Sabotage thoughts. Cards from the book “Think and Lose Weight” by Judith Beck

“The ability to recognize and correctly respond to self-sabotaging thoughts is the main element of this program. This is a skill you will practice every day." Judith Beck

These are additional cards from the program, you can print them and read them along with the ADVANTAGE CARD.

Day 1. Let's make a list of the benefits of losing weight.

I need to read my BENEFITS CARD AT LEAST TWICE A DAY IF I WANT TO RESIST TEMPTATION. THIS WILL ONLY TAKE A FEW SECONDS. THIS IS NOT GOD IS WHAT. PSYCHOLOGICALLY I CAN DO WITHOUT HER TODAY, BUT SOON I WILL NEED HER. I NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE BENEFITS STILL PLACE IN MY HEAD AND HELP ME WHEN DIETING GETS VERY DIFFICULT.

Sabotage thought: I don't need to be reminded of these reasons to lose weight. I know them.
Helpful answer: I know them - now. But I remember those times when I deviated from my diet. Of course, I didn’t think about all the benefits of strict dieting back then!

Sabotage thought: I don’t feel like buying these cards and adding benefits to them right now. I'll do it later.
Helpful answer: To lose weight, I will train myself to do what is necessary, not what I feel like doing at the moment. If I put off this task, I will end up never doing it at all.

Sabotage thought: It's too tedious.
Helpful answer: Does it really require that much effort? Is it worth making a problem out of this?

Sabotage thought: It won't help me.
Helpful answer: I'm not clairvoyant and I don't know if this will help me or not. But what I know for sure is that I have never done this before and have not yet been able to lose weight. What do I have to lose if I just try this?

Day 2 Choose two suitable diets.

Sabotage thought: I want to try this diet, I've heard a lot about it. They promise that with its help you can lose weight very easily and without stress in a very short time. Doesn't it matter if it's not very balanced? In any case, I will follow it for a long time.
Helpful answer: A fad diet is not healthy, and I will need to be on a diet or some version of it for a long time. Promises that sound too good to be true are undoubtedly too good to be true.

Sabotage thought: Since my diet doesn't say I have to eat breakfast, I'll skip it. I'd rather eat more later in the day.
Helpful answer: I've skipped breakfast before and it didn't help me lose weight. I have to change my eating habits if I want to succeed this time.

Sabotage thought: I can learn to eat smarter after I finish dieting.
Helpful answer: I haven’t learned to eat wisely now, what reason do I have to believe that I will learn later? We need to start now.

Sabotage thought: I can lose weight if I find the most suitable diet for myself.
Helpful answer: There is no best diet. Diet is not magic. The only formula that allows me to lose weight: I need to consume fewer calories than my body spends.

Day 3. We eat only while sitting.

Sabotage thought: I like to involuntarily chew something. I don't want to stop eating if I'm standing
Helpful answer: I have to sit down before I eat. When I eat standing up, I simply don't notice what I'm eating. In this case, I can eat much more than I think. If I want to be slimmer, I should make it a rule. Maybe I don’t want to give up this habit of mine, but how nice it will be if I become slimmer.

Sabotage thought: It's okay if I eat standing up this time. Next time I'll sit down to eat.
Helpful answer:“Just this once” won’t do. I have to admit that I probably won't lose weight or be able to maintain the new weight unless I change my standing eating habit.

Sabotage thought: I don't have time to sit down to eat.
Helpful answer: Eating while sitting is a mandatory requirement. I have to rearrange my schedule so that I have time for this. This is essential for controlling what and how much I eat.

Day 4. Don't forget to encourage yourself.

Sabotage thought: I don't deserve any encouragement because I'm doing what I should do anyway. This is not an achievement yet. I have to do them effortlessly.
Helpful answer: If I don't reward myself for behaving as needed, it will be more difficult for me to behave consistently. If I were naturally thin and didn't have to work hard to control my weight, then maybe there wouldn't be anything to reward me for. But I am not naturally thin, and I have to fight to be at a normal weight. And I deserve to reward myself every time I think about something in a helpful way or behave in a helpful way.

Sabotage thought: It’s somehow unnatural to encourage yourself.
Helpful answer: Encouraging myself is a skill I will develop over time. It's okay if it looks unnatural at first. The more I practice this skill, the better I will get at it and the more automatic and natural it will become.

Sabotage thought: Praising yourself is somehow childish.
Helpful answer: Praising yourself is not at all stupid; it is absolutely necessary to develop self-confidence. And I really need confidence when things get tough.

Sabotage thought: I don't deserve any encouragement until I've lost as much weight as I intend to.
Helpful answer: Expecting this is counterproductive. I must strengthen the part of my mind that believes that I can follow this program. I'm only human and can sometimes deviate from my plan. When this happens, a feeling of helplessness can take over. And constantly building my self-confidence through encouragement will keep me from feeling helpless and hopeless and from giving up and admitting defeat. Once I have learned the skills I need, it will be easier for me to maintain the new weight. That’s why I deserve a lot of encouragement now, because I’m trying my best.

Day 5. Eat slowly and carefully.

Sabotage thought: If I eat slowly, it will be uncomfortable.
Helpful answer: It's not wise to sacrifice what I need. I deserve to enjoy what I eat. I deserve to be able to engage in behaviors that are good for my health in order to achieve my goals.

Sabotage thought: I generally eat quickly. This is who I am.
Helpful answer: Perhaps part of my weight gain was because I was so used to eating quickly. You can’t eat quickly and still lose weight or maintain new weight. Even if I eat slowly, it will take effort and I will feel strange for a while, I need to get used to it, and it will take a long time before I can stop thinking about it.

