Maria's Last Diet

by Maria's Last Diet

Tomorrow is Easter and there’s no crash course on self-control, willpower, or habit change that can save you from the spell of holiday eating, not at this late date. So what to do to keep up the good diet, or the eating less, or the vow not to pig out any place, any time?

Once those Easter floodgates open, there’s no turning back. It’s like you have to have it all or… Or what? Maybe you’re not the eat-it-all type. For you it’s different. You can pass on the all, but you must put the most fattening foods straight into your mouth or… Or what?

Okay, so you gain a few pounds. You earned it. You dropped some weight already and you can do it again. Your mind is made up, rationale in place; Easter will be the exception. You definitely deserve a reward or… Or what?

What if you don’t eat it all, and you don’t eat the most fattening, and you forgo your well-deserved reward? What’s the worst that can happen?

Easter doesn’t have to be feast or…

by Maria's Last Diet

What happened on Memorial Day? Did you have a get together? Was there food, lots of food? Who was there? Did the people who were there make a difference in what you ate and how much you ate?

Did you match what you ate with what others were eating? If they were eating too much, did you eat too much as well? If you adopted the Memorial Day norm of the people you ate with, was it because you wanted to “go along?” Or did you march to the beat of your own drum and stick to the kind of eating that demonstrated your losing weight motivation was still there right by your side?

Social influence research certainly shows that people tend to model the food intake of others. In general, you are likely to eat more when you’re with others who eat a lot and eat less when you’re with people who eat just a little.

If you blew it yesterday and conformed to an eat too much mentality, why don’t you put yesterday’s behavior under the heading of “social influence” and today get back on the horse that threw you.

by Maria's Last Diet

Have you noticed the amount of uncertainty there is in the process of weight loss? With uncertainty comes risk and with risk there is always the imperative to do something about the risk. Take the risk; don’t take the risk; minimize the risk; avoid the risk.

Take the case of: “I’ll be with my extended family for Christmas and I can’t be my careful self when I’m with them. What am I going to do about my weight loss routine?”

Living with uncertainty can put anyone through the ringer. But you could save yourself some stress and strain by thinking of the uncertainty of weight loss as an opportunity and not as all is lost. Because there is uncertainty in the weight loss process you have a chance to be creative. Staying on your diet as much as humanly possible for the big Christmas meal would certainly be a creative act. Wouldn’t you say so? You might even argue that going off your weight loss diet for Christmas is a creative act too, especially if you go off and the very next day you go back on again.  

Yes, there is great uncertainty that you face when you are determined to lose your unwanted weight. Remember, though, with uncertainty (and risk) comes the opportunity to be creative. And Christmas with all the weight loss uncertainty tied to it is a bonafide chance to be as creative as you can.

Here's wishing you a very merry, creative Christmas!

by Maria's Last Diet

Holidays and diets don’t mix well, do they?

If you want to partake of holiday goodies, there goes the diet.

If you stick to your diet, there go all those delectable edibles.

But still, there is that old-fashioned notion of moderation. And it’s not a bad idea, really. Because if you can have the good, holiday food in moderation, you may not have to feel as though you’ve completely turned your back on your diet. And you also won’t have to feel as though you are totally missing out on the celebration.

It’s an old-fashioned idea, yes, but a solid idea, and one that—believe it or not—can make a holiday much more enjoyable.

     originally published December 23, 2010

by Maria's Last Diet

Where do you stand on the state of your luck when it comes to those knotty weight issues of yours?

Are you lucky, or are you unlucky; or are you some of both? Do you think some weight-loss activity you tried could fail because you had some bad luck? Do you ever attribute successful weight loss to a stroke of good luck?

How lucky or unlucky do you think you will be in losing your unwanted weight in this new year? Will you be one of the fortunate women who is able to shed her extra pounds and reach goal weight?

If you have a one-sided belief that your luck is usually bad, will such a note of pessimism affect your ability to lose your unwanted weight? And what if you have a more optimistic stance about losing weight and see yourself lucky in this respect? What will believing you're lucky do for you?

Of course, some of you might say that belief in luck, good or bad, is irrational, and that you will put your rupees down on other more rational beliefs, such as self-confidence, skill, experience, motivation, commitment, and the like. But what’s the harm of throwing some good luck into the pot as well. After all, we all have some irrational belief in the New Year, especially if we use it to make our weight-loss resolution.

by Maria's Last Diet

It’s the day after Christmas
and all through the house,
no one was eating,
they were all eaten out.

A little bird told them
they had not a care,
if only they could diet,
the weight wouldn’t be there.

But this Christmas was different,
it came in a flash,
that dieting alone
was just a rehash.

Of everything tried
in years gone past,
with nothing to show for it,
no weight loss that lasts.

So the day after Christmas
guess what did happen,
they broadened the formula
with psychology as a wrap in.

It’s one Christmas later,
and much to their surprise,
their new psychology did it,
it opened their eyes.

Many pounds lighter,
what a difference it made
to include psychology
and not feel betrayed.

By dieting and exercise
year after year
with nothing to look forward to
and everything to fear.

Take heart all ye women
who long to lose weight,
there’s nothing like psychology
to make you feel great.

And you’ll be happy to exclaim
from one Christmas to the next,
weight loss is mine
and that’s no pretext.

So snug in your new bod
you can forever be,
without disaster and misfortune
safe n’ sound through eternity.

Happy day after Christmas to all
and to all a good life.

by Maria's Last Diet

“a right jolly old elf,” “chubby and plump,” “a broad face and a little round belly,” 

Not so “ho, ho, ho” when it’s you.

Facing another Christmas and you still haven’t lost your unwanted weight. That would be a great gift. Losing a lot of weight. And a follow-up gift—keeping the weight off for good. Couldn’t ask for a better Christmas if that’s the way it went.

Why not? Go ahead. You deserve it. You’ve tried your heart out over the years. Who better than you?

There’s new technology out there, so take advantage of it. By now you should know that dieting and exercise alone don’t work. You’ve also got to use psychology to lose weight. Along with dieting and exercise, give yourself the gift of weight-loss psychology.

This Christmas expand the old formula:  dieting + exercise = weight loss. Make it: dieting + exercise + psychology = weight loss.

To put psychology in your Christmas stocking, please go to The Reading Room and the White Paper, both of which are in the left-hand column of this blog at MariasLastDiet.com. Or, if you want to have an actual book or an e-book to read through and refer to, check out the weight-loss books for women section on the right-hand side of this blog.

If you need more specific help, email us at and we’ll point you in the right direction.