Weight-Loss Barriers & action guide

Action Guide to Weight-Loss Barriers

(Article from FSB Associates)

By the weight-loss experts at Mayo Clinic and Donald Hensrud, M.D., M.P.H; Authors of The Mayo Clinic Diet: Eat well. Enjoy life. Lose weight.

Long term success with a weight program sometimes follows a bumpy, uneven path. Many obstacles can keep you from achieving a more healthy weight.

Learning to identify potential roadblocks and confront personal temptations is an important part of being successful in losing weight. To make it past the rough spots, it's important to have strategies ready to guide your response as problems arise.

This easy-to-use action guide identifies common weight-loss barriers and practical strategies for overcoming them. If you find a strategy that helps you, include it with your weight-loss program.

The barriers are grouped into three categories: nutrition, physical activity and behaviors. To lose weight -- and to maintain that weight loss -- it's important that you address all of these components.

Behaviors obstacle
I've tried to lose weight before, but it didn't work. Now, I don't have confidence that it'll work this time.

For many people, losing weight will be one of life's most difficult challenges. Don't be discouraged if you've tried losing weight in the past and you weren't able to -- or you lost weight but gained it all back. Many people experiment with several different weight-loss plans before they find an approach that works.

Strategies 
Following these tips may help you succeed this time around.

• Think of losing weight as a positive experience, not a negative one. Approaching weight loss with a positive attitude will help you succeed.
  
  
• Set realistic expectations for yourself. Focus on behavioral changes and don't focus too much on weight changes.
  
  
• Use problem-solving techniques. Write down the obstacles that you experienced in previous attempts to lose weight, and come up with strategies for dealing with those obstacles.
  
  
• Make small, not drastic, changes to your lifestyle. Adjustments that are too intense or vigorous can make you uncomfortable and cause you to give up.
  
  
• Accept the fact that you'll have setbacks. Believe in yourself. Instead of giving up entirely, simply start fresh the next day.

Behaviors obstacle
I eat when I'm stressed, depressed or bored.

Sometimes your most intense longings for food happen right when you're at your weakest emotional points. Many people turn to food for comfort -- be it consciously or unconsciously -- when they're dealing with difficult problems or looking for something to distract their minds.

Strategies
To help keep food out of your mood, try these suggestions.

• Try to distract yourself from eating by calling a friend, running an errand or going for a walk. When you can focus your mind on something else, the food cravings quickly go away.
  
  
• Don't keep comfort foods in the house. If you turn to high-fat, high-calorie foods whenever you're upset or depressed, make an effort to get rid of them.
  
  
• Identify your mood. Often the urge to eat can be attributed to a specific mood and not to physical hunger.
  
  
• When you feel down, make an attempt to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. For example, write down all of the positive qualities about yourself and what you plan to achieve by losing weight.

Behaviors obstacle
I have a hard time not eating when I'm watching television, a movie or a live sporting event.

There's nothing inherently wrong with eating while watching a show, film or live event, but when you're distracted, you tend to eat mindlessly -- which typically translates into eating more than you intended to eat. If you're unable to break this habit, at least make sure you're munching on something low in calories. 

Strategies
Here are suggestions you might consider.

• If you're at a theater or stadium, order a small bag of popcorn with no butter and work on it slowly.

• Eat something healthy before you leave home so that you're not extremely hungry when you arrive.

• Drink water or a calorie-free beverage instead of having a snack.

• Try to reduce the amount of time that you spend watching television each day. Studies show that TV watching contributes to increased weight.

Behavior obstacle
When I go to parties, I can't resist all of the snacks and hors d'oeuvres.

In most social situations where food is involved, the key is to treat yourself to a few of your favorite hors d'oeuvres, in moderation. If you try to resist the food, your craving will only get stronger and harder to control. By following a few simple strategies, you can enjoy yourself without overeating.

Strategies
Next time you step up to the hors d'oeuvre table, try these strategies.