Sabotage thought: Honestly, I don't have time to eat slowly.
Helpful answer: I have to rearrange my daily routine so that I have time for a vital medical procedure three times a day, somehow I will find time for this. I'm not yet used to paying enough attention to eating slowly.

Day 6. Find an assistant who will help you stick to your diet.

Sabotage thought: What if I choose an assistant and fail? He'll think badly of me.
Helpful answer: If I choose exactly the kind of assistant I need, I will maximize my chances of success. I will not choose a helper who would reproach me for even trying.

Sabotage thought: I don't want to impose myself on anyone.
Helpful answer: Firstly, no matter who I choose as my assistant, he probably won’t consider helping me a waste of time. Secondly, perhaps it is not so burdensome to be my support and support. Thirdly, this process can bring us closer. Many people feel flattered that they can support someone. And finally, I can at least offer the person a choice whether to help me or not.

Sabotage thought: I have to handle everything myself.
Helpful answer: If I could deal with this on my own, I would have already lost weight and maintained the new weight. I need to face the truth and accept the fact that I need help - like so many others.

Sabotage thought: I've gone back on my diet and I think I've gained weight. I don't want to call my assistant and tell him about it.
Helpful answer: Right now I need an assistant most of all. In a few minutes, I might regret not calling. My assistant will not criticize me or think badly of me. If I call, I will get the practical help and support I need. The reasons I want to lose weight that I wrote on my BENEFITS CARD are still important to me, so I have to go and make those calls.

Day 8. Finding time and energy.

Sabotage thought: I do everything spontaneously. It’s not for me to schedule things.
Helpful answer: To lose weight, I will have to give up at least some of my spontaneity. I wouldn’t want to, but apparently I’ll have to – at least for now. Until it becomes a habit for me, I can't rely on impulse shopping and spontaneous cooking. But that doesn't mean I can't otherwise act spontaneously as usual.

Sabotage thought: I don't have time to complete all the steps of this program.
Helpful answer: It would be more accurate to say that I am not very eager to find time to diet. If I need daily blood transfusions to stay alive, then OF COURSE I will make time for it. Even though being overweight in and of itself isn't necessarily life-threatening, I still need to make a serious commitment if I want my diet to be successful. I have to look at my BENEFITS CARD again and see if I really want to lose weight.

Day 9. Choosing an exercise plan.

Sabotage thought: I don't want to exercise
Helpful answer: When it comes to physical education, you cannot be guided by the principle of “whether I want it or not.” If I want to lose weight and maintain my new weight, I NEED to exercise. In addition, exercise has many other benefits. Don't make mountains out of molehills. I will succeed.

Sabotage thought: What's the point of walking for just five minutes?
Helpful answer: Walking for five minutes is better than not walking at all. Exercise is absolutely necessary, even if I don't do it very much at first. Over time I will do more of them, but I have to start somewhere.

Sabotage thought: I'm too busy to take the time to exercise.
Helpful answer: I have to make exercise a priority. If I had to exercise every day to stay alive, I would make time for it. I can, for example, get up early for this, and I should not deceive myself that physical exercise is not necessary.

Sabotage thought: It's not that important to exercise.
Helpful answer: Research shows that exercise is absolutely essential for most people if they want to lose weight and maintain their new weight. If I'm attracted to all the benefits I'll have if I lose weight, I should exercise.

Day 10: Set realistic goals.

Sabotage thought : I will not feel satisfied until I reach the “ideal” weight I strive for. I don't deserve any promotion until I reach this weight.
Helpful answer: I must learn to enjoy the small achievements along the way. Celebrating each 2.5 kg weight loss will lift my spirits and strengthen my self-confidence.

Sabotage thought: Losing 0.5-1 kg per week is too slow!
Helpful answer: How much will it matter in a few years (starting today) how long it took? I need to remind myself why it is important to lose weight slowly. The long-term success of my company depends on this.

Day 11. We learn to see the difference between hunger, the desire to eat and a strong craving to eat something specific.

Sabotage thought: I don't need to do that. I already know the difference between hunger and an irresistible urge to eat something specific.
Helpful answer: I may know this on an intellectual level, but it is still important for me to feel the difference on a physical level. It is possible that sometimes I mistake an irresistible desire to eat something specific for hunger. It is very important for me to do this exercise so that I can accurately understand whether I am very hungry too often (this is a problem that I need to deal with) or whether I just have an irresistible craving for something (which is a feeling I must learn to tolerate)

Sabotage thought: This task is too onerous. I don't want to do it.
Helpful answer: It doesn't take up too much time or energy. Why not try it and see what happens?

Sabotage thought: Why do I need to know how they differ? Either way, I'll just stick to my food plan.
Helpful answer: As I move to maintaining my new weight, I will be more free to eat, but only if I feel truly hungry. And until I learn to distinguish hunger from an overwhelming desire to eat something specific, I will not be able to succeed in implementing this intention, and I will begin to gain weight again.

Day 12. We train to tolerate hunger.

Sabotage thought: Why would I deliberately expose myself to discomfort by skipping lunch?
Helpful answer: I must experience hunger to reduce my fear of him. This experiment will help me reduce my anxiety about hunger in the future. The best way to overcome your fear is to not shy away from it. This experiment will strengthen me the next time I feel hungry and it’s not yet time to eat.

Day 13. Learning to overcome strong cravings to eat something specific.

Sabotage thought: The next time I get a strong craving to eat a certain thing, I won't be able to stand it.
Helpful answer: In the past, I have struggled with strong cravings to eat certain things, but now I have a few things I can do to make those cravings go away. Besides, the discomfort associated with such a strong craving is so minor compared to the discomfort I felt when _____________. I withstood those sensations and, of course, I can withstand the strong craving to eat something.

