Winning the (Waistline) Battle of the Bulge:
A Personal Journey
In 1991, a few months before turning 40, I got on the scale and weighed. What horror! I broke the 200-pound mark which was 20 pounds over my self-proclaimed ideal weight. Having been hit in the face with reality, I decided to do something, so I joined a fitness club, started working out, running, and within six months was back at my comfortable 180 - not bad for somebody now 40 and 6'1".
Fast forward to 2002. I’m 50, still working out four to five days a week, and maintaining my desired weight. Or, at least that’s what I thought. I rarely weighed, but I noticed that pants seemed tighter (dry cleaners must be shrinking them), so one day I made the decision to get on the dreaded scales. 204 pounds! Statistically, I had now joined that 61% of the American population who is overweight and described the Surgeon General’s report being overweight ( click here for more information).
How can that be! I work out, watch what I eat (so what if I eat burgers, large fries, and shakes, tacos, blue cheese dressing, and several portions at every meal), and generally make every effort to life a healthy lifestyle. But, facts are facts, and no matter which scale I tried, the answer was staring me in the face. In recent years, I had gained weight, and it was time to do something.
What follows is a personal journey and describes some of the components that worked for me in winning the battle of the waistline bulge. Please note that I am not a fitness expert, know little about nutrition (except that I like burgers, fries, and shakes), and don’t pretend to know facts and figures associated with weight management. (But, there are more articles on this website from people who know a lot more than I do, for example, see the article on “Emotional Overeating ” by Dr. Haber. My advice to anyone wanting to lose weight is to always consult first with a physician before beginning any program of exercise or weight loss. I also encourage working with a qualified and certified fitness professional such as a personal trainer. The information that follows just outlines what worked for me, and can perhaps be “food for thought” (no pun intended, well, maybe a pun is intended).
Watch that “Stinking Thinking”
I have written extensively about the role of “stinking thinking,” or underlying irrational beliefs in creating and maintaining emotional and behavioral problems (for example, see What Does It Take to be Happy? ), and my book, It’s Not as Bad as It Seems: A Thinking Straight Approach to Happiness outlines the specific steps involved in “thinking straight.” But, briefly, to gain control of the waistline bulge and unwanted pounds, it required me to vigorously practice what I preach. I reminded myself of the ABCs of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) needed to win this fight. I knew it was not the “A” or Activators (events, triggers) that made me overeat (and eating too many burgers and fries was the “C” or Consequence). Activators such as advertisements for food don’t force me to buy and eat the food, and just because I “feel” hungry an hour after eating does not mean that I “have to” eat that candy bar and drink that soda.
No! Activators may play a role, but do not control when and what I eat! In the REBT ABCs, it is the “B” or Beliefs that were important in regaining control of my eating and weight. I noticed that at times I would feel frustrated and immediately go to the candy machine or refrigerator and eat. (Again, please see Dr. Haber’s article referenced above on emotional eating.) When I felt frustrated or perhaps had a hunger pang, I recognized that my thinking was, “I’m frustrated (or hungry), and I can’t stand it! IMUST eat something right now in order to overcome this discomfort! If I want it (candy, soda, etc.), then I SHOULD have my wants satisfied right now!”
I started paying closer attention to these beliefs and would ask myself if they were helping or hurting. Did I really “have to” have that candy bar? Would I in fact die from starvation if I chose to drink water instead of a soda? Is there some universal truth that says if Ed Nottingham wants something he absolutely MUST have it? (This is the “D” or Disputation of irrational beliefs in REBT.) Once I recognized the lies I was telling myself, I worked forcefully to replace them with truth (or “E,” Effective Beliefs) such as: I might want a candy bar, but can stand the minimal discomfort that goes with NOT eating it, I may not like denying myself that immediate gratification, but I sure as heck CAN stand it, and no law says that because I want something, I must have it.
With the Effective Beliefs working, it was easier to choose to have a healthy snack (like an apple) instead of a candy bar. When I would remind myself, “I don’t like it, that’s OK, I can stand it anyway,” then I CHOSE not to have the second helping or that huge first serving. My “good thinking” at “E” resulted in new Feelings at “F” so instead of feeling high levels of low frustration tolerance that lead me to overeat, instead I felt mild and appropriate levels of discomfort that I could deal with in ways other than eating. OK, my thinking is back on track, but was that enough?
Physical Muscle and Workouts Along with Emotional Workouts
Now that I was getting my emotional muscle1 back in shape, was I losing weight? NO! I knew that my irrational beliefs at point “B” were playing a role and that I was caging those “sharks” of irrational thinking, but my weight was still over 200 pounds. So, what was missing?
