If you look at this sheet at the beginning of your program, make a personal commitment to go through this

drop-out sheet before quitting:

I ____________________, engage myself to go through and answer these questions with honesty and objectivity should I ever want to abandon my program.

Date: ________________________

Signature: ____________________________

When you feel like quitting your program, stop for a few seconds and answer these questions:

1.     You feel like quitting, why?

_____________________________________________________________________

2.     Write at least 1 to 3 other reasons that make you want to quit:

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

3.     Write down what your goal was:

I wanted to weigh: _________________________

4.     Write down at least 5 benefits that you were looking for:

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

5.     At the beginning of your program, did you intend to succeed without encountering any hardships or temptations to quit?       Yes      No

6.     Why do you want to quit?

a)     Guilt feelings […]

Over the years, I’ve been treating over-weight patients who wish to change their eating habits, so that they don’t regain weight, once they’ve lost it. Most of them have a history of past failures. Collectively they’ve tried an incredible number of diets, but most of them eventually have regained the weight that they had lost. When I tell them that it’s relatively easy to change an eating habit and that it can usually be done within about 3 weeks, they can’t believe it. “That’s impossible”, they say, “I’ve tried every imaginable diet in the last ten years; I’ve always regained any weight that I had lost and I’ve never lost my craving for sweets”.

You might be wondering how it can be so easy to change eating habits, when some 95% of obese people can’t seem to manage it.Imagine two arrows pointing in different directions. One arrow, number one, represents the physical aspect of our […]

Ultimately, Maintenance is the most important part of your Weight Control Program.

Once you have attained your ideal weight, you will want to maintain that weight.

The following office visit schedule is recommended while on maintenance:

Once every 2 weeks, for the next 2 visits.

Then, once every 3 weeks for the next 2 visits.

Then, once every 4 weeks (or more often if needed).

Be sure to repeat the “Mental Weight Questionnaire” every 4 weeks

so that you can continue to monitor your “mental weight”.

PATIENTS WHOSE MENTAL WEIGHT IS SIMILAR TO THEIR ACTUAL IDEAL PHYSICAL

WEIGHT, HAVE THE BEST SUCCESS ON MAINTENANCE.

PLEASE ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT MAINTENANCE LASTS A LIFETIME AND THAT AT ANY

TIME IN THE FUTURE SHOULD A SMALL INCREASE IN WEIGHT OCCURS, PLEASE RETURN TO

OUR OFFICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

SUCCESSFUL MAINTENANCE STUDIES REVEAL THAT THE MAIN KEYS FOR SUCCESS

ARE:

REGULAR VISITS AND FIXING […]

Today Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011 marks the 23rd anniversary of the opening of the Lefebre and Burke Weight Loss & Laser Centre. In fact we opened on a Wednesday (like this year), three days after the Calgary Winter Olympics closed. I’ve said many times over the years that the torch went out on the Calgary Olympics on Sunday and the Lefebre and Burke Weight Loss & Laser Centre lights went on 3 days later! Where has the time gone?

Taking a trip down memory lane, I can’t help but think of the eight different offices that we had throughout Calgary, the twenty five physicians(especially Dr. Peggy Burke and Dr. Jackie Safran) and our great staff members:

( in particular, Rose , Judy,Vera, Michelle, Joanne, Connie, Erin, Ilona , Linda, Chris and Tony) who have worked in our clinics over the years.

Back in June of 2009, after spending over 20 years in our office on the main floor, we moved up to […]

This is a true story:

Two old friends are getting together. Denise has invited Mary for supper on a Friday night.

Denise: Come in Mary, I’m so happy to see you.

Mary: It’s been months.

Denise: Let me get a good look at you. You look terrific!

Mary: I’ve lost 38lbs since I last saw you.

Denise: So I was told, but I couldn’t imagine it. You look wonderful.

Mary: (she blushes) Thanks, thanks a lot. But you know, you could be down to your ideal weight too, we began the program together…

Denise: Yes, well… I couldn’t believe it when Pauline told me you’d lost all that weight. How many diets did we start together and then give up on?

Mary: At least five, I’m sure.

Denise: Right. Well, I just gave up again. I’m hopeless. You’re lucky, your problems are over.

Mary: You think that it’s luck?

Denise: I thought for sure […]

Personal Journal

to

Help You Control Your Emotions

“It’s Terrible”

When you realize that you’ve eaten more than usual and that your overeating was the result of a disappointment or some other emotional trauma, examine your behaviour as follows:

Sequence: a) an external cause

b) triggered a thought process

c) which resulted in an emotional response and overeating

Example: a) I suggested something to my child and he did the opposite

b) I find it terrible and unbearable when my children ignore my advice, as I was right!

c) I felt frustrated and ate too much

YOUR NEW PROGRAMMING:

(to replace your old B sequence)

It would be better if my children listened to me all the time, but they have the right to make some of their own decisions, even if they end up in trouble. It’s not terrible and shouldn’t seem unbearable; it […]

Trips to restaurants can be a mine field of temptation. The best intentions can crumble when you are enjoying yourself with people who are feasting on delicious foods. Two aspects of this concern us. The first is how much we eat, but there are methods for keeping eating under control. The second is to control our response to the event.

One trip to a restaurant never torpedoed any diet with its calories alone. An extraordinary meal of 5000 calories could only bring a pound and a half of weight. The response to those calories, however, could lead to trouble, your attitudes during and after these events are as important as what you eat.

Eating at Restaurants

It is hard to be virtuous at restaurants. This is a real problem for people in business or those whose lifestyle includes eating away from home. What should we do when dessert comes with the meal? What about a […]

Fill in this diary questionnaire as soon as possible after a slip:

Time: ________________

Were you physically hungry?    Yes ___                        No___

If you were, what did you crave specifically? _______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Did this food remind you of certain people or places that you like? (vacation, summer, childhood, etc)?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

How did you feel just before you slipped? ______________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Were you “emotionally” hungry?          Yes___             No___

If so, what would it have taken to satisfy you? _____________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Food eaten: Quality: __________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Quantity: ___________________________________________________________________________

How did you eat the food:         fast___             hiding from others___               slowly___

with gusto___                without thinking___

Did the food satisfy you?          Yes___             No___

If not, why not? _______________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

How did you feel after your slip? _________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Did you have any other reason to feel this way at the time? ____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and debts are high

And you want to smile and you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must, but just don’t quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns.

And many a failure turns about,

When you might have won, had you stuck it out.

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the cloud of doubt,

And you never know how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,

It’s when things seem worst, that you must not quit!

If after you continue to struggle with your motivation to lose more weight and you’ve tried the previous motivational exercise as outlined in  my Benefits of Your Weight Loss to Date article, try one more step:

Fill in the sheet as shown below and write down all the benefits that you hope to achieve and then on the right side ,write down all the things that are, or could prevent you from reaching your goal.

If you’re not aware of what might be preventing you, try reading once again

Dr. Larocque’s Book, Be Thin Through Motivation.