Sabotage thought: I know myself. The next time I have a strong craving to eat a certain food, I won't want to control myself.
Helpful answer: Maybe it is so. But I can keep reminding myself that I'm not going to always be influenced by my strong urges to eat. To get rid of them, I will always do one of two things: either I will give up, start eating and never lose as many pounds as I want, or I will use ways to deal with strong cravings to eat something so often that I simply cannot there will be so many more strong urges. Once I find that these methods produce the desired results, I will be able to easily wait out the urgent urge to eat something. I will be very happy when I reach a point where I don't have to worry about what will happen when I go to a party or, say, a restaurant. I know for sure that I can withstand strong cravings to eat something specific.

Day 14. Making plans for tomorrow.

Sabotage thought: I don't want to write anything down.
Helpful answer: Which desire is stronger: to lose weight or not to inconvenience yourself? Since I'm serious about losing weight, I'll start writing it down. This will probably only take five minutes. I have a choice. I can listen to the part of my mind that is resisting, or I can firmly and resolutely commit to writing, despite the fact that I feel internal resistance. This is a great opportunity to try.

Sabotage thought: I can diet without doing it.
Helpful answer: This may be true, at least at first, but why not make the most of your chance?

Sabotage thought: I won't lose weight from the food plan.
Helpful answer: If the whole program was limited to just writing down a food plan, it certainly wouldn't help. But in this program, writing a food plan is only one of the strategies. Either way, I won't know if it will help me or not until I try it. Well, besides, I have to do everything in my power, because I seriously want to lose weight.

Sabotage thought: I'll write this later.
Helpful answer: I may not get around to it later. I have to make this a priority right now.

Day 15. We watch what we eat.

Sabotage thought: It takes too much effort.
Helpful answer: I won't have to write all this down for the rest of my life. Plus, it might not be as tedious as I imagine. Why not choose the “best” option and try it for at least a week and see how it goes?

Sabotage thought: I don't need to write this down. I remember perfectly everything I ate.
Helpful answer: I didn't keep such records in the past and it didn't help me. Sure, sometimes I forget about something I ate. I have to be aware of what I eat.

Sabotage thought: It will have to wait until I lose some weight. Then I will be more motivated to complete this task.
Helpful answer: If I procrastinate, there's a good chance I'll never do it.

Day 16. We do not allow ourselves to eat what is not planned.

Sabotage thought: I deserve to eat what I want.
Helpful answer: If I want to get all the benefits I'll have if I lose weight, I simply shouldn't eat what I want unless it's part of my food plan. Between the two considerations “I deserve to be thin and respect myself” and “I deserve to make spontaneous choices about what to eat,” I must give unconditional priority to the first of them.

Sabotage thought: I don't think I can agree with the idea that you can't eat spontaneously.
Helpful answer: For a long time, I have always allowed myself to choose what, when and how much I eat, and therefore it seems natural and right to me. But on the other hand, I have to admit the fact that spontaneous eating is not for me. The more often I tell myself: THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE, the less I will be tormented by doubts.

Day 17. Stop overeating!

Sabotage thought: I don't need to do this. I can stop eating without practicing these skills.
Helpful answer: I have a problem too! But why not try? At worst, I can make sure that I don't have to do this. Maybe it won’t give me anything, but maybe it will teach me a lot.

Sabotage thought: I hate it when food goes to waste because of my fault.
Helpful answer: Is it better to deliberately throw away food or overeat and gain weight? What would I tell my best friend if he faced such a problem? One way or another, the truth is that food will disappear either in the trash container or in your body. It will still be lost. And it doesn’t matter what my parents told me when I was little. If I overeat, it won't help the starving children in Africa.

Day 18: Let's change our definition of what it means to be full.

Sabotage thought: I really like the feeling of being very, very full.
Helpful answer: I need to remember that this feeling should not be considered normal. I eat much more than is necessary to be satisfied. And as a result, I gain excess weight.

Sabotage thought: My meal plan allows me to eat unlimited quantities of some foods. What's wrong then if I eat a lot of them?
Helpful answer: I will have many situations where I will not be able to eat exactly these foods in unlimited quantities. For example, in a restaurant, at a buffet, at parties, etc. If I do not constantly practice eating until I feel normally full, then there is a high probability that in these situations I will eat too much of the food that I should be limiting.

Sabotage thought: What if I end up hungry before it's time for my next meal?
Helpful answer: On Day 12, I learned that hunger is not a disaster, that I can tolerate the feeling, and that if I don't focus my attention on it, the feeling WILL go away. If I still don't feel completely confident that I can handle the hunger, I should repeat the task described in Day 12 in addition to the task I will do today.

Day 19. Stop fooling yourself!

Sabotage thought: It's okay if I eat because I'll only eat a little.
Helpful answer: Just because it doesn't have many calories doesn't mean I can eat it. I don't have to do this! I must take every opportunity to break my habit of eating something that is not included in my plan.

Sabotage thought: It's okay if I eat it, otherwise it's wasted money.
Helpful answer: I'd rather waste money than gain weight.

Sabotage thought: It’s okay if I eat it, because everyone eats it after all.
Helpful answer: I have to decide. Either I eat like everyone else and stay fat, or I control what I eat and lose weight.

Sabotage thought: It’s okay if I ate it because I really want it and I don’t really care!
Helpful answer: I may not care at the moment, but I will be very sorry that I ate something that wasn’t on my meal plan in just a few minutes. And I will especially regret it when I find that I can’t lose weight!

Day 20. Back to dieting.

BACK TO DIET

I EATED SOMETHING I SHOULD NOT HAVE. BUT NOT EVERYTHING IS MISSING. IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. I CAN GET BACK TO FOLLOWING A DIET RIGHT NOW. I WAS WRONG, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I SHOULD CONTINUE TO EAT. THIS IS UNREASONABLE. STOPING NOW IS A MILLION TIMES BETTER THAN CONTINUE TO EAT EVEN MORE.

