Why Diets Fail (Because You're Addicted to Sugar) (27 page)

Studies assessing predictors of weight regain following a diet provide a wealth of information regarding the factors that may contribute to a relapse. Studies show dichotomous thinking to be the number one difference between participants who regained weight they had lost after one year and those who kept it off.
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You’re probably wondering, What in the world is dichotomous thinking, and
do I do it
?

Dichotomous thinking can be described as black-and-white thinking or thinking in extremes. Suppose someone received a poor grade on a history test. That person might think, “I did poorly on that test. Maybe I didn’t study enough or maybe history isn’t my thing.” Someone using dichotomous thinking, on the other hand, might conclude, “I’m not smart.” You can easily see how this kind of extreme thinking can get you into trouble when it comes to food-intake behaviors. Maybe someone who has been trying for a few weeks to lose weight eats one piece of candy and then thinks, “Forget it! I just cheated and messed up my diet. I might as well eat the whole bag now.” It’s this kind of thinking that can lead to a regression or relapse and perhaps even to giving up altogether. Therefore, it’s very important to think about how you will handle situations like this ahead of time and to develop strategies for yourself to avoid dichotomous or black-and-white thinking. One helpful technique in this type of situation may be to think about the consequences before you act. Take a moment to think about how you will feel if,
after eating something you were avoiding, you (a) choose to stop and reassess the situation calmly or (b) choose to adopt black-and-white thinking and spiral into a binge. How will you feel afterward if you choose option a? How about if you choose option b?

Keep Tabs on Your Emotions, and Cope Accordingly

Another study investigating the factors associated with weight regain found that participants with a tendency to eat when they thought or felt negative thoughts or emotions showed less weight loss at six- and eighteen-month follow-ups.
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These participants were considered to have their eating influenced more by internal than external stimuli. This finding can be helpful in two ways.

First, it brings us back to the discussion in Step 7 about the importance of identifying the situations in which you may find yourself craving foods. Do you find yourself eating certain foods or eating more when you are depressed or stressed (examples of internal stimuli), or when you are in certain situations, like at a work event (an example of an external stimuli)? Once you identify when and why you tend to eat certain foods or overeat, you can then brainstorm other ways to handle these situations that don’t involve compromising your diet goals. For example, if you find that you are yearning for certain foods in an attempt to alleviate anxiety or depression (either internally or as a result of an external stressor), tell yourself that you are not hungry and don’t need to eat, and instead do something else to distract your feelings: go for a walk, see if the mail arrived yet, check your email, and so on. Do something to change your environment. If that doesn’t seem to do the trick and you are still feeling like you need food to make you feel better, then you need to find a more healthy coping behavior. Instead of
reaching for a carbohydrate-rich snack when you are feeling blue, maybe you can work on an art project, clean your house, or do some gardening. Choose something that you enjoy (yes, even housework can be rewarding for some of us!), and draw your happiness from an activity other than eating.

Significant differences have also been noted between individuals who regained the weight they had lost and those who kept the weight off in terms of the different types of coping behaviors they used when encountering stress or issues in their lives.
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Those who kept the weight off reported using more problem-solving and problem-confronting strategies (for example, asking someone for help with a difficult project or discussing how they felt with someone who had upset them), whereas those who gained the weight back reported using more escape and avoidance techniques, such as eating, sleeping, and so on.
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These responses represent two very different ways of coping with problems that may have implications for following a diet.

Another interesting line of thinking suggests that relapse prevention should not only focus on avoiding negative patterns of behavior but also on creating and emphasizing positive ones.
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For example, doing things like starting a new hobby, expanding your social life, or simply doing more things you find to be fun may actually be beneficial to your diet. Compared to people who regained the weight they lost, people who kept the weight off during the next year reported spending more time relaxing or doing what they find pleasurable, as well as spending more time on work.
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This finding suggests the importance of other parts of your life, aside from the ones that people often think of when dieting (eating, exercising, and so on). Although concentrating on other aspects of your life may not directly help you to lose weight, doing so may help protect you against stressors and cues that can contribute to weight regain.