• Make only one trip and be selective. Decide ahead of time how much you'll eat and choose foods you really want.
  
  
• Treat yourself to one or two samples of high-calorie or fatty foods. Fill up on vegetables and fruits, if you can.
  
  
• Take only small portions. A taste may be all that you need to satisfy your craving.
  
  
• Nibble. If you eat slowly, you'll likely eat less -- but don't nibble all night long.
  
  
• Don't stand next to or sit near the hors d'oeuvre table. As the old saying goes, "Out of sight, out of mind."
  
  
• Eat something healthy before you arrive. If you arrive hungry, you'll be more inclined to overeat.

Behavior obstacle
I'm a late-night snacker.

Avoid eating late at night because loading up on calories right before bed only intensifies the challenge of not overeating. There's less chance for you to be active and burn off those calories until next morning. It's better to eat during the day so that your body has plenty of time to digest the food before you go to bed.

Strategies
Here are suggestions if you often find yourself battling the late-night munchies.

• Make sure you eat three good meals during the day, including a good breakfast. This will help reduce the urge to snack late at night, simply because you won't be so hungry.
  
  
• Don't keep snack foods around the house that may tempt you. If you get late-night munchies, eat fruits, vegetables or other healthy snacks.
  
  
• Find something else to keep you busy in the hours before bedtime, such as listening to music or exercising. Your snacking may be more of a mindless habit than actual hunger.

Behavior obstacle
When I lapse from my eating plan, it's hard for me to get back on track.

Lapses happen. Many times a minor slip -- a busy day when you couldn't find the time to eat right or get exercise -- leads to more slips. That doesn't mean, though, that you've failed and all is lost. Instead of beating yourself up over a lapse, accept that you're going to experience bumps along the way and put the incident behind you. Everyone has lapses. Think back to the initial steps you took when you first began your weight program and put them to use again to help you get back on track.

Strategies
Here are suggestions to prevent a lapse from turning into a full-blown collapse.

• Convince yourself that lapses happen and that every day is a fresh opportunity to start over again.
  
  
• Guilt from the initial lapse often leads to more lapses. Being prepared for them and having a plan to deal with them is important to your success.
  
  
• Keep your response simple. Focus on the things that you know you can do and stick with them. Gradually add more healthy changes until you're back on track.
  
  
• Open up an old food record and follow it. Use those meals like a menu to help get you back to a healthy eating routine.

The above is an excerpt from the book The Mayo Clinic Diet: Eat well. Enjoy life. Lose weight., by the weight-loss experts at Mayo Clinic and Donald Hensrud, M.D., M.P.H. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.Reprinted from The Mayo Clinic Diet, © 2010 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Good Books (www.GoodBooks.com). Used by permission. All rights reserved.

About Donald Hensrud, M.D.
Donald Hensrud, M.D., M.P.H., is chair of the Division of Preventive, Occupational, and Aerospace Medicine and a consultant in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. He is also an associate professor of preventive medicine and nutrition at the College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. A specialist in nutrition and weight management, Dr. Hensrud advises individuals on how to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. He conducts research in weight management, and he writes and lectures widely on nutrition-related topics. He helped publish two award-winning Mayo Clinic cookbooks.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy that the needs of the patient come first. Over 3,600 physicians and scientists and 50,000 allied staff work at Mayo, which has sites in Rochester, Minn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively, Mayo Clinic treats more than 500,000 patients a year.

For more than 100 years, millions of people from all walks of life have found answers at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic works with many insurance companies, does not require a physician referral in most cases and is an in-network provider for millions of people.

For more information, please visit www.goodbooks.com/

mayoclinicdiet.

Serotonin is nature's weight loss appetite suppressant

 

(Thanks to FSB Associates for this article. The contents of this book is very thought provoking. I never knew the power of serotonin.  I was very impressed with the 70 plus recipes in this book given to help you follow their eating plan. I think a lot of diet/healthy eating books forget how important this is for the reader. The quick meals and foods to have on hand was most helpful. I was also impressed that they included "Road Blocks" and "Road Block Assistance" which is a critical lifesaver when you are trying to change your eating habits.  Enjoy the article.)