Sabotage thought: I can't believe I ate this! This way I will never lose weight!
Helpful answer: What would my assistant tell me if he found out I ate this? He would say, “Don't be upset. Everyone overeats from time to time. You can start over right now. Not a big deal. Don't reproach yourself"

Sabotage thought: It is very difficult. I can't. I will never be able to stop eating the way I do. I'll probably give up.
Helpful answer: Okay, I was wrong. It was inevitable. There was no point in expecting me to always be on top. I'm not a failure. I will learn something from this experience that will help me in the future.

Day 21. Getting ready to step on the scale.

Sabotage thought: I don't need to weigh myself. I can judge how my business will go by how my clothes fit.
Helpful answer: It's important to learn to use the scale's readings as information to guide your diet and exercise. I am fooling myself if I think I can direct my actions without this information. If I am no different from all those who diet, then most likely I will either overestimate my weight or underestimate it; both will lead to negative consequences.

Sabotage thought: I don't want to weigh myself. I think I've gained weight.
Helpful answer: I may have gained weight, but perhaps not. If I did, it's not the end of the world, but I really need to know the real state of affairs in order to determine my further actions. I have to overcome my fear of the scale. It is very important not to bury your head in the sand and face the truth.

Sabotage thought: I'll go crazy if the scale goes up!
Helpful answer: Yes, I will feel very bad if I allow my self-sabotaging thoughts to convince me that I am weak and incapable of anything since I have gained weight. But in the worst case scenario, weight gain means that I must have done something wrong; but I can correct my mistake next week.

Day 23. Coping with injustice syndrome.

Dieting may not be fair, but I have to choose one of the two. Either I feel sorry for myself, stop following my plan, never achieve my goal and continue to be dissatisfied with myself. Or I will feel sorry for myself, but continue to do what I know needs to be done. Everyone in life is faced with the fact that something is unfair to them. And this is my injustice. In addition, it would be an even greater injustice for me if for this reason I give up and, as a result, cannot achieve the desired goal.

When it seems unfair to me that I can't eat something, I think I'm right. Then I ask myself which injustice would be better for me: not eating something I want or not losing weight? Then I tell myself: “Well, nothing,” and continue to follow the diet. Self-sabotaging thought: It's so unfair that I can't eat normally.
Helpful answer: But before, I probably didn’t eat “normal” either. Before I went on a diet, I probably ate too often and too much and made unhealthy food choices. Now I eat normally for someone who has set a goal to lose weight.

Sabotage thought: I shouldn't have gotten involved in this matter.
Helpful answer: I have three options before me.
1. I could give up and stay at my weight—or, more likely, I could gain weight every year.
2. I can go on a diet from time to time. Some days/months/years I eat what I want, and some days/months/years I try to diet and almost always weigh more than I want.
3. I can accept the fact that dieting is unfair, but I will continue to do what I have to do to lose weight. I voluntarily choose the third path.

Day 24. Coping with despondency.

Sabotage thought: I'm completely depressed. This program is too difficult. I can't handle it!
Helpful answer: This book will help me, step by step. Nobody requires me to learn everything at once in one day. I can re-read what I need to and practice applying what I've learned. I can ask my assistant for help.

Sabotage thought: These tasks are too difficult. I don't want to keep doing all this.
Helpful answer: It’s just that all this seems overwhelming to me now. But it won't always seem so difficult. By this evening or tomorrow morning I will probably feel better again.

Day 25. Recognizing sabotage thoughts.

Sabotage thought: I don't know if I can define what I'm thinking.
Helpful answer: It's okay that I don't know how to do this yet. This is a skill that I will get good at over time. In the meantime, I will re-read the relevant parts of this book to refresh my memory and remember what to think when I need to.

Sabotage thought: When I deviate from my diet, I don't think anything of it. It happens naturally.
Helpful answer: The process of eating does not happen automatically. On the contrary, I have to ignore my thoughts in order to allow myself to start eating. The next time I'm tempted to deviate from my diet, I'll look at the list of self-sabotaging thoughts that give me permission, such as: "It's okay if I eat this because..."

Day 26. Finding logical errors.

Sabotage thought: Like a fool, I made such mistakes in my thinking.
Helpful answer: Everything is fine with me. Everyone experiences disruptions in their thinking at times. This has nothing to do with intelligence level. This means that I am only human. The main thing is to learn how to deal with such errors in reasoning. And now I am taking my first step towards discovering them.

Day 27. Mastering the Seven Questions Technique.

Sabotage thought: This is a very big job. Moreover, it is not a fact that this will help.
Helpful answer: Maybe so, but what's stopping me from trying to do everything I can to lose weight. When I manage to lose weight, how glad I will be that I didn’t regret my efforts today.

Sabotage thought: I always thought so. I don't think I'll be able to change my thoughts.
Helpful answer: This is a skill that can be learned. It wasn't much easier when I was learning to drive or ride a bike, but in the end I got pretty good at it. If I practice enough, I will learn how to properly respond to my self-sabotaging thoughts.

Day 28. Getting ready to step on the scale.

Scenario #1. According to you, you have lost a lot of weight.
Sabotage thought: Great! I can continue to lose weight quickly!
Helpful answer: Yes, it’s great that I managed to lose so much weight. I've worked really hard on my diet this week. But perhaps I won’t lose weight at such a fast pace in the future.

Scenario #2. According to your estimates, you have lost very little weight.
Sabotage thought: I worked so hard on this, and I’ve lost a lot of weight.
Helpful answer: But my weight is still decreasing. This is already good! So what I'm doing is working. I should be happy for every 200g weight loss.

