Free Diet Rehab: 28 Days to Finally Stop Craving the Foods That Make You Fat by Mike Dow, Antonia Blyth

with yourself when the timer rings and ask yourself honestly, “Am I making any progress in solving this problem?”
    If the answer is “no,” say to yourself—aloud if necessary—“I can come back to this later.” Then go do something else that will distract you from your thoughts. If you find this difficult, make a list of good “distractors” and when you get “paralysis-analysis,” look at the list. Who knows? Maybe the solution to your problem will come to you when you’re busy doing something else—it often happens that way! Or maybe your problem has no solution, but you can feel better anyway.
     
    Pitfall #4: Pessimism
    Pessimism in this context means believing the worst-case, catastrophic scenario. If there is good evidence to think that something won’t work or that danger is approaching, then by all means, take appropriate action. But when pessimism is your default response to any setback, it may be time to reframe your thoughts. Don’t confuse what’s possible with what’s probable.
    PITFALL THOUGHTS:
    “I gained some weight this week—I can’t make this diet work and am going to have a heart attack.”
    “Relationships don’t work out for me, so I bet this one won’t, either. I’m going to be alone forever, and then what will I do when I’m sixty?”
    “I went on a job interview, but I’m sure I won’t get this or any other job. What if I can’t pay my mortgage next year?”
     
    REFRAMED THOUGHTS:
    “I gained some weight this week—but I haven’t really given Diet Rehab a chance yet. Although it’s possible that I could have a heart attack, I’m not experiencing any critical symptoms right now. I’ve also consulted my physician, and she said the best thing I can do for my health is lose weight.”
    “I’m a different person than the last time I was in a relationship, so let’s see what happens now.”
    “I don’t know whether I’ll get the job or not, but I won’t stop trying until I find something I like. Although it’s possible I won’t find a job for a whole year and lose the house, it’s not probable. I’ve never gone a year without finding a job.”
    Pessimists are always imagining the worst-case scenario, in which any setback can easily be seen as the beginning of a catastrophe. This thinking leads to depression, anxiety, and despair. Optimists take a different approach: They imagine good possibilities that might happen, whether or not they ever do. Imagining these happy possibilities often gives optimists the energy to explore them, which means that optimists often end up creating good outcomes in their lives, simply because they were committed to finding a way to make the best of things or to see potential in a difficult situation. Whenever possible, they think, “Maybe it will be all right,” or “I’m sure there’s some good that can come from this”—and frequently, because of their positive attitude, they see possibilities to pursue that pessimists might miss.
    I’m not suggesting you become a Pollyanna, blind to genuine dangers or tragedies. But I do encourage you to develop an optimistic explanatory style and that you find a way of talking yourself out of pessimistic thinking, rather than deeper into it. Creating a “can-do, can-deal-with” attitude can really help you when times are tough.
     
    Pitfall #5: Polarization
    Polarization is seeing things in terms of “either/or”: black or white, yes or no, on or off. Instead of seeing that there are lots of possibilities, polarization is a pitfall in which you can only imagine “It’s working” or “It’s not working.” That means if something isn’t working perfectly, you tend to believe it isn’t working at all—and probably never will.
    PITFALL THOUGHTS:
    “I didn’t lose weight this week—my whole diet is a failure. In fact, I should go on a different diet tomorrow.”
    “If Terry doesn’t understand this point, then this relationship is not going to work out.”
    “I will