In this presentation, Dr. Caren Baruch-Feldman discusses weight loss strategies and the maintenance of good habits. Dr. Baruch-Feldman reviews key principles from Judith Beck's book The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person, and then discusses how to apply these principles to our own lives. Dr. Baruch-Feldman is a licensed psychologist and a certified school psychologist. She has been on the EOT faculty since 2011. www.drbaruchfeldman.com

1. How to Keep Your Willpower and Lose Your
Weight
Presented by: Dr. Caren Baruch-Feldman
Website - www. drbaruchfeldman.com
Email - drcarenfeldman@msn.com
Scarsdale Library
March 1, 2013

2. A Little Bit About Me
Before After

3. Agenda for Today
1. Quick Review of Workshop #1.
2. Review key points from Dr. Beck’s
“Diet Solution Book”.
3. Apply these key points to your
own life.

4. Quick Review: Four Books
Workshop #1: Today’s Workshop:
The Science of Bad Habits And How to Keep Your Willpower
Willpower: Make New Year’s and Lose Your Weight
Resolutions that You Will
Keep

5. Review of Workshop #1
• Willpower is a limited resource.
• Glucose hijacks the brain.
• Make it a habit.
• Prevent, prevent, and then if you can’t prevent,
• avoid and then avoid.
• Develop beliefs that will inspire you, focusing on the
long term consequences as opposed to the
immediate rewards.

6. What Does Dr. Judith Beck Have to
Say?
• http://www.youtube.com/w

7. Key Points from the “Beck Diet
Solution”
• Brain before stomach.
• Be proactive (write it down, make response cards)
• Be mindful (sit while eating)
• Pick a weight loss program.
• Sit with feeling uncomfortable (mini-fast, meditation,
being able to say, “oh well”).
• Recognize sabotaging thoughts and answering back
with helpful responses.
• Give yourself credit. Be accepting.

8. Be Proactive
• Write down everything you are planning on
eating.
• Avoid triggers.
• Make response cards so you are prepared for
any challenge.
• Identify and pick a distraction
activity.

9. 1st Response Card: Advantage
Card
• A response card is a tool
that helps you change your
mindset and overcome
sabotaging thoughts. • My Advantage Card
• Read the card everyday and
when you are struggling • I’ll look better.
with a craving, temptation, • I’ll be able to wear a smaller size.
or sabotaging thought. • I’ll be in better health.
• I’ll feel better physically.
• By reading everyday you
• I’ll feel more in control.
make this into a habit.
• Make your own Advantage
Card.

10. Be mindful
• Be mindful in the way • Sitting while eating.
you approach eating. • Eating slowly.
• Builds resistance • Noticing every bite.
muscles and weakens • No distractions.
the giving in muscles.

11. Sabotaging Thoughts: Eating While
Standing Up
Sabotaging Thoughts Helpful Responses
• I need to sit down to eat.
• I enjoy spontaneous When I stand up, I eat too
munching. I don’t want to much without realizing it. I
stop while standing up. might not want to give up
this behavior, but I’ll enjoy
being thinner more.
• Just this one time is not ok.
• It’s ok if I stand up this one Each time I stand up, I build
time. It’s just an apple. I’ll my giving in muscle. If I want
eat next time sitting down. to lose or maintain weight
can’t do this.

12. No Pain, No Gain
• Sit with feeling uncomfortable (hunger is not
an emergency)
• Mini-fast
• Is it worse than root canal?
• Is it a craving or hunger?

13. Helpful Responses to Common
Sabotaging Thoughts.
• Hunger is not an emergency.
• Stand firm. NO Choice.
• Remind yourself of the whole story, not just
the beginning. Remember the whole picture.
• Don’t delude yourself. “It’s Not Ok” Response
Card.
• Stay away from “what the heck phenomena”.
“Get Back on Track” Response Card.

14. It’s Not Ok and Get Back on Track
Response Cards
It’s Not Ok Response Card Get Back on Track Response
Card
• It’s not ok to go in the
kitchen after 9pm. It’s not • Okay I shouldn’t have eaten
ok to eat crumbs. Every that… I made a mistake…
time I do so I wind up eating This one mistake is certainly
more or something that I not going to make me gain
am not supposed to. I also weight this week. It’s a
feel bad afterwards. Even million times better to stop
though it does taste good now than to allow myself to
for a few minutes, it is not eat more. I deserve credit
worth it. for stopping.

15. Give Yourself Credit.
• Give yourself
credit for engaging
in helpful eating
behaviors.
• Write down
CREDIT and
remind yourself to
give yourself
credit.

16. Be Accepting:“Oh Well”
• Saying, “oh well” means • I really feel hungry. Oh
I don’t like it this, but well.
I’ll accept this and move • I don’t feel like writing
on. down what I ate. Oh
• True acceptance allows well.
us to relinquish the • This is too hard and not
struggle and allows us fair. Oh well.
to have the energy to • I wish I could eat what I
focus on what we can wanted all the time. Oh
control rather than on well.
what we can’t control.

17. What’s Your Sabotaging Thoughts?
What’s Your Responses?
Common Sabotaging Thoughts Helpful Responses
• No it’s not ok to eat something I
• It’s ok to eat this just one didn’t plan for. Each time I do, I
strengthen my giving-in muscle
time. instead of my resistance ones. If I
• Since I cheated a little I want to be thin, then I can’t eat when
I’m upset.
might as well eat whatever I
• I get only a few seconds of pleasure
want. for eating unplanned food, but then I
• I’m upset, I should be feel bad afterwards. I want to lose
weight more than the few seconds of
allowed to eat. pleasure.
• I can’t stand being hungry. • Nothing tastes as good as seeing the
boy who dumped you in high school
at your 20 year reunion and he says,
“You look really good”.

18. What I Did Personally to Lose 25
Pounds and Keep It Off
• Make It a Habit.
• Keep My Sugar Level Stable.
• Avoid My Triggers.
• Write It Down.
• Make It Public.
• Change My Beliefs to Be a Long Term Hedonist by
Remembering the Advantages of Being Thin, Continually
Fighting my Sabotaging Thoughts, and When I Fail
Forgiving Myself and Going Right Back on Track (and on
the scale).

19. Last Thoughts
• The discussion was based on Judith Beck’s The Beck Diet
Solution Book.
• Visit the website: www.beckdietsolutions.com
• Come back on April 12th at 12 pm for the 3rd and final
workshop-Putting It All Together: Practical Strategies for
Making and Keeping the Habits We Desire .
• Can you make a commitment to read everyday the response
cards we created: the advantage card, it’s not ok, get back on
track cards.
• Make it a habit!!! Not enough to just think about these
matters. Need to do it so eventually will become a habit and
muscle memory will be formed.
• Feedback for me.