Scenario #3. You haven't lost weight or even gained weight.
Sabotage thought: I can not believe it! Apparently I can't lose weight.
Helpful answer: My weight went up, perhaps temporarily, due to hormonal reasons or for some other reason. If my weight doesn't come down next week, I'll call my assistant and ask him to meet with me to review my eating plans. Perhaps I am making some mistakes. Perhaps I need to reduce my calorie intake or exercise even more. I must not lose my decisive spirit

Friends, most of our problems are in our heads. The problem of overeating is a problem of habits. And in our eating habits, we exercise diligently 3 times a day, and sometimes more often. Everything is embedded in the subconscious, and it is useless to fight it. But if you understand how it works, you can adapt and win the whole process.

Each chapter of the book contains a subtitle "What do you think?"

Judith Beck's important innovative idea to identify “sabotage thoughts.” Those habitual thoughts that lead to internal sabotage, breakdowns, and making weight loss impossible. Judith reveals this idea and gives tips on how to respond. Forewarned is forearmed.

Every day the task is to read the “Advantage Card” at least 2 times a day. And this is an incredibly powerful move - training the subconscious. We set up our subconscious to be slim, to want to achieve our goal with all our hearts. We give it direction, and then success is inevitable.

This is not a diet book. You can choose any healthy diet. You just need to plan your meals in advance, know when and what you will eat.

The book is full of practical advice that works.

How to avoid the temptation to eat something extra?
How not to retreat?
What to do with emotions?
What to do in case of a breakdown? and so on.

Dr. Judith Beck tried to prevent all the questions, all the difficulties that will arise for a person who is trying to cope with overeating. And she offers a solution.

We just need to follow the advice.

I hope the book helps you as it helps me!

Thank you for stopping by)

This book is not a textbook on medicine. All recommendations must be agreed with your doctor.

Preface

Greetings, dear readers! My name is Tanya Steele. No, no, I’m not a foreign bird, life circumstances just so happened that my dad is Swedish by nationality, hence my surname, which is a little unusual to the Russian ear. I consider myself 99% Russian. Yes, I lived in Sweden for some time, I know Swedish. But still, I am writing a book in Russian and for Russian women.

I think you are wondering who am I? I am a certified nutritionist (Swedish diploma) and a certified journalist (Russian diploma). Both in Sweden and in Russia I worked and am working in these two specialties.

Why did I become a nutritionist? I don’t even know... Actually, as a child I dreamed of becoming an actress, I wanted to be beautiful and famous. I managed to become attractive and popular, but I’m not offended by the result. Since childhood, I have been attracted to beautiful people, I really liked admiring them, and I received true pleasure from contemplating living beauty. As I got older, I realized that beautiful people don't have to be thin. When I was at school, I had a wonderful girlfriend of amazing beauty and amazing ugliness. How can it be both at the same time, you ask? It’s very simple: my friend’s face was simply beautiful: expressive, although not very large eyes, an upturned nose, a beautifully contoured mouth, a natural blush all over her cheek - in general, such a future Russian beauty, if only... If not for that fact, that Zhenechka was about six times thicker than me. The girls did not attach any importance to this, but the boys teased me very offensively. As you understand, the worst began in adolescence. What girl wants to be a “fat trust”? Of course not! And Zhenya had very serious problems with both self-esteem and personal life. After school, our paths diverged, now I don’t even know how my former classmate’s personal life turned out.

And so, when the question of choosing a profession arose, I realized that I really wanted to help people become more beautiful and, accordingly, happier. And 15 years ago, the specialty of nutritionist was practically new - so I decided to embark on this unknown path.

In general, the practice of a nutritionist is a path of trial, success, error and working on mistakes. This term is relatively new. A nutritionist is a doctor who has studied dietetics, the science of nutrition. People began to study dietetics long before the term itself appeared. Hippocrates already noted that proper nutrition should be part of the healing process, and the Roman physician Asclepiades generally believed that drugs were useless, and the main thing was proper nutrition. In the 17th century, the English physician Sydenham developed diets for obesity and gout. Botkin and Pirogov, who participated in the development of diets for patients, had a great influence on the development of dietetics.

Now, unfortunately, the word “diet” is perceived exclusively in the meaning of “the process of losing weight.”

I think it's worth remembering that this word is derived from the Greek diaita, which means lifestyle, diet. Diet is not about exhausting yourself with low-calorie, tasteless foods, but proper healthy eating.

If you decide to lose weight, remember: this is not torture, not suffering, and not a denial of all the joys of life! This is a new beginning that will lead you to a new life full of joy, strength and good mood!

I think it's time to throw away the stereotypes imposed by the media regarding diets. Let's start a new life - a life with an ideal figure and without diets!

To lose weight or not to lose weight – that is the question!

The horrors of our town, or what diets lead to

Mistakes of youth

I’ll start with a personal example - it’s always easier. When I was at university, all the girls, as usual, lost weight. Why? Don't know. It’s just that everyone was losing weight, because everyone was losing weight. Rice diets, fasting days, trips to the forests “for survival” (this is when you take a loaf of bread and “Almagel” with you so that your stomach “doesn’t curl up”) - I went through all this. I wasn’t overweight, I just don’t have narrow bones, so with a height of 175, I weighed a stable 62 kg, but it seemed like a lot, and I really wanted to turn size 46 into 44. The most surprising thing for me was that for some reason, when following diets I just gained weight. Therefore, I had to give up the diet and try the so-called “cleansing” of the body - that is, a hunger strike. No, I couldn’t torture myself, my beloved, for a long time - I starved once a week. These weight loss efforts ended when, once returning from lectures, I almost lost consciousness and had to hide in the bushes and spit bile there. That day I could barely drag my feet home and swore that I would somehow manage without going on a hunger strike. Fortunately, I stopped in time before I ruined my stomach.

