From the category archives:

Psychological Barriers to Weight Management

What Causes Binging?

June 11, 2011 Read the full article →

What do binge eating and World War II have in common? In the 1940s, the University of Minnesota wanted to find out the physical and psychological effects of starvation, in part to guide relief efforts for famine victims in Europe and Asia at the end of the war.  The Minnesota Starvation Experiment, as it is [...]

How to Know If You’re Eating Well

May 23, 2011 Read the full article →

We’re all busy, so simple ways to improve our diets are in high demand. No matter how good our intentions, most of us won’t stick with anything that takes too much time or is burdensome, like rigidly tracking calories, grams, and servings.  Even health experts don’t follow such regimens perfectly, never mind for a lifetime. [...]

Starting a Diet for the Summer

May 12, 2011 Read the full article →

It’s so frustrating to go on a diet and lose weight, only to regain it. Frustrating, but common — studies show 90 percent of dieting attempts fail. What can we do to improve our chances? Despite overwhelming evidence that most diets fail, ever more people are vulnerable to quick weight loss promises that won’t work [...]

Do You Have Body Image Distortion?

May 3, 2011 Read the full article →

None of us can be truly objective about our appearance. We we can only perceive ourselves from within, while other people view us from outside. Even our mirror image is distorted — it’s not how others see us. But some people, often those with eating disorders, distort their body image to an abnormal extent. A [...]

To Weigh or Not to Weigh – That is the Question

March 4, 2011 Read the full article →

Should you weigh yourself every day? Should it be once per week? Or never at all? The advice about weighing can be as confusing and conflicting as the advice about eating eggs or drinking wine. Some experts say that weighing should be kept to a minimum so that we don’t get obsessed; others say more [...]

Weight Bias Part II: From the Receiving End

February 15, 2011 Read the full article →

Many people believe that stigmatizing overweight people will motivate them to engage in healthy behaviors. But, as we discussed last time in Personal Best, much of the data about weight bias suggests that this type of prejudice actually makes people more likely to eat poorly, avoid exercise, and suffer from depression and poor self esteem [...]

Weight Bias and Myths – Part I

February 8, 2011 Read the full article →

It’s called the last socially acceptable prejudice.  It’s so visible that you can see it on sitcoms, on the internet, and maybe even in your own house on a daily basis. It’s weight bias — discrimination against overweight people.  And unlike discrimination based on race, ethnicity, physical disability, sexual orientation and religious beliefs, there’s no [...]

Top 10 Dieting Mistakes

January 25, 2011 Read the full article →

It’s good to learn from our mistakes.  The more we pay attention to what we’ve done wrong in the past the more successful we’ll be in the future. This is certainly true when it comes to weight loss and fitness.  And, for some reason, when it comes to dealing with weight, many people put their [...]

New Year’s Resolutions and Weight Loss: This year, change behaviors that lead to weight gain

January 5, 2011 Read the full article →

If the commercials, the talk show hosts, and the annual crop of new diets are to be believed, making a resolution to lose weight during the new year is not only a good idea, it’s mandatory. Resolutions imply sincere intent and motivation to make it happen this time. But if there’s ever a time to [...]

Addressing the Holidays’ Weighty Concerns

December 21, 2010 Read the full article →

I received so many good questions from readers about weight and exercise during the holidays, I’m devoting another column to the subject. Next time we’ll tackle the thorny issue of New Year’s resolutions. Determine what’s behind urge to binge I have problems with binging and the holidays make it worse. What can I do about [...]

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