Cognitive & Behavioral Coping Skills for Weight Loss

Successful weight loss, and ultimately weight maintenance, involves learning nu life skills & establishing a nu relationship with food.

The following cognitive & behavioral strategies could help your weight loss program and/or weight maintenance plan.

• Schedule your day to allow adequate time for buying, preparing & eating healthy food. Set an alarm if necessary so you don’t get stuck watching TV or working at the computer.  Eating at regular intervals every day will help your body get into and stay in a state of ketosis.  You will also enhance your metabolism naturally by eating 3 meals a day with snacks between. If you already know you like to hit the snooze button a couple times each morning, prep your breakfast the night before so you are less likely to skip that meal when running late.
• Stock up on healthy snacks that have a pleasing texture and taste. You may like the crunchiness of carrots, the tanginess of cheese cubes, or the smoothness of yogurt. Drinking a cup of hot tea with your mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack may make it last longer and feel more satisfying. While you are on your individual weight loss program, we have NuYou treats and snacks that are satisfying and curb that craving for sugar or something sweet.  Utilize these, rather than turning to something “off” program.
• Remind yourself several times a day of your weight loss goal & how important it is to you. You could put a picture of a thinner version of yourself on your desk or write your reasons for losing weight on a little card that you keep with you, or bring out your “skinny clothes” and put your favorite article of clothing in the front of your closet so you see it every time you get dressed.Don’t get caught in thinking traps that can derail you from your diet. If you feel that you deserve something extra for being good, reward yourself with a NuYou snack and/or treat or something material opposed to food related. If you have a bad day, don’t use it as an excuse to go off your diet for a week. Remind yourself that you need to get back on track as quickly as possible to minimize the damage.
• Stay “in the moment” while eating.  Avoid eating at the computer, while driving, or multitasking. Tune into the experience of eating, what tastes and textures you like, how satisfying the food is, and what it feels like to be hungry or full.

• Communicate with family & friends and ask for their support in improving your health. Ideally, working on weight together with a friend or family member means you can encourage and support each other and help keep each other on track.

These strategies, accompanied by one of NuYou’s weight loss or weight maintenance nutritional eating programs, should help you develop a new relationship with food and increase your self-control. If you don’t succeed at first, keep trying. Sometimes lasting behavior changes take more than one attempt. You are relearning a healthier way of living and developing a new set of skills. This often takes persistence and determination. The reward of a better quality of life and, possibly, a longer life, will be worth it!  We guarantee it!

Look Better  •  Feel Better  •  Be Better