And with my classmate, who could not stop the craving for weight loss, not very pleasant things happened. What did Olgunchik eat? Breakfast – an egg and some “vegetables” – and that’s it! She drank a lot of water. Juices – by no means, because this is also food. As a result, Olgunchik was all glowing and staggering in the wind. Against the backdrop of such a struggle for her figure, or rather for her bones, the educational process began to suffer - Olgunchik found it very difficult to concentrate on lectures, and in the end she achieved such amazing enlightenment that the teachers “pushed” her “C” and “B” out of fear, that she was about to faint from hunger. At some point, Olgunchik decided that she was already quite beautiful, attractive and thin and it was time to start eating something more substantial, for example two eggs a day. But... I couldn't. Her games of hunger strike dragged on for too long, and she didn’t even notice how anorexia had quietly crept up on her. Olgunchik had to “surrender” to the hands of doctors. She eventually began to eat little by little, but her metabolism and hormonal levels were very significantly disrupted. As a result, she underwent treatment in Germany, fortunately she had good relatives living there. It took her 4 years to recover from her diets.

Woman-boy - good or bad?

My friend Lenka has always been thin with short hair - such a “tomboy”, either a girl or a boy. No, her orientation was fine - it was just her “constitution”. Lenka got married, gave birth to a child, and gained a little weight. She and I go to the same women’s doctor, so our doctor Galina Stepanovna was very happy about Lenka’s postpartum appearance, she clasped her hands, hugged Lenka and congratulated her on the fact that she had become “like a woman.” Lenka, of course, didn’t like this, she didn’t want to be a woman, but wanted to continue to be a “tomboy.” She honestly breastfed her “baby” for a year, and then “gave up” with this matter and went on a diet. And again - skinny.

The moment came - Lenka wanted a second child. I went to Galina Stepanovna to get checked just in case. She said that everything was fine, that the child would turn out, and finally added: “Lena, I just beg you, gain at least 3 kilograms!” Of course, Lenka gave up on this. In general, the process of “conceiving children” took a long time for her and her husband. Six months - nothing works. A year - and no results. Ovulation tests have already been purchased, everything happens at the most opportune moment, according to science. My husband has already passed a spermogram test - and it turned out that he is a real “seasoned male”. Lenka already took vitamins - and nothing. She went again to Galina Stepnovna. And she says to her: “Lena, you have the last option - become a woman, gain a little weight, or you will have to be fertilized in a hospital setting.” Lenka can’t stand hospitalization, so she finally decided to “get off” all kinds of diets. Several months passed, Lenka became a little rounder, or rather not even rounded, but smoothed out her angularities. That’s when everything worked out - and on time she gave birth to a lovely girl.

WHAT do men want?

Who will men prefer: the “curvy” Scarlett Johansson or a size zero lady, such as, say, Victoria Beckham?

Experts from the University of St. Andrews conducted the study and published the results in the journal Perception. Male students participated in the survey.

The study showed that men prefer women of “normal” weight and size with pleasant body curves to thin women who seem to be in fashion now. But men find a body like Scarlett Johansson or Kate Winslet more attractive and desirable.

Professor David Perrett notes on this issue: “The results of the experiment should serve as a powerful signal to all girls who believe that thinness is more attractive. The men who served as experts in our study were in the 18 to 26 age group, and they did not find thin girls more attractive. They preferred girls with normal weight."

Oh, these children!

My friend has a beautiful daughter: 19 years old, breast size four, butt - forty-four. Not a girl - a sight for sore eyes! Of course, there is no end to the gentlemen. This beauty went on vacation with her friend at the seaside in the summer. He arrives in a panic: “Mom, my period is late!” Let's not be hypocrites, who knows what can happen to beautiful young people in the south? But the girl knew how to protect herself, and pregnancy tests showed a negative result. She went to a women's doctor - no problems were found. To one, to another doctor - it’s not clear what the problem is!

Once in a conversation, the young lady mentioned that she and her friend were “on a kefir diet” in the south. Her mother pounced on her: “Why?” The answer was quite childish: “For company: Veronica was sitting, and so was I...” It’s nothing that Veronica’s butt size fluctuates between 48 and 50. In general, the girl played the fool. The result is a hormonal imbalance.

Dear readers, you ask me: “Why are you telling us these horror stories? Are we not going to lose weight? NO! We won't lose weight! We will eat and at the same time we will have ideal figures. How? You will find out everything. Have patience!

My Swedish experience

Don’t think anything bad, I haven’t tried living with three people, I’m for traditional family relationships. Therefore, now I have a third husband, and I love him very much. It’s just that in Sweden I worked and continue to work as a nutritionist.

I once thought, why do I love my homeland? And I realized: because only in Russia there are such a huge number of beautiful and, as people say, “interesting” women. Yes, I love men, but contemplating beautiful women - even tired after work, in a crowded transport - is still a pleasure, and it is in such moments of contemplation that I feel proud of the Russian nation and remember Nekrasov’s lines about how “the horse is on I’m galloping,” and “to a hot hut.”

It seems to me that there are few beautiful women in Europe. I won’t talk about America - I haven’t been there. And I have traveled all over Europe. Someone tells legends about beautiful Polish women. Don't believe it! You and I are better.

