Stand up while you're eating your veggies.

Kind of simplistic translation of the information found in this study, but close to the facts.  Participants were asked to make two behavioural changes - see quote below:

The study also found the most effective way to rehab a delinquent lifestyle requires two key behavior changes: cutting time spent in front of a TV or computer screen and eating more fruits and vegetables. 


Even after they weren't being compensated with money for making these changes, the positive new behaviours stuck.  


Do we make it more complex than it needs to be with goji berries, chia seeds, high protein and nothing after 7pm?  


I, for one, intend to use my standing desk more - and get some extra veg and fruit down the hatch.


Here's the full article.


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/245932.php

Happy vertical chomping!

Lose the "Retrospectoscope"

Do you like that word?  I read it in a Christopher Brookmyre novel recently (by the way he's very funny).  What does it mean?  It is a substitute for the term hindsight.  




Let me give you an example. "I KNEW I shouldn't have gone to that party because ___________ (host/ess) ALWAYS has tasty food and I KNEW I wouldn't be able to control myself.  And s/he probably goes on to declare that "I'll NEVER be able to lose weight, I am SO lazy and stupid, I'm a COMPLETE failure." And so on.  
What jolly fun.  Not only can you criticise yourself in the present, you can also rewrite the past and guess at a doom-laden future - both of which involve you being a total failure.


If you can see the future, could you please tell me what next week's Tattslotto numbers will be?


What's wrong with this behaviour - apart from it being very unkind and ungenerous?  It is predicting the future and rewriting the past, neither of which are helpful or useful, ESPECIALLY in relation to changing behaviour.  They just make us feel worse, and when we feel negative emotions what do we do????? Soothe with food.  Don't see how that vicious cycle helps.


So lose the retrospectoscope and perhaps  polish the lens on the kindoscope or the generous-o-scope or the nice-o-scope.  Far more likely to have a positive outcome that doesn't involve a whole packet of Tim Tams.

Seems to be the season of gloom and doom in relation to weight loss - perhaps we are influenced by the gloom of the weather, and the doom we keep reading in the papers about property values.  


This article has one redeeming feature, or two actually.  One, she refers to an excellent source of evidence, The Cochrane Collaboration.  Second, She has actually recognised one of the causes of overweight that most people don't see - the ongoing feeling of need to control weight.  That is definitely one of the causes that hides at the bottom of the iceberg.


What's the iceberg you say?  Stay tuned for more exciting information!


http://www.dailylife.com.au/health-and-fitness/dl-wellbeing/weightloss-hell-20120530-1zilx.html

Put that tin of duck fat down!

Researchers are finding empirical evidence linking obesity and depression.  Which is the barbecued chicken and which is the fried egg is not yet clear.  As they say "you're eating because you're depressed, and you're depressed so you're eating".  Of course we all knew this but what is great is that there is research being conducted into these links in order to help overweight/obese people.


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/245910.php 


And righteous comments in the article about the stigma of obesity.


Go Dr Stephanie Fulton:

"Although popular culture jokes about these illnesses and even mocks the people who are suffering, obesity is a serious and major public health issue that already affects hundreds of millions of people. As a society, we must avoid creating stigma and discriminating against obese and depressed people. With regards to research, it is urgent that we identify the molecules and neural pathways involved in obesity and obesity-related illnesses. My colleagues and I are committed to identifying the brain circuitry involved in these diseases and to improving the tools available to researchers working in the same field."

What can each of us do to get off the food/mood treadmill?  Perhaps a key step is to stop regarding overweight as some awful personal defect that completely defines us.  Everyone has coping strategies - but things like drinking, cutting and overspending aren't quite as obvious.  (No one walks around with their massive, overdue credit card statement stuck to their chest.)  So should we call them as lazy, stupid and lacking in self control as obese people?  No, no, no.  We want people to adjust their thinking about obese people from the derogatory descriptors to "oh dear, I wonder what's eating that poor soul".  And obese people out there, listen up.  That goes for you too.

Small, Medium, Large......and now Stupid

Just when you think you've heard everything, here comes another idiot publishing yet another "diet" book.  Read this article and either laugh or weep.  The author sounds deranged.  But perhaps it is a satire on the dieting industry - although that may not have been the intention.


http://www.dailylife.com.au/health-and-fitness/dl-wellbeing/a-diet-that-tells-the-truth-about-diets-20120524-1z6xf.html 


If I hear of anyone taking ice cold baths - watch out!

60%?

This is a paragraph from an article in today's Age Online.  It talks about how much we worry about work and study but this excerpt really caught my eye. 


Worries about weight ranked highly for women only. That was not surprising, given the cultural obsession with the appearance of women, Professor Hudson said. ''But it is really alarming that 60 per cent of women said they worried about appearance at levels that interfered with their quality of life.'' (my emphasis)

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/executive-style/management/top-of-worry-list-work-work-work-20120504-1y47u.html#ixzz1uFrfBtH9


Phew!  No wonder we are always so tired.  How much does worry about appearance (especially weight) "weigh" on your mind?

Ladies and Gentlemen, Sunday 6th May is International No Diet Day. So be kind to yourself, eat what you want, savour every mouthful and leave the guilt for another day.  Or you could just ditch the guilt and discover that you actually eat less, rather than more.   Hmmmm.  What a radical concept!