 |  Gillie Bonner
Gillie lectures in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at London Metropolitan University. She qualified as a dietitian in 1992 and later joined Professor Christopher Fairburn's research team at the University of Oxford on a project testing psychological techniques for the management of the overweight. She uses cognitive - behavioural therapy techniques to help people make and sustain dietary changes. She now works as a Lecturer in Human Nutrition and Dietetics at London Metropolitan University, carrying out research into the use of cognitive-behavioural therapy techniques by dietitians.
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- Keep a diary.
Recording what you eat/drink and/or your activity serves two purposes. Firstly, it gives you information about what is really happening and why. Keeping a record helps you feel in control.
- Have guidelines, not rules.
Trying to stop eating chocolate altogether, or to go for a run 365 days a year is destined for disaster. It's great to set goals, but it's vital that they are realistic, and that you are flexible in your approach.
- If you have a favourite food plan it, don't ban it!
This way, you can take control of how much of it you eat, and when. Then you can go ahead and enjoy it, guilt-free. If you ban it, it becomes more and more tempting until you have a splurge and then feel awful.
- If you've got a craving, but you know you aren't really hungry, try doing a distracting activity.
- Work out what the food is doing for you, and meet that need another way. Munching something is often a response to boredom, stress, or tiredness. Try listening to some of your favourite music, or making a phone call to a friend.
- When you have a negative thought (e.g. I'll never be able to stick to this diet/exercise plan, I always mess up everything I do), Try asking yourself:
- What is the evidence for this?
- Is there another way of looking at this?
- How would I see it if a friend were in this situation?
Try thinking more positively and think of a time when you have stuck at a difficult situation before.
- If you eat an extra packet of crisps or miss the gym you might think that's it, I've blown it, I might as well give up now. Try seeing this as a blip, not a disaster. Try re-phrasing this as I wish that hadn't happened, but if I jack it all in now I'll feel even worse, so maybe I'll just hang on in there for the moment.
- Slow down your eating and get maximum enjoyment out of your food. You'll reduce the risk of eating too much.
- Sit down with a pencil and paper and devote some time to figuring out the best way to help you cope with the things that can get in the way of your eating and exercise plans.
- Accept that things are bound to go wrong sometimes. Anticipating problems and lapses helps us to cope. Work on those negative thoughts so that you don't make a mountain out of a molehill.
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