What am I talking about? And besides, there are also few beautiful women in Sweden. And there are few of them not because they were born that way, but because they made themselves that way. It is customary among Swedes (as well as among Finns) that in their youth they are cute “reeds” (with rare exceptions). At 20–25 they blossom, and then they get married and, as we say in Russia, “get laid.” Their faces cease to be expressive, they are in no hurry to cover up the gray hair that has appeared, their figures become completely shapeless (yes, not full, but shapeless). Hence the choice of clothes - beige-gray tones and “robed” silhouettes of their wardrobe. Why is this happening? It’s all very simple: they fulfilled the main function of a woman - they created a family, and then the grass wouldn’t grow! What does this lead to? Moreover, their Swedish husbands are looking for joy on the side, and most of all they are most willing to “console” with attractive foreign women, among whom there are Russian young ladies. I know what I am saying. My family is a typical example of this hobby. Dad became interested in my mother, an “interesting” Russian woman, divorced his Swedish wife and married my mother. The example of my family is far from unique. The midlife crisis among Swedish men leads to the fact that they want to live the second half of their lives “for their own pleasure and beautifully” (that’s what my dad says). And you can live beautifully with a beautiful wife. What remains for Swedish divorced young ladies? They are left to talk about feminism, and accuse the men who tried to talk to them of “brazen harassment.” But this is for the time being. It seems like this young lady has been a feminist for several years, but something needs to be done, in the end, we need to give birth to a child. And here a problem arises with a partner, or rather with his absence. And here girls and women try to find a panacea for their troubles: one undergoes plastic surgery, another goes to a cosmetologist, a third goes to a psychotherapist, and a fourth goes to a nutritionist (nutritionists, by the way, are also psychotherapists).

The young ladies who turned to me for help wanted to get recipes for miracle diets from me. And they received them. There are a huge number of diets; we selected diets from those foods that they like best. The result did not take long to arrive: after a while the girls had a waist, their figure acquired attractive shapes over time... I was proud of my results. One thing upset me: after six months, after a year, after two, the girls returned and demanded a new miraculous diet. They left with a new diet, then came to me and boasted about the results, and then it all started all over again - weight gain and the same shapeless figure in the end. It turned out to be some kind of vicious circle!

At first I thought that I should try a diet developed by Swedish nutritionists. What foods do Swedes eat most often? Potatoes, buckwheat, vegetables, milk, fruits. Which ones are smaller? Meat. It is on this taste preference that the Swedish national diet was developed.

Swedish diet

Lunch: 100 g cheese. Salad of tomatoes, green bell peppers, onions. A glass of milk, a spoon of honey.

Dinner: 3 boiled potatoes, 200 g of boiled grated beets, seasoned with sour cream, a piece of wholemeal bread.

Breakfast: a glass of milk, 100 g of buckwheat porridge.

Lunch: 250 g of boiled fish. 2 boiled potatoes. A bowl of green salad dressed with olive oil.

Dinner: 200 g of shredded white cabbage salad, seasoned with olive oil and soy sauce. 1-2 hard-boiled eggs, a glass of milk.

Breakfast: a glass of milk, 60 g of cheese, a small piece of wholemeal bread.

Lunch: 250 g of fried chicken, 100 g of salad from any raw vegetables, a glass of apple juice.

Dinner: 150 g mashed potatoes, 80 g cheese. A small piece of wholemeal bread, a glass of milk.

Breakfast: a glass of apple juice, 2 croutons, a spoonful of honey.

Lunch: 100 g of buckwheat porridge, a small piece of boiled meat, 150–200 g of apples and oranges.

Dinner: 100 g of rice, 150 g of tomato salad dressed with olive oil, a glass of milk.

Breakfast: a glass of yogurt, an orange.

Lunch: meat cutlet, 100 g of boiled potatoes, a cup of tea.

Dinner: 150 g of strawberries or oranges, 200 g of any fruit (apples, pears, plums, kiwi, etc.), a glass of apple juice.

Breakfast: a glass of milk, 200 g of buckwheat porridge.

Lunch: 150 g of boiled potatoes, 150 g of boiled meat, apple, orange.

Dinner: 100 g of rice, 200 g of cabbage salad, cucumbers, green bell pepper, dressed with olive oil.

Breakfast: a glass of milk, 150 g of rice porridge.

Lunch: 200 g of boiled or fried fish, 100 g of boiled potatoes, an apple and an orange, a cup of orange juice.

Dinner: 150 g of boiled lean meat, a salad of any raw vegetables, a slice of black bread, an apple, a glass of apple juice.

And this diet worked... for a while.

Yes, I acted like a specialist and did not listen to my inner feelings. And when I listened, I heard the following. My inner voice reminded me how, once upon a time in childhood, my Russian grandmother Taya overfed me with semolina porridge and since then I can’t stand this porridge. I imagined myself in the place of a person who “sits” on a Swedish diet, and I realized that after a month of such a life you can begin to hate the very healthy and tasty (in small quantities) innocent buckwheat.

Then I thought that probably it was not in the stomach, but in the head. Is there any other way to trick your appetite? For example, using... color.

Have you ever wondered why the decor of many fast food establishments is made in orange tones, and in some expensive restaurants you will find bright turquoise curtains combined with discreet snow-white table decorations? It turns out that orange and turquoise are the most “gluttonous” colors; they act on the appetite as a high-quality aperitif. Yes, the warm, energizing orange color will provoke you to buy, in addition to fries, a cheeseburger, which you initially did not even think about buying, and to top it off, ice cream with caramel. And turquoise will help relieve nervous tension, calm you down and awaken the thought: something delicious to please yourself with, and you will order the most luxurious dessert, although initially you did not want sweets at all.

This, of course, applies to one-time visits to various establishments where you eat. Imagine what could happen if your kitchen was in orange tones (people with an iron will, of course, do not count).

