Bananas, Belly Fat, and Changing Your Weight (part 4)

The banana debate rages on. What do bananas do to your body? Are they the belly enemy or defender?

Should we never eat another banana to rid ourselves of disgusting belly fat? I don’t know how bananas got undeserved reputation for creating belly fat.

As far as a single food can affect your belly blubber, bananas are relatively benign. The calories in a banana are about 120. The nutrients in a banana are impressive and their ability to leave your feeling very full are likewise, impressive. One banana could help you lower your daily calorie consumption and that could help you change what you weigh.

There are Ten Rules to Change What You Weigh. I’ve covered rules 1-6 in Parts 1, 2, and 3.
Rule #7 Change requires structure

Many people, and that once included me, think structure is restrictive, and inhibits spontaneity. While spontaneity wonderful sometimes, it’s guaranteed to sabotage change. The problem is that when we’re under pressure, we are more likely to make bad choices unless we have already considered options and prepared a good choice.

I’s mealtime, you’re very hungry and away from your “safe places to get food.” In other words you’re in an environment where the food choices are unknown to you and likely to be unpredictably high in calories. Without structure – or a plan – you throw up your hands and say, “I’ll just get what looks good because there’s no way I’m going to get out of this without blowing it, or you mindlessly go back to old behaviors.

Without structure it’s too easy to revert to default behavior.

Strategy: Identify what works. There are lots of things that will work. The more creative you are, the more workable plans you’ll find.??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? “Pack your plans in your back pocket” to have ready to pull out when you need them.  Don’t be afraid to revisit your plans to make them more effective. Some plans won’t work; adjust them or throw them out! Don’t waste time trying to make something that doesn’t work, work.

Step #8  Practice is necessary

Having plans ready is good but not good enough. You need to practice putting those plans into action. Practice can be real or imagined. You will find yourself in situations that will give you plenty of opportunities to actually practice your plans, and if you want to be sure your plan will go down the way you want, you can mentally practice.

Strategy: Practice, practice, practice! Mental rehearsal is a matter of identifying high risk situations and running through the chain of events in your mind.Screen Shot 2014-11-16 at 10.57.46 AM

Then make a mental image (practice) the replacement behavior.Screen Shot 2015-03-02 at 8.52.26 PM Rule #9 New behaviors need to be protected.

Early in the process of change, and even after the change seems to be well established there is a danger of default behavior. A new behavior is neither familiar and certainly not automatic. It’s easy to forget. Reverting back to old behaviors is easy because they are familiar. Use reminders.

Strategy: Controlling your environment helps protect your new behaviors.

You have become more active and you’re having fun. Tennis is fun, you enjoy playing it. Keeping your racket, tennis clothes and shoes where you can see them every day upon waking reminds you to make time for a game or two. If you stash your tennis gear away and out of sight, you could forget about playing altogether. ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

You’re snacking on fruits and vegetables instead of chips. You enjoy the switch but fruit and vegetables takes more time (shopping and preparing). Control your environment to support the behavior by keeping fruit in a bowl on the counter where it’s easy to see and get. You could have vegetables cut and ready to eat in clear containers front and center on your fridge shelf. Your chips are stashed in a high cupboard, way in the back.

Give and get support from others who are changing what they weigh. Putting yourself in an environment with like-minded people keeps you inspired.

Rule #10 Small successes are big.

Plans for big successes often result in devastating failures. Set your goals low for guaranteed success. Each little success builds your reservoir of self-esteem; one big failure disables it.

Strategy: Map your success

Get to where you’re going step-by-step. Break down your goal into small, progressive steps.

For each morning activity he completed within his self-allotted time limit, he rewarded himself by putting money into his Hawaii-getaway fund.

The process of changing your weight can be either arduous and frustrating or pleasant and rewarding. The effort required for both paths is the same. Choose the first and you’ll probably recycle yourself endlessly.

Apply my 10 rules to changing your weight, and once only a slight possibility, becomes an absolute certainty.
The choice is yours.

 

 

Jackie Conn

About Jackie Conn

Jackie Conn is married and has four grown daughters and four grandchildren. She is a Weight Watchers success story. She's a weight loss expert with 25 years of experience guiding women and men to their weight-related goals. Her articles on weight management have been published in health, family and women's magazines. She has been a regular guest on Channel 5 WABI news, FOX network morning program Good Day Maine and 207 on WCSH.