Serotonin: What It is and Why It's Important for Weight Loss
By Judith J. Wurtman, PhD and Nina T. Frusztajer, MD,
Authors of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain

Serotonin is nature's own appetite suppressant. This powerful brain chemical curbs cravings and shuts off appetite. It makes you feel satisfied even if your stomach is not full. The result is eating less and losing weight.
A natural mood regulator, serotonin makes you feel emotionally stable, less anxious, more tranquil and even more focused and energetic.

Serotonin can be made only after sweet or starchy carbohydrates are eaten.

More than 30 years ago, extensive studies at MIT carried out by Richard Wurtman, M.D., showed that tryptophan, the building block of serotonin, could get into the brain only after sweet or starchy carbohydrates were eaten. Although tryptophan is an amino acid and found in all protein, eating protein prevents tryptophan from passing through a barrier from the blood into the brain. The reason is simply numbers: Tryptophan competes for an entry point into the brain with some other amino acids. There are more of those other amino acids in the blood than tryptophan after protein is eaten. So in the competition to get into the brain, tryptophan is at a total disadvantage and very little gets in after a protein meal like turkey or snack like yogurt.

But carbohydrates tip the odds in tryptophan's favor. All carbohydrates (except fruit) are digested to glucose in the intestinal tract. When glucose enters the bloodstream, insulin is released and pushes nutrients such as amino acids into the cells of the heart, liver and other organs. As it does this, tryptophan stays behind in the bloodstream. Now there is more tryptophan in the blood than the competing amino acids. As the blood passes by the barrier into the brain, tryptophan can get in. The tryptophan is immediately converted to serotonin, and the soothing and appetite controlling effects of this brain chemical are soon felt.

Our studies with volunteers found that when people consumed a pre-meal carbohydrate drink that made more serotonin, they became less hungry and were able to control their calorie intake. Volunteers whose drinks contained protein -- so that serotonin was not made -- did not experience any decrease in their appetite.

Most of us have experienced the carbohydrate-serotonin effect on our appetite even though we were not aware of the connection. Have you ever munched on rolls or bread while waiting for the main course to be served in a restaurant? By the time dinner is served, twenty minutes or so after you ate the roll, your appetite has been downsized. "I don't even feel that hungry" is a common response when the plate is put down on the table.
This blunting of appetite is not because you may have eaten 120 calories of roll. It is caused by new serotonin putting a brake on your appetite.

Successful weight loss depends on the power of serotonin to control food intake.

The carbohydrate-serotonin connection has a direct impact on our emotional state, too. Drugs that increase serotonin activity have been used for several decades as a therapy for mood disorders. However, our studies showed that natural changes in serotonin could have a profound impact on daily fluctuations in mood, energy levels and attention. In one of our early studies, we found that our volunteers became slightly depressed, anxious, tired, and irritable around 3 to 5 pm every day. At the same time, they experienced, in the words of one volunteer "a jaw-aching need to eat something sweet or starchy." Several studies later, we were able to state that late afternoon seems to be a universal carbohydrate-craving time, and people who experience this craving use carbohydrates to "self-medicate" themselves. Carbohydrate cravers who consume a sweet or starchy snack are increasing serotonin naturally.

We carried out careful clinical studies to measure the effect of carbohydrates on mood and to make sure that the effect was not just due to taste or the effect of taking a break from work. Volunteers, all carbohydrate cravers, were given a carbohydrate or protein- containing food or drink that had identical tastes. Their moods, concentration and energy were measured before and after they consumed the test beverages. The carbohydrate serotonin-producing beverage improved their moods but the protein-containing beverage had no effect on either their mood or their appetite.

Eating carbohydrates allows serotonin to restore your good mood and increase your emotional energy.

