May 30, 2022 — It’s pretty easy to find advice to make small changes that stick if a person wants to lose weight – or keep from gaining weight. It certainly sounds authoritative when a PhD psychologist offers up small change theory as a winning strategy: “When you focus on just a couple of small changes at a time, […]
January 12, 2021 — Isaac Bashevis Singer told us we must believe in free will – there is no other choice. Thus, many of us put a great deal of energy into resolutions at this time of year. Often, they involve an effort to eat more healthfully. Resolve fades. Though 77 percent of resolutions last for at least a […]
January 4, 2021 — Maybe you’ve noticed. Resolution season has a different tone this year. The assault from popular media has made a shift. In fact, many of the headlines are not about diets and weight loss this year. Instead, they’re about healthy habits and lasting changes. After all we’ve been through, people simply don’t have much appetite for […]
January 7, 2020 — Right now, all we want is a bit of normalcy. Let’s face it, the month of December thrusts a great deal of change and disruption upon us. Maybe it’s the disruption of too much fun and camaraderie. Maybe it’s an excess of familial joy. Or perhaps it’s darker memories that you’re carrying into the new […]
August 15, 2019 — Beware of pilot studies with claims of effectiveness. “A pilot study is not a hypothesis testing study,” says Andrew Leon in a cogent summary of what pilots can and can’t do. But it’s oh so tempting to jump on effect data from a pilot study. Especially when you believe in what you think it tells […]
August 4, 2019 — The closing day of YWM2019 began and ended with acceptance and commitment. First, Jason Lillis presented a brilliant session on using our own values to empower healthy changes. Then, at the end, attendees told their own true stories of acceptance and commitment to live their best lives. It was a perfect pair of bookends for […]
August 9, 2018 — Journals are bursting with studies of childhood obesity this week. One appeared in Pediatrics. JAMA published two of them. Furthermore, all of these studies were randomized and controlled. On top of all that, JAMA published an editorial, describing “a glimmer of hope” for preventing childhood obesity. A Glimmer or a Wish? Unfortunately, we’re not seeing a lot […]
May 1, 2018 — A new viewpoint in the current issue of JAMA suggests that how we embrace or avoid failure in pursuing health-related changes has a direct impact on motivation. Shreya Kangovi and David Asch caution that self-monitoring aspects for health promotion has some disadvantages. When the number on the scale for those attempting weight loss, or on […]
January 5, 2018 — This young, new year marks a time of resolutions for many people. And many of those resolutions involve health and weight. But keeping them is not so easy. Psychology professor David DeSteno tells us that “willpower” won’t do it. He says that the “only way to keep your resolutions” is to cultivate gratitude, pride, and […]
