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Get the advice you need for the mental and emotional aspects of weight loss.
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Q. I have a BIG
sweet tooth, which is my downfall. I need to lose about 60 pounds. What can
I do?
A. Generally those
who say they have a "sweet tooth" really mean that they find eating
sweets so rewarding that they can't resist any temptation that comes their way.
Often, they give in and have something high in sugar (and usually high in fat
as well) such as candy, cookies, cake, and so forth, only to discover in short
order that they are "hungry" again. They then start fantasizing about
what they would like to eat next, which inevitably is something else sweet.
Eating sweets leads to eating more sweets. Pretty soon, a healthy diet that
includes lots of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, with adequate protein
falls by the wayside, and they find themselves eating more and more sugary foods
and gaining weight. Before long, the person with the sweet tooth falls prey
to some new diet fad or starts restricting on their own, usually ending up sooner
or later in an eating binge.
Strange as it may sound,
the solution is not to eliminate all sweets. That just sets up deprivation and
a return in due time to overeating sweets. Rather, the solution is to focus
on following a healthy diet and planning in regular treats. The key is to plan
ahead and use moderation. For example, plan to have a nice dessert after dinner
each day, if that is your thing, but be sure to exercise portion control. Make
it your only sweet for the day. When you get tempted to have a handful of the
M&Ms that are in the dish on your coworker's desk, ask yourself, "Which do I
really want-the M&Ms or tonight's dessert?" Make it one or the other, not both.
Keep a calendar that shows
a month at a time. Put a gold star or fun sticker on each calendar day that
you have only one sweet to mark your success. Strive to get a star or sticker
a day. The calendar provides not only a visual reward of your progress but also
feedback when you aren't doing so well.
Of course, you probably aren't going to lose weight if you are eating a dessert
a day, depending on how many calories you are consuming in the first place.
If you want to get your sweet tooth even further under control (and reduce calories),
work toward limiting sweets to only so many days per week-say one or two. Start
by declaring one day in the forthcoming week (say Thursday) a "Sweets Out
Day" (sort of like the Great American Smoke Out day). Plan ahead what you
will eat and how you will handle temptation that day. (Hint: Tell yourself,
"It's just one day; I can make it through just one day," and then get focused
on something other than eating.) Be sure to give yourself lots of mental pats
on the back for succeeding. After you are comfortably able to go without sweets
one day a week, try adding a second "Sweets Out Day." The idea here
is to include sweets sparingly in a healthy diet as reflected in the Food Guide
Pyramid.
It will also be important
for you to stop telling yourself you have a sweet tooth, because doing so implies
that you can't do anything to overcome a compulsion to eat sweets. Rather, tell
yourself over and over again that you enjoy sweets now and then and eat them
in moderation. Start thinking of yourself as a person who eats a healthy diet,
rather than as someone with a sweet tooth.
Dr. Joyce Nash is a clinical psychologist providing therapy to adults,
adolescents, and couples for a variety of problems and issues. She is the author
of several publications, including Maximize Your Body Potential, The
New Maximize Your Body Potential and Now That You've Lost It, one of
the first publications to focus on maintaining a weight loss. Over the past 20
years, Dr. Nash has appeared on a number of radio and TV programs discussing various
topics such as eating disorders, weight management, body image, anger, cosmetic
surgery, and health psychology issues. In addition, she is frequently interviewed
by reporters and writers on these and other psychological topics. Dr. Nash practices
in San Francisco and Menlo Park, California.
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