The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies - Meri Raffetto [35]
Rethinking restrictive dieting
Restricting your food choices too much almost always backfires. If you've been on enough diets in the past, you've probably experienced this firsthand. I know I've seen it in clients I've worked with. I always find that people feel they need to follow a very strict diet to stay on track, assuming they'll blow it if they're given any leeway. Yet when I ask them whether they were able to follow the strict diet long term, the answer is always no. So clearly the strict approach doesn't work. But don't just take my word for it; there's a significant body of research around to back up this observation. This research shows that when you restrict yourself from certain foods, that action causes you to be more focused on the food and end up overeating when you do have it.
Makes sense, doesn't it? Imagine for a minute if I tell you that you can't eat a cookie. You then see a homemade chocolate chip cookie that looks delicious, yet you tell yourself, "No, I can't have it." Then you start thinking more and more about how good that cookie must taste. When you finally break down and eat it, you explode and say, "Well, I already ate one. I'll eat more and go back on my diet tomorrow." Such a scenario is common for many people.
Don't forget to pay attention to your dieting history too. If you've never been able to follow restrictive food rules long term, trying to be utterly strict with a low-glycemic diet will be a never-ending battle. Try not to look at high-glycemic foods as all the foods you have to restrict yourself from; if you do, you may become overly focused on them! Instead, adopt the mindset that all foods are okay as long as you balance them appropriately.
A low-glycemic diet can work very well as long as you don't approach it as restricting certain foods altogether, especially if this approach has backfired on you before.
If you feel you're having difficulties abandoning a restrictive mindset, reach out and get some help from a counselor trained to handle eating issues.
Your thinking style can affect your weight-loss results
Inga Treitler, a cultural anthropologist and researcher at The National Weight Control Registry, followed ten individuals who lost 30 or more pounds and kept it off for a year or more. She had them take the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) questionnaire that assesses thinking styles and helps people define how to solve problems. What Treitler found is that people typically fall into one of four quadrants:
"A" quadrant: People in this group are numbers people. They're drawn to mathematical and analytical solutions, and they often overanalyze situations so much that they have difficulty taking action. A-quadrant folks do better with a combination of number tracking (such as calories and/or the number of steps they take each day) and regular coaching or nutrition counseling to help them take action.
"B" quadrant: These individuals love structure and routes. They always have a plan and are the type to keep a planner with all of their appointments scheduled. Guess what? This group is the most successful with a traditional diet approach of following menu plans and tracking progress, which makes sense because B-quadrant folks are comfortable following plans. B-quadrant individuals do well with menu-planning services, tracking calories, counting glycemic load, and setting goals because they feel comfortable with a specific, structured plan.
"C" quadrant: These folks are spiritual and emotional and are very connected to the human experience. This group benefits from a nondiet approach to weight loss rather than a strict diet regimen. Why? Because these folks are more comfortable