Eating low or fat-free, protein-free carbohydrates in the correct amounts and at specific times potentiates serotonin's ability to increase satiety. You will eat less, feel more satisfied and lose weight.

Here are five tips to get serotonin working for you:

1. Eat the carbohydrate on an empty stomach to avoid interference from protein from a previous meal or snack. Wait about 3 hours after a meal containing protein.
2. The carbohydrate food such as graham crackers or pretzels should contain between 25-35 grams of carbohydrate. The carbohydrate can be sweet or starchy. High-fiber carbohydrates take a long time to digest and are not recommended for a rapid improvement in mood or decrease in pre-meal appetite. Eat them as part of the daily food plan instead for their nutritional value.
3. The protein content of the snack should not exceed 4 grams.
4. To avoid eating too many calories and slowing down digestion, avoid snacks containing more than 3 grams of fat.
5. Do not continue to eat after you have consumed the correct amount of food. It will take about 20-40 minutes for you to feel the effect. Eating more carbohydrates during the interval is unnecessary and may cause weight gain.

Stress may increase your need for serotonin and make it harder to control food intake. Prevent this by shifting protein intake to the early part of the day; i.e. protein for breakfast and lunch and switching to carbohydrates by late afternoon. Eating a carbohydrate dinner with very little protein increases serotonin sufficiently to prevent after dinner nibbling. And the soothing effect of the serotonin prevents stress from interfering with sleep.

Boost Serotonin to switch off your appetite and turn on a good mood.

©2009 Judith J. Wurtman, PhD and Nina T. Frusztajer, MD, authors of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain
Author Bios
Judith J. Wurtman, PhD, co-author of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain, has discovered the connection between carbohydrate craving, serotonin, and emotional well-being in her MIT clinical studies. She received her PhD from George Washington University, is the founder of a Harvard University hospital weight-loss facility and counsels private weight management clients. She has written five books, including The Serotonin Solution, and more than 40 peer-reviewed articles for professional publications. She lives in Miami Beach, Florida.

Nina T. Frusztajer, MD, co-author of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain, counsels private weight management clients and is a practicing physician and certified professional life coach. She received her master's degree in Nutrition from Columbia University and her medical degree from George Washington University. She lives in Boston, MA.

For more information, please visit www.SerotoninPowerDiet.


Check out "Reversing Weight Gain".  It is very informative!

Reversing Antidepressant Weight Gain

Reversing Antidepressant Weight Gain. Antidepressants have been associated with weight gain since they were first used about 50 years ago. 

Reversing Antidepressant Weight Gain

(Thanks to FSB Associates for this article!)
By Judith J. Wurtman, PhD,
Co-author of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain

Tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) relieved depression but left patients considerably heavier as a consequence of treatment. One in particular, amitryptyline, was associated with uncontrollable sugar cravings. When Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Blockers (SSRIs) were introduced as the new generation of antidepressants, it was hoped that weight gain would not be a problem. Unfortunately this expectation has not been realized. Clinician were optimistic about Prozac, the first of the SSRIs, as patients lost weight during the early months of treatment. Prozac was viewed not only as an effective mood regulator but a potential weight-loss drug as well. It was tested in a national study and although weight loss did occur early in the study, weight gain followed. By the end of the study, patients on the drug weighed the same as they had before starting the program.

The potential to cause weight gain is not limited to Prozac; at this point there is no effective antidepressant that does not have the potential to cause weight gain. Moreover, drugs used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia may leave the patient with l00 or more unwanted pounds.

There is still no explanation of how the drugs interfere with appetite and weight regulation. Some animal studies focusing on drugs like Zyprexa that cause substantial weight gain suggest that the drug interferes with other brain chemicals such as histamine or a sub-group of serotonin-containing cells, thereby promoting hunger. But so far no one understands how drugs like Zoloft, Paxil, Lexapro or Prozac are able to limit or prevent control over food intake.

