down, down
It's so depressing
Of course, there is one thing going up: MY WEIGHT

Posted by Maria's Last Diet on Monday, October 13, 2008 in Procrastinating | | TrackBack (0)

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Challenging a Weight Loss Challenge

by Maria's Last Diet


Do you have certain assumptions about yourself?

For example, do you think, "I just can't lose weight?"

Are you sure?

Can you challenge this assumption?

Sure you can.

You could say:

"I think I am losing weight, but I don't know how to do it yet."

The first assumption: "I can't lose weight," is a total dead end. Where can you go from there? Nowhere.

But it is a conclusion you might reach if you've tried to lose weight and haven't been able to. You can certainly think, "I just can't lose weight."

Look at what the other conclusion might do for you.

"I think I can lose weight, but I don't know how to do it yet."

This is not a dead end in any sense. It opens up possibilities - mainly learning how to do it.

"I just can't lose weight" is an end.

"I think I can lose weight, but I don't know how to do it yet" is a great beginning.

Posted by Maria's Last Diet on Sunday, October 12, 2008 in How to Get There | | TrackBack (0)

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With Diets, Dieting, and Weight Loss: You Can Make Success Out of Failure.

by Maria's Last Diet


What does your diet failure reveal about you?

Probably a lot.

Maybe things like:

  • You hate to change
  • You are rebellious
  • You tend to get hopeless
  • You are not a good planner
  • You have trouble asking for help
  • You are afraid to lose the weight
  • You don't handle negative emotions well
  • You don't handle positive emotions well
  • You don't express your own needs enough
  • You are too self-critical
  • You give up on things too soon
  • You can't accept that you make mistakes
  • etc...

A failure can be the best teacher. People who are successful at anything are ALWAYS people who have failed, but have used knowledge gleaned from the failures to help them achieve success.

Posted by Maria's Last Diet on Saturday, October 04, 2008 | | TrackBack (0)

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Is Weight Loss Motivation All You Need?

by Maria's Last Diet


You need the motivation to lose weight. However, you can be highly motivated and still not be able to lose weight. You know that, especially if you’ve tried to lose weight on motivation alone.

So if motivation isn’t the whole answer, what is?

It’s all that you do to make your wish to lose weight come true.

In other words, it’s turning your wishful thinking into a viable goal or goals. This is the first step. Then it’s developing or learning the steps that will get you to your goal(s). After that, it’s practice, practice, practice (which is the only way, once you hit New York City, to get to Carnegie Hall).

Motivation is still part of the process. It usually comes first. It comes in the form of resolve on your part: “I want to change my eating” or “I want to lose weight”. Interestingly, you don’t have to have a lot of motivation to start. Just enough, so you move on to shape your wishes into goals, let your plan for how to get there do it’s part, and “practice, practice, practice“ do the rest.

Once you set goals and plans and practice in motion, you’ll find that your motivation increases. Your motivation is there in the form of encouragement and reward for all your hard work, your hard thinking and planning and doing. Then—and only then—you can get away with saying that being motivated is what is making me lose the weight.

Posted by Maria's Last Diet on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 | | TrackBack (0)

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Books


  • 99 Essential Weight Loss Blogposts
     

    Stop Your Emotional Eating
     

    Diet Tuffy: The Fun Way to Seriously Lose Weight
     

    Psych Your Diet: Volume 1
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    Psych Your Diet: Volume 2
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    Psych Your Diet: Volume 3
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    Breaking Up With Food:
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    How to Break the First Big Rule of Women Who Stay Fat
     

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