San Antonio Personal Trainer Boyd Myers

Are You Ready to “Really” Lose Weight?

By Boyd Myers

 Feb 19, 2004

Losing weight – it has become as American as baseball and apple pie.  Everywhere you look:  in the magazines, on the television, even on billboards by the highway, the focus is on looking and feeling better about one’s appearance.  Everyone seems to “want to” lose a few extra pounds, but not everyone reacts to these desires.  Where should you begin?

First, every individual that is considering diet and exercise has to ask himself or herself one question:  Am I ready to make a change?  Losing weight requires effort.  Is it tough?  It can be.  Is it doable?  Absolutely.  Why not use a “fad” diet”?  They are everywhere, and a lot of people report great results from using them.   The fact of the matter is that “fad” diets are not always the healthiest ways to lose weight, and often result in failure by individuals that rush into diets under circumstances that make lasting success unlikely.  Most of these diets include an initial “weight” loss (which is generally water weight and gastrointestinal bulk being removed from the body), and results usually severely taper off after the initial weight loss.

Yale University weight-control specialist Dr. Kelly D. Brownell devised the following test to help dieters assess whether the time is right to try to lose weight.  Take a few minutes to see if you’re currently ready to lose weight.

Goals and Attitudes:

Score 1 for not at all, 2 slightly, 3 somewhat, 4 quite, 5 extremely
1. Compared with previous attempts, how motivated to lose weight are you this time?
2. How certain are you that you will stay committed to a weight loss program for the time it will take to reach your goal?

Score 1 for cannot, 2 can somewhat, 3 uncertain, 4 can tolerate well, 5 can easily
3. Consider all outside stress in your life (work, family obligations, etc.) To what extent can you tolerate the effort required to stick to a diet?

Score 1 for very unrealistic, 2 somewhat unrealistic, 3 moderately unrealistic, 4 somewhat realistic, 5 very realistic
4. Think honestly about how much weight you hope to lose and how quickly you hope to lose it. Figuring a weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week, how realistic is your expectation?

Score 1 for always, 2 frequently, 3 occasionally, 4 rarely, 5 never.
5. While dieting, do you fantasize about eating a lot of your favorite foods?
6. While dieting, do you feel deprived, angry, or upset?

If you scored 6 to 16, it is not a good time to diet; inadequate motivation and commitment and unrealistic goals can get in your way; 17 to 23, think about ways to boost your diet readiness before you begin, 24 to 30, your path is clear.


Hunger Cues:

Score 1 never, 2 rarely, 3 occasionally, 4 frequently, 5 always.
7. When food is mentioned, do you want to eat even if not hungry?
8. Do you have trouble controlling your eating when your favorite foods are around the house?

Score 1 always, 2 frequently, 3 occasionally, 4 rarely, 5 never.
9. How often do you eat because of physical hunger?

If you scored 3 to 6, try to control the attitudes that occasionally make you overeat; 7 to 9, dieting will be easier if you try to resist external cues and eat only when you are physically hungry.


Control Overeating:

Score 1 if you would eat much less, 2 if you would eat somewhat less, 3 if it would make no difference, 4 if you would eat somewhat more, and 5 if you would eat much more:
10. Although you planned to skip lunch, you are talked into going out to eat.
11. You go off your diet by eating a fattening, forbidden food.
12. After faithfully following your diet you decide to test yourself by eating a "treat."

If you scored 3 to 7, you recover rapidly from mistakes, but should get professional help if you often alternate between strict dieting and eating out of control; 8 to 11, you have a flexible, balanced program that is not disrupted by unplanned eating; 12 to 15, your reaction to problem-causing eating events can be improved.


Binging and Purging:

Score 2 for yes, 0 for no.
13. Have you ever eaten lots of food rapidly and felt the eating was excessive and out of control?

Score 1 for less than once a month, 2 about once a month, 3 a few times a month, 4 about once a week, 5 about 3 times a week, 6 daily:
14. If yes, how often over the past year?

Score 5 for yes, 0 for no.
15. Have you ever purged to control your weight by using laxatives, diuretics, or induced vomiting?

Score 1 for less than once a month, 2 about once a month, 3 a few times a month, 4 about once a week, 5 about 3 times a week, 6 daily:
16. If yes, how often during the past year?

If you scored 0 to 1, binge eating and purging are not your problem; 2 to 11, get professional help if these eating
patterns arise more often; 12 to 19, your potentially serious eating problem needs immediate professional attention.


Emotional Eating:

For each of the next three questions, score 1 never, 2 rarely, 3 occasionally, 4 frequently, 5 always.
17. Do you overeat when you feel anxious, depressed, angry or lonely?
18. Do you celebrate feeling good by overeating?
19. When things don't go well with others or on your job, do you eat more than you would like?

If you scored:3 to 8, you don't seem to let emotions affect your eating; 9 to 11, monitor your occasional tendency to eat in response to emotional highs and lows and find alternative activities; 12 to 15, you need to find other ways than eating express your feelings.

Exercise:

Score 1 for never, 2 rarely, 3 occasionally, 4 somewhat, 5 frequently.
20. How often do you exercise?

Score 1 for not at all, 2 slightly, 3 somewhat, 4 highly, 5 completely.
21. How confident are you that you can exercise regularly?

Score 1 for completely negative, 2 somewhat negative, 3 neutral, 4 somewhat positive, 5 completely positive.
22. Do you have a negative or positive picture about exercise in your mind?

Score 1 for not at all, 2 slightly, 3 somewhat, 4 quite, 5 extremely.
23. How sure are you that you can work regular exercise into your daily schedule?

If you scored 4 to 10, change attitudes that are blocking your way to regular exercise; 11 to 16, to feel more positive about exercise, think of ways that are fun and fit your lifestyle; 17 to 20, your path is clear to a more active life.

What do you do if you’re not ready?  Get ready!  Obviously you have realized your obstacles, now overcome them and make the change!  What if you are ready to lose unwanted body fat?  Do it!  Incorporate fitness and nutrition in your daily lifestyle-not only will you look and feel better, but you reduce the risk of many cancers, heart diseases, and other health risks that claim thousands of American lives every year.  Find a knowledgeable certified personal trainer to help you take the guesswork out of fitness and nutrition, and assist you in reaching your fat loss goals.  An experienced certified personal trainer will devise a fitness and nutritional program that is tailor made to fit your individual needs and help you reach those goals. 

There’s no time like the present to decide to lose unwanted body fat and to get into shape.  All it takes on your part is motivation and a commitment to make a lifestyle change.  What are you waiting for? 

Boyd Myers is an International Sports Science Association Certified Fitness Trainer and a Performance Nutrition Specialist. Boyd can be reached at boyd@the-personal-trainer.com.com or via the World Wide Web at www.the-personal-trainer.com