Have a Diet That’s Tailor-Made

Researchers have also reported that the perspective and approach one takes when implementing a diet plan appears to differentiate individuals who keep lost weight off and those who gain it back. For example, one group of researchers has reported that participants who identified themselves as “maintainers” were more likely to have tailored their diet plans to their lifestyle, whereas those participants who identified themselves as “relapsers” seemed to go to more drastic extremes (by fasting, having certain diet foods, and so on).
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This finding suggests that in order to be most effective, these changes should be sustainable, meaning that you can keep doing them over the long run. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to dieting; take what you learn and adapt it to your life in ways that work for
you
. That is one of the advantages of this diet plan: you can change it to fit your lifestyle, and you can continue to adapt it over time as your needs and circumstances change.

This group of researchers also pointed out another important difference between the two groups: those who regained weight reported feeling deprived when dieting, while the maintainers tried not to.
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What are some ways that you can stick to this diet without feeling like you’re missing out? This may require experimenting with some different ingredients and recipes to figure out ways to make and enjoy delicious foods.

Remember Your Goals, and Revise Them as Needed

You probably know all too well that one of the most difficult things to face is weight regain. It is sad when you have been at, or close to, your weight-loss goals, and then something goes awry that leads you to fall back into old eating habits. This “something” could be many things, including that the diet really didn’t fit with your lifestyle or it wasn’t realistic. Or, maybe you viewed the diet as a temporary situation and you thought you could go back to your old eating habits once you lost a bit of weight.

However, another factor can play a significant part in weight regain: not having a clear, realistic goal in place, or losing sight of one’s goals, which minimizes their importance. In one study, participants who lost weight were asked about their priorities regarding maintaining their weight loss; those who regained weight in a year after losing it reported weight control as less of a priority than participants who kept the weight off.
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This finding indicates the importance of how much we value our goals. If you get to a point where you’re happy with your body weight and have met your goals, congratulations! At this point, it is time to reset your goals, perhaps to focus instead on maintaining a certain weight loss for a certain time period. Avoid setting goals that are too vague or undefined (for example, “I will stay this weight forever”). Instead, give yourself incremental goals (such as, “I will not gain any weight back over the next two weeks”) that you can work toward and be encouraged by your continued successes when you achieve them.

What to Do if You Regress or a Relapse Occurs

First, take a deep breath. It’s not the end of the world. Try to reflect on all the progress you’ve made up until that point and remind yourself that one regression will not negate that progress. If you experience a full relapse—if you go back to your old eating habits and consume high amounts of sugar for several days, weeks, months, or longer—that’s okay; you’re still able to start fresh. Again, try not to use black-and-white thinking: you can be accountable for your mistakes while also feeling confident about your strengths and accomplishments. When you’re in a relaxed state of mind, consider what factors may have contributed to the relapse. You will want to assess what happened from different angles, particularly how you were feeling, where you were, and any outside factors (such as an argument with a friend, a bad day at work, and so on) that could have contributed to your change in eating. Here are some questions that may be useful if you are reflecting on your relapse:

• Were you stressed?

• Were you experiencing feelings of self-doubt or apathy?

• In what kind of environment did your relapse occur? Were you attending a party or a holiday gathering?

• Was peer pressure a factor?

• When you were buying groceries, did you have a list? Were you hungry when you went to the store?

• How many hours of sleep were you getting in the nights preceding the relapse?

By understanding the factors that may have contributed to your relapse, you will be able to learn from your experience and apply this knowledge in a way that will help you stay on track in the future. Identify one or two specific factors that may have caused
you to revert back to your old ways. Let’s say you hadn’t been getting much sleep, and then you went to a party where lots of sugar-rich foods were served and you deviated from your commitment to healthy eating habits. In this case, the two factors that contributed to the relapse were (1) your lack of sleep and (2) the food environment at the party. Choose one of these two factors and work to make sure that it won’t be an issue if the situation arises again in the future. You might want to focus on making sure you get a certain number of hours of sleep per night or concentrate on putting together a balanced plate at the next party you attend. Regardless of why you relapsed, reflecting on the circumstances surrounding the relapse can allow you to see at least one thing that you can work on to avoid a relapse in the future.