wdarling

I just sent an email to my two closest friends explaining the program I’m starting up. They are constantly harping on me about weight and diet issues so I want them to be on the same page, rather than contradicting and criticizing. Anyway, I thought I would just paste the email onto this blog, as it provides a nice summary of the program. The book I’m using as my guide, BTW, is Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Obesity: A Clinician’s Guide by Cooper, Fairburn and Hawker, published by Guilford.

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I’ve gotten a jump on my weight loss program (why wait?) and while I have not yet written up the complete plan, I wanted to share the rules and principles with you, so that you understand. I really need you to understand what the program is so that you don’t try and interfere or contradict.

1. CBT.
This program uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the same approach my therapist used to help me with depression. It is a complete program of changing the way one thinks about food and about dieting — and changing the way one *acts*.

2. Food
While it is psych. based program, there are obviously rules and guidelines involving food. However, the program is much more comprehensive than that, because in many cases even the best diet will fail if your thinking hasn’t really changed.

3. Calorie Cutback
There is a strict 1500 calorie per day limit. It is possible for me to eat more on one particular day, but only if I *plan* it, by eating less on days leading to that or days afterward. The average daily should be 1500.

4. Food Restrictions
There are no “forbidden” foods but I must account for everything I eat, so obviously I need to stay away from high-calorie foods, whether because of fat or sugar or large portions.

5. Weigh-in.
I will have a weekly weigh-in. Probably Monday nights.

6. Sessions.
I will have a weekly appointment with myself to go over my “homework,” progress and problems for every week. The program has a structure I need to follow. Everything will go either in a journal or on my BuddySlim.com blog.

7. Exercise v. Activity
This program does *not* emphasize exercise as a primary means of losing weight. It encourages building regular physical activity into your lifestyle, especially once the weight has been lost and one needs to maintain that weight. There is no problem with doing exercise, of course, but that is not the focus of this.

8. Weight loss, weight goal.
The program is designed to help me lose 1-2 lb. a week and should that work, I will lose about 30 lb. over 30 weeks. My goal is to reach 200. The program discourages dieters from trying to diet “all the way” to their most ideal weight, and recommends finding a moderate goal (10-15 %). Once that goal is reached, the aim is to stop and *keep* that weight. The goal should not be too low or you are likely to just get fat again.

9. Maintenance
Weight maintenance is a big part of the program. As explained, the idea is to reach a sustainable weight and stay there. This is accomplished by following a “weaning” program, where I learn to manage my weight without such a strict diet. I can add another 100 calories a day and finally stop logging my food.

10. Future
I have to keep weighing myself weekly, to be sure I am maintaining my weight (not up, not down) and making corrections as appropriate. The program includes complete directions on how to make corrections before you “slide