Cognitions, such as negative thinking patterns, can be more complex and much more difficult to deal with than simple behavioural habits. People can often give the appearance of smoothly gliding through life with very few complications, while underneath being deep in turmoil. There are a range of ways psychologists deal with this from psychoanalysis to group therapies. Many modem psychological practices, however, now recognise that it is thinking about what may happen as much as what actually has or is about to happen, that causes many pathologies, phobias and simple unconstructive behaviours. This is not new. Indeed, there are a range of historical quotations dating back to 500BC which suggest that this is the case. These provide a clue as to the appropriate means of dealing with major cognitive problems.

*187\186\4*

• Unlike carbohydrate and protein, fat is not finely balanced in the body.

• Fat (from the diet and adipose tissue) is the energy buffer for the body—it makes up the difference between what the body obtains from non-fat calories and what it needs.

• Alcohol is the highest priority fuel for burning, but unlike protein and carbohydrate, it does not reduce hunger.

• Energy balance and fat balance are essentially equivalent.

An anecdotal survey of people living in the modem world reveals an interesting paradox in energy balance. On the one hand, it seems that the body has an excellent, in-built energy balancing system which for some people keeps them at the same body mass, or at least within a variance of about 1 per cent, over decades. This is a remarkable feat if one considers that over a

10-year period the body can balance about 10 million kcal in, with 10 million kcal out, without the individual having to consciously count a single one! On the other hand, for some people, this system seems to go very wrong as they gain fat over time, despite their best conscious efforts not to. Has the system broken down in these people? This seems unlikely and the probable resolution of the apparent paradox is that the body has excellent balancing mechanisms for all types of calories except one—fat. So high-fat diets and low fat burning can result in fat gain without the usual energy balancing systems detecting it, because they are not designed to detect it.

*48\186\4*

At 215 pounds and eager to slim down, Toni, of Saint Charles, Missouri, finally got fed up with fad diets that didn’t work. She decided to put into practice some advice that she had gotten from a nutritionist a few years before, during her pregnancy. “I didn’t tell anyone about my plan because I didn’t want people reminding me about it all the time,” she says. “I just woke up one morning and said, ‘Today’s the day.’”

Out went the eggs, bacon, sausage, burgers, fries, and anything with cheese. In their place were English muffins with peanut butter, bagels, baked fish, chicken, pasta, and plenty of fruits and vegetables.

To help control the amount of food that she ate, Toni applied that old adage “out of sight, out of mind” to her dinner table. When preparing meals for herself and her family, she stopped serving family style. Instead, she divvied up all of the food among five «^ plates, one for each family member. For herself, she used a salad plate, so it looked full even with smaller portions. As soon as she was done eating, she got up and left the room. That way, she wasn’t tempted to nibble.

Toni adjusted to her new eating habits surprisingly easily. And once she started losing weight, she didn’t struggle with her food choices or portion sizes. In fact, she learned to love the healthier foods.

“I was so into losing weight that I didn’t overeat. If anything, there were times when I didn’t eat enough,” she says. “To me, there was no food that was worth the calories.”

Today, at age 36, Toni is 70 pounds lighter. She has maintained a healthy weight of 145 pounds for 2 years. She says that she eats just the right amount of food, and she doesn’t go back for seconds and thirds. “I never feel like I’m depriving myself of anything,” she says. “Sometimes, I just have a bite of something decadent and toss the rest. I never feel stuffed.”

WINNING ACTION

Pick your perfect plate. This is a great tip—and with a husband who is 6 foot 4 and a huge eater, I follow it religiously. Instead of using a regular dinner plate for my main meal, I substitute a salad plate or dessert plate. It’s an easy way to control portion sizes. In fact, a salad plate holds only about 60 percent of the food that fits on a dinner plate. And the full plate serves as a visual cue for my brain: It thinks that I’m getting a lot of food, so I feel satisfied with less.

*40\89\8*