While researching the effects of color on appetite, I came across the idea of my German colleagues that pink and gray tones in kitchen decoration help food lovers take their minds off food. We conducted an experiment with two of my patients who were ready to do anything for the sake of an ideal figure, even remodeling the kitchen. Eva, with a height of 162 cm, weighed 67 kg and dreamed of consistently weighing about 60 kg. Astrid, with a height of 170 cm, weighed 80 kg and dreamed of weighing 65. Both of these women invited designers to their apartments (fortunately, the funds allowed them to do this), and their kitchens were remodeled and repainted. Astrid and Eva admitted to me that keeping a diet in the pink and gray walls of the kitchen is much easier for them. I wonder, I thought, if I told them that a white kitchen suppresses appetite, would they be able to tolerate a diet in white walls more easily? And then for the first time I thought about the fact that perhaps our extra pounds are our wrong thoughts, incorrect self-acceptance. This guess, of course, required verification. In the meantime, Eva, Astrid and I continued to work on their figures in completely different directions. Considering that color affects our taste buds (for example, yellow increases the secretion of saliva, green causes increased acidity, and red is associated with sweets), we replaced all kitchenware with classic white porcelain, and cutlery became strict steel knives and spoons and forks. Yes, in addition to the fact that we changed the color of the dishes, we also changed their volume. All plates - both deep and shallow - became half the size. Agree that you can put a little food on a small plate and it will already be full: in this way the illusion of satiety is created, that is, we can deceive our stomach. Yes, but in this case we will deceive the stomach not with the help of diets, but also with the help of our brain, which conceived all this deception.

Swedish scientists have found that not all types of bread “fill us up.” Some even allow you to control your hunger! Experts have studied the composition of bakery products made from various grains. It turned out that rye bread, contrary to popular belief, is very healthy. Rye and barley slow down the digestion of food, which allows you to stay full for a long time. Also, moderate consumption of rye bread does not contribute to the accumulation of extra pounds.

So, what did all these global life changes for Eva and Astrid lead to? Eva got her dream weight, and Astrid even “lost” two kilograms more than she planned. Their results “held” stably and for a long time. Of course, they also achieved the desired results with the help of diets.

I was pleased with the results, but this method of losing weight and consistently maintaining the desired results was only possible for wealthy Swedish women. I’m not sure that wealthy Russian women would want to “get confused” so globally, let alone the middle class.

And then I came across an advertisement in the newspaper: “Lose weight with hypnosis!” I thought: if you can lose weight with the help of hypnosis, then you can also lose weight with the help of self-hypnosis? Of course, if you repeat: “I’ll lose weight, I’ll lose weight, I’m already losing weight” and at the same time overeat on buns with whipped cream, your figure is unlikely to improve. But maybe, by setting goals and objectives correctly, we will be able to get closer to the cherished 90? 60? 90? Wait, why exactly to 90? 60? 90?

We talked about physical activity on the pages dedicated to our favorite exercises, let's now focus on self-love and proper nutrition.

I’ll admit right away that I personally don’t like diets. In my opinion, this is very boring. It is much more correct, it seems to me, to choose the healthiest, lowest-calorie foods from a huge variety of foods and eat them. And food such as cakes, pies with cream, fried potatoes, salads with mayonnaise should be left out of our lives.

How to determine how safe are the numerous diets that are offered to your attention in large quantities? Learn a few simple rules that will help you understand that diet can be harmful to your health.

So, a diet is not healthy if: 1) it requires strict combinations of products; 2) any product or their group is completely excluded from the diet; 3) you are offered to exclude any of the macronutrients from your diet - proteins, fats or carbohydrates; 4) weight loss will be more than 10 kilograms in three weeks.

What's the most important thing here? Of course, discipline. Remember how we learned to discipline our mind: all negative, annoying, angry thoughts - away! And positive, kind, creative people are welcome! Constant control over thoughts changes life in the direction that you and I choose. Any thought is a building material for subsequent events in real life.

Remember, my beautiful ones, that the world is ruled by Reason! If you learn to control your own mind, you will learn to control your world!

Do not believe the ridiculous claims that a person needs to eat well to relieve stress.

Conversation between two friends: “What do you eat when you’re nervous? I love chips” – “And every time I have a fight with my boyfriend, I eat a whole can of ice cream. And I know it’s harmful, but I can’t stop.”

As a result, a quarrel, which no one will remember in a few days, causes irreparable harm to the figure and the body as a whole. Because a person who respects and values his health will never eat chips, especially in large quantities. And ice cream is good little by little and occasionally, but not every day.

In other words, we again come to the conclusion that Following the rules of a healthy diet is, first of all:

It's a matter of your own choice;

The result of self-discipline;

Knowledge of which foods are healthy and which are harmful.

Therefore, let's stop complaining once and for all and not refer to genetic predisposition, but admit that our figure is in our magical hands. Of course, if there are no serious health problems. If there are any, you should still consult a doctor first.

There is a common belief that over the years a daughter begins to resemble her mother more and more. That is, if after thirty years the mother has acquired excess weight and other “charms” of age, then the daughter will inevitably expect the same. But in fact, genetics in this regard has been seriously improved by fitness in our time. Methods for improving your figure work flawlessly. The combination of a healthy, balanced diet and exercise will allow you to always be in great shape at any age! It's just a matter of your character and desire!

So, we take responsibility for our own health and figure into our own gentle hands and think: are we doing everything right if, when we look in the mirror, we want to reduce the image by half? Apparently something is not quite right. Sport and fitness are a great thing, but what we eat is very important.

It’s funny for me to remember, but in my own life there was a time when I returned in the evening after training from the fitness club, sat down at the table and washed down a hearty dinner with two glasses of Coca-Cola! After that, I was surprised that for some reason the results of strenuous exercise were not visible on my body and it even seemed that I had gained weight.

Still, it would be nice to connect your brains to physical exercises.

Sweet carbonated drinks are clearly not healthy foods. But clean water is always good. Those who know me have probably noticed that in the car, at seminars, and while working at the computer, I always have a bottle of spring water and glasses at hand.