Psychological and Behavioral Weight Loss Methods: Quitting Snacks, Emotional Management, and Small Changes in Daily Habits

Prove to yourself that you can overcome the urge to snack by practicing this: Open the refrigerator door and loudly tell yourself, "I can stop myself from eating this cake." As you say this, close the refrigerator door. After practicing several times, closing the refrigerator will become a habit, just like taking out the cake. Also, the next time you eat, it's best to listen to what your stomach is telling you: Have you had enough? If you have, don't eat anymore! Soon, this habit will become an "unbreakable" "habit." Furthermore, compare your favorite snacks with your ideal figure. Looking at the food you want to eat, ask yourself, "Do I really want to eat this?" Asking yourself this question might make you not want to eat it. Dr. Jordan says, "You are making a decision: Which is more important, a slim figure or snacks?"

Finally, break the habit of going straight to the kitchen as soon as you get home. First, you must admit that you've already started eating as soon as you leave for home. The way to break this habit is to sit on the sofa for a while after you get home and read the newspaper. Practice this frequently, repeatedly, until you break the habit of opening the refrigerator as soon as you get home. All the methods mentioned above mainly focus on changing the habit of snacking and don't require strong willpower. Changing a habit with willpower is usually difficult, but rebuilding a habit and replacing the habit of snacking with a new one is easier. Avoiding snacks is the most important step during a diet to lose weight; if you can quit snacking, weight loss will not be difficult to achieve gradually.

The book *Psychological Nutrition*, authored by Dr. Chlakin, a leading American nutritionist, includes a 22-question "Nutrition Quiz" that demonstrates how inappropriate diet can indeed affect a person's mood and mental state. He states, "Irritability, emotional distress, mood swings, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and problems in social or marital relationships are all direct results of inappropriate diet." He encourages readers to use the quiz to check if their diet promotes health and happiness: (1) Do you often have a poor appetite? (2) Do you often skip meals? (3) Do you feel weak if you cannot eat regularly? (4) Do you often eat desserts or sugary drinks between meals? (5) Do you drink one or two glasses of alcohol (beer or spirits) every day? (6) Do you drink more than three cups of coffee or tea every day?

(7) Do you eat dessert once or more every day? (8) Do you often add sugar to your coffee or tea? (9) Do you drink soft drinks or other beverages almost every day? (10) Do you often eat carbohydrate foods such as bread, rice, biscuits, and oatmeal? (11) Do you eat white sugar, syrup, jam, and candy every day? (12) Do you eat cakes or fruits every day? (13) Do you eat ice cream, iced milk, or canned fruit every day? (14) Do you often add salt to your food? (15) Do you eat meat less than twice a day? (16) Do you eat fewer than three or four eggs per week? (17) Is seafood completely absent from your diet? (18) Do you avoid eating milk, cream, and butter? (19) Do you avoid eating raw vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots?

(20) Do you eat vegetables less than twice a day? (21) Do you not drink citrus juice or other fruit juices every day? (22) Do you not eat fresh fruit every day? If the answer is "yes", you get one point. The lower the score, the better you eat. Dr. Chiraskin said: "A score below five indicates that you have the necessary nutrients to maintain emotional stability and physical health. A score between five and eleven indicates that your food choices are inappropriate and need to be improved. A score above twelve usually indicates that you eat too much sugar and carbohydrates and too little protein. This is very harmful to both your body and your mood."

Many people fail to lose weight because they lack the perseverance to exercise regularly and cannot break their eating habits. Now, Gonzisliman, a fitness consultant at the YMCA, offers a method that only requires changing daily habits, without the need for regular exercise or strict dieting, to achieve weight loss. For example, simply eliminate the extensions on your home phone and use only one telephone. This can burn one kilogram of body fat per year, as each phone call requires walking a few extra steps, adding up to 120 kilometers annually. Below are various weight loss methods proposed by Gonzisliman and their expected effects: (1) Get on and off the bus at a stop eight to ten blocks away from your office and walk to the office. This can result in a weight loss of 7-9 kilograms per year.

(ii) Take the stairs instead of the elevator in offices and public places. Doing this daily can lead to a weight loss of 2.3–4.5 kg per year. Doing it once a week can lead to a weight loss of 1.4 kg per year. (iii) Pour your own tea in the office instead of having someone else serve it to you. This can lead to a weight loss of 0.45–2.25 kg per year. (iv) Stand instead of sitting when dressing, especially when putting on socks. This can lead to a weight loss of 0.45 kg per year. (v) Walk briskly instead of slowly, whenever you are walking. This can lead to a weight loss of 14 kg per year. (vi) Dance once a month. This can lead to a weight loss of 1–1.5 kg per year. (vii) During two hours of television viewing each day, stand up and do something that requires physical activity during commercial breaks. This can lead to a weight loss of 4.5–7 kg per year.