Several years ago, I was asked to set up and run a weight management center at McLean Hospital, a psychiatric facility associated with Harvard Medical School. Our clients were drawn from the surrounding communities but what many had in common was weight gain during treatment with psychotropic drugs; some took two or three medications. What was striking about their problem is that almost all had been thin before starting on their medications. Before getting sick, these men and women never had emotional issues with food. They ate healthily, had never been on diet, and tended to enjoy exercise. All were startled by the change in their eating habits and, of course, in their bodies. Weight gain ranged between 15 and 40 pounds for those on antidepressants and between 75 and 125 pounds for those on mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotic drugs. What they all had in common was the inability to turn off their urge to eat, regardless of how much food they were consuming.

Since then, as now, no one really knew how to deal with this type of weight gain we decided to try an approach that had worked with typical obese clients. We knew from our research and previous clinical experience that increasing serotonin synthesis increased satiety. The SSRIs that theoretically should have activated this serotoninergic function was doing just the opposite, i.e. causing the patients to feel a chronic need to eat.

All carbohydrates with the exception of fructose (fruit sugar) will lead to an increase in serotonin synthesis if the carbohydrate is consumed without protein. The process involves the uptake into the brain of the amino acid tryptophan, the precursor to serotonin. Insulin release after carbohydrate digestion removes from the circulation other amino acids that compete with tryptophan for brain uptake. Tryptophan enters the brain easily and is quickly converted into serotonin. Protein consumption, even if eaten along with carbohydrates, floods the circulation with these competitor amino acids and tryptophan, the scarcest amino acid in protein, does not get into the brain.

Thus the diet we developed to increase serotonin synthesis consisted of scheduled consumption of easily digested carbohydrates during the day and in the evening. Clients were given a carbohydrate-containing beverage previously developed at an MIT research study to drink late in the morning, late in the afternoon and if needed about two hours before bedtime. The drink contained a mixture of fast and slowly digesting carbohydrates and no fat or protein. Clients were also given a list of carbohydrate snack foods that could substitute for the drink. In addition we gave the clients a nutrient-rich, reduced calorie food plan to follow. They were also encouraged to resume the exercise some of them had abandoned after gaining weight.

The satiating effects of the increased serotonin synthesis were felt within an hour or so of consuming the carbohydrate drink. Our clients told us that the nagging need to eat went away. They had no trouble following the reduced-calorie food plan because they were not hungry. And they lost weight, despite continuing on the medications that had caused their weight gain.

This approach to reversing antidepressant weight gain, now detailed in The Serotonin Power Diet, is simple and effective. For maximum efficacy, it should be put in place at the start of treatment so that weight gain can be prevented. However, because consuming carbohydrates is such an integral part of the plan, those whose medications have caused them to develop obesity-associated diabetes cannot use it without supervision by a dietician.

One interesting benefit of this approach to weight loss is that many of our clients reported simply feeling better. They told us they felt calmer, less anxious, slept better and were more relaxed. The opposite was also reported by some of our clients who had been told to avoid eating carbohydrates by their physicians in order to lose weight. Many reported a worsening of their mood and one told us that she contemplated suicide after being taken off carbohydrates.

It is hoped that soon there will be a new class of drugs to regulate mood disorders without causing the distress of weight gain. But in the meanwhile, the best solution to this weight gain is to take advantage of serotonin’s ability to turn off the appetite by simply eating therapeutic amounts of carbohydrates.

© 2010 Judith J. Wurtman, PhD, co-author of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain

Author Bio
Judith J. Wurtman, PhD, co-author of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain, has discovered the connection between carbohydrate craving, serotonin, and emotional well-being in her MIT clinical studies. She received her PhD from George Washington University, is the founder of a Harvard University hospital weight-loss facility and counsels private weight management clients. She has written five books, including The Serotonin Solution, and more than 40 peer-reviewed articles for professional publications. She lives in Miami Beach, Florida.

Want to know more? Check out Serotonin:  Nature's own appetite suppressant or visit www.SerotoninPowerDiet.com

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