Free The 20/20 Diet by Phil McGraw

relation-
    ships to support your weight loss goal, you set yourself up for success
    that lasts. As you start implementing this plan in your life, you’ll begin to take back control over your thoughts, your relationshi INC.
    p with and
    understanding of food and nutrition, important aspects of your lifestyle and environment, and your commitment to exercise. And ultimately, I
    believe you’ll win back control over your weight.
    What’s Your Excuse?
    Let’s talk about your typical, go-to excuse when you’re trying to jus-
    tify your bad behavior. When you’ve given yourself permission to eat
    a large pizza, the whole plate of frie BOOKS,
    d mozzarella sticks, a ginormous
    The Obesity Disease
    The American Medical Association recently changed its definition
    of obesity from a “complex disorder” or a “chronic condition” to that
    of “disease requiring a range of medical interventions to advance
    obesity treatmen STREET
    t and prevention.” The medical experts are taking
    this threat to public health extremely seriously, and so should you.
    While I’m at it, I’d like to give you a quick rundown of the top
    health conditions that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
    lists as caused or aggravated by obesity: coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cancers such as breast and colon,
    live BIRD
    r and gal bladder disease, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, degen-
    eration of cartilage and bone (osteoporosis), reproductive health com-
    plications such as infertility, and mental health conditions.
    Use your 20/20 foresight to think of your future self as you
    make this decision to take your health seriously.
    46 | The 20/20 Diet
    soda, or any other variety of unhealthy food, how have you been jus-
    tifying that self-defeating behavior?
    I asked about people’s justifications for overeating or indulging in
    unhealthy foods in the survey, and I’d like you to answer honestly too:
    Rate the followìng justifications for overeating or indulging in
    unhealthy foods in terms of how frequently, commonly INC.
    , or intensely
    you do it (where 1 = the least common/intense, and 10 = the most
    common/intense method). For example, if you constantly tell
    yourself you will burn off the extra calories, you might rate that
    justification as a 9 or 10, whereas if you only occasionally use that
    justification, you might give it a 2 or 3. Choose N/A for any
    options that do not apply to you.
    I tell myself . . .
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9 10 N/A
    that I will burn off the
    extra calories
    that if others around me
    can do it, so can I
    BOOKS,
    that it was peer pressure
    that it’s worth it because
    it tastes good
    to live in the moment;
    I’
    STREET
    ll do better tomorrow
    that I’m hungry or that I
    physically need the food
    that I can’t afford
    healthier, fresh foods
    Th BIRD
    e top three excuses people from our survey identified with the most
    were:
    1. I tell myself to live in the moment; I’ll do better tomorrow.
    2. I tell myself it’s worth it because it tastes good.
    3. I tell myself I’m hungry and I physically need the food.
    Getting Out of Your Own Way | 47
    Take a moment to think about all the lies you’ve told yourself in
    the past, all the ways you gave yourself permission to engage in bad
    behavior. Isn’t it amazing how easily you can cheat yourself out of the
    right choices by convincing yourself that you “deserve” the wrong ones?
    It’s highly il ogical when you think about it. You deserve a better life, you deserve better health, and you deserve to lose weight. But in the
    moment, you’re reacting to a trigger, so you convince yoursel INC.
    f that you
    “deserve” the pizza and beer. In your mind, you’re cal ing it a reward
    when, in actuality, it is a punishment. You’ll tell yourself something,
    anything , in order to make it OK for you to have momentary pleasure.
    It’s time to stop these self-defeating patterns. The next time you
    find yourself drooling