I don’t know how many times I have heard patients say, “I wonder why I can’t get my weight under control” or “I can’t figure out why I can’t lose weight”. They then go on to say that they quit smoking, they gave up drinking and that they are successful in most other areas in their life (their marriage, family life, their careers, etc.). They are just unable to come up with the answer.

My first response is to mention that a smoker has to use the all or nothing control method- they stop smoking (you are either a smoker or a non- smoker). An alcoholic must stop drinking. However, you just can’t stop eating. We have to use other methods to control our weight (please refer to my Dimmer Switch article) and this is generally harder than the all or nothing method described above. Secondly, I will often remind them that losing weight might […]

How many times have all of us asked ourselves why we get this uncontrollable urge to eat when we get upset over something (and of course many times we give into this urge)? Numerous patients over the years have asked me the same question. There isn’t a simple answer but, when I am posed with this question I usually pull out a little slip of paper and write down three words under each other beginning with the letter “A”:

Awareness Acceptance Action

To make changes in our life, we have to go through this “AAA” process. We first have to become “aware” of why we do the things that we do. (As the saying goes, you’re half way there when you become aware of the problem). We actually begin to associate food with our emotions long before we are even aware of it. It all started as a baby when we cried and got fed. […]

I believe that most overweight patients set themselves up for failure in that the only goal they have in mind is to reach their “ideal weight”. At the same time, others around them have put that expectation on them as well
(i.e. their spouse, friends, physicians, and society in general).