Over the years I have ready many books on fitness and exercise. Each one seems to have a different set of recommendations. For example, do more cardiovascular exercise, lift more weights, do less exercise, and so on. I was working out four or five days a week for at least an hour, but was I working out the most helpful way possible. I came across a book by Jim Karas called The Business Plan for the Body (2001) that presented yet another opinion about exercise. Karas argued that while certainly cardiovascular exercise is good for health and the heart, exercise such as weight lifting has the benefit of continuing to burn calories long after the exercise period is over. He recommends that cardiovascular exercise be approximately 25% of the total workout time, so I took a look at my exercise program and made some changes. I started lifting weights more often and running less. [Let me again emphasize the importance of medical consultation before beginning any exercise program especially weight lifting AND working with a trained, certified exercise specialist when designing an exercise program. There are too many examples of people who exercise incorrectly experiencing serious physical injury!]
So now I was achieving emotional muscle and physical muscle, and my weight was coming down some. I had lost about 10 pounds, but that desired goal of 180 pounds seemed to illusive. What was missing?
The Importance of Food Logs
I had read many times about the importance of keeping a food log or food diary, but had never done so. After all, I was not eating that much! But, I decided to create a form I could use to record the calories in. After creating such a form, I found it to be a huge pain in the neck, and was not consistent in keeping the log. Being (in my opinion) a computer nerd, I searched the internet for software that would make it easier to both record the calories in (food intake) and give me a specific accounting of exactly how many calories I was consuming. I happened to find such a program called DietPower (www.dietpower.com ), downloaded the trial version, liked it, bought it, and started using it daily. 2
Here was the “in my face” proof of where I was falling short. As I recorded my baseline food intake, the program reported that I was consuming any where from 500 to 1000 calories more each day than I needed to lose or even maintain my desired weight. Turns out that those candy bars, sodas, occasional glasses of wine, multiple (large) portions at meals, burgers with cheese, large fries, and my other “healthy” eating was adding up and adding the pounds. I entered my target weight, gave myself several months to achieve the goal, and started religiously entering food and my exercise (which would give me some “bonus” calorie consumption). The first week after adding the food log software, I lost 3 pounds. It was easier to see those foods and beverages that I was consuming that were adding “empty calories,” and replace them with fruits, other healthy snacks, and that all important beverage – water. When I thought about going to my favorite fast food restaurants, I would enter the usual meals, and was shocked when I learned that one meal exceeded my calorie allotment for the day by 500 to 1000 calories! I learned that a 14 ounce steak is not a recommended portion size, and that blue cheese dressing packs around 77calories per tablespoon. I also learned frozen meals from Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice are healthy, satisfying, and, in my opinion, quite good.
Putting It All Together
For me, it was the combination of the three, healthy thinking, regular exercise, and a food diary, that was needed. I started my program on April 1, 2002, with a target date of June 30, 2002. By June 15th I had reached my goal, and since then have maintained by target weight of 180. Since I was already exercising (but maybe not the best way for my goals), it was the reminder of the importance of rational, healthy thinking coupled with the all important food diary that resulted in my journey being successful. Since reaching my goal with the healthier habits of thinking and exercise, I am no longer entering my food consumption daily. But, there have been periods when my weight started creeping up, and I would resume using DietPower which helped me to quickly pinpoint the excess calorie consumption, and get my journey back on track.
There are no secrets or magic of weight loss, and as is the case whenever we are committed to changing bad habits and creating new, healthy habits, it takes work, practice, and patience. Will healthy thinking, exercise programs, and food diaries help you? I don’t know, but if your plans include weight loss and/or desired weight management, I would certainly encourage you to consult your physician, consult a certified specialist, and consider whether some or all of the elements outlined in this article might be useful to you.
Footnotes:
1 I really like the concept of "emotional muscle," and I was introduced to that concept after reading the work of Edward Garcia, a therapist in Georgia.
2 The makers of DietPower have offered readers who purchase the product a $5.00 discount. Simply enter the Customer Code "NOTTINGHAM" when ordering the software from www.dietpower.com/healthshop.htm .
References:
Haber, S. (No date). How to . . . stop . . . emotional overeating. Retrieved August 13, 2002 Available on this website: >> click here
Karas, J. (2001). The business plan for the body . New York: Three Rivers Press.
Nottingham, E. (2001). It’s not as bad as it seems: A thinking straight approach to happiness. Lincoln, NE: Writer’s Showcase (a division of iUniverse.com).
Nottingham, E. (2000). What does it take to be happy? Available on this website: >> click here
Ed Nottingham, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in Tennessee and Mississippi and a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist in Tennessee. He is a Diplomate in Behavioral and in Clinical Psychology (American Board of Professional Psychology - ABPP), a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division of Independent Practice), a Fellow of the Academy of Clinical Psychology and the American Academy of Behavioral Psychology, a Fellow and Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Psychotherapists, and is listed in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. He is an Associate Fellow and Approved Supervisor in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. He is a Clinical Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). He has been in independent practice since 1979. He holds faculty appointments at the University of Memphis and University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences. He is author of It's Not as Bad as It Seems: A Thinking Straight Approach to Happiness- Revised & Expanded Edition (2000) published by iUniverse.com, Lincoln, NE.