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NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
Created: 2008-01-04 08:00:16
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
And The Strategies to Make Them Possible
By John Jolliffe, MFT

It’s that time of year when people begin preparing their New Year’s Resolutions. New Year’s Resolutions are essentially renunciations of old habits you have been trying to break unsuccessfully for at least the last twelve-months. Before I provide you proven strategies to promote your success, I want to review some background on the dynamics of habit.

A habit is a thing done often, usually done easily – a practice, custom, or act that is acquired and is integrated into your behavior no longer requiring conscious effort. How long does a behavior have to be repeated before it is considered a habit? The simple answer is until it has enslaved or mastered you. One truth about habits is they possess us, you do not have habits, they have you.

These conditioned responses appear to disappear by disuse; however, habits can never be entirely unlearned. As with long-term memory, well-established habits and habit pathways do not disappear with time. Do you really think it is possible to forget knowing how to ride a bicycle?

Life is more about better and better management not about cure.

The earlier in life a habit is formed the more enduring it will become. Self-destructive habits are easier to learn, provide quicker rewards, require few delays in gratification, and less disciplined determination and self-sacrifice than self-enhancing habits. Remember rewards reinforce behavior. Self-destructive habits are more difficult to modify or correct for the simple reason that their existence is denied – denial being the insistence that what is, isn’t. Remember, what you don’t acknowledge lives with you until you do.

Although it is impossible to cure yourself of a habit they can be managed. Here are the strategies to make management possible.

  1. Stop Rationalizing.

    “I can’t change; You can’t teach an old dog new tricks; That’s just me; After all nobody is perfect.” The truth is you can teach any old dog any new trick if you make the rewards important enough.

  2. Apply a Strategy.

    Review my article on “The Five Commandments”

  3. Be Realistic.

    Learning to manage an old habit won’t happen fast nor will your resolve be consistent. Remember, periodic failures are better than habitual slavery.

  4. Be Encouraged.

    Enthusiasm and encouragement strengthens self-discipline and prompts an attitude of stick-to-itiveness. Remember, you can change the past. What is today tomorrow? The past. Change what you do today and you have changed the past.

  5. Get Better at Recovery.

    Learn to measure maturity by how quickly you recover. Along with accepting the difficulty of learning to manage old habits, you must accept the fact that you are imperfect, and prone to make mistakes. There is nothing sacred about any starting point. When you slip back into an old habit the quicker you can recover the better managed that habit will become, until one day you will recover so quickly it will appear seamless.

  6. Don’t Put Yourself In Tempting Situations.

    Learning to manage old habits or acquiring new ones is harder at the beginning. Therefore, the wise person doesn’t put himself or herself in tempting situations that risk sabotaging your new strategy.

  7. Focus on Trying, Not on Succeeding.

    You make your goals or risks too difficult to take when you over focus on the outcome. Doing so will inhibit your progress. A successful strategy focuses on the process of trying to succeed. Pay attention to the efforts you are extending and the steps you are taking. The essence of well-established habits is psychological rigidity. Therefore, absolutely fundamental to successfully managing old habits or acquiring new ones are flexibility and slowly driving towards your objective - managing life.

Call me at Bariatricradio.com with your New Year’s Resolution toll free at
877-474-3302. Wishing you the best from every strategic risk.

INSIGHT INTO ISSUES
Created: 2007-12-20 12:34:00
INSIGHT INTO ISSUES
Poking Holes In the Darkness
By John Jolliffe, MFT

The 1947 Frank Capra Classic, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” has made its seasonal return to the small screen. I encourage you to rent the video or watch for it in your local television listings. It’s a wonderful time to see, “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

This movie fantasy is the story of a small-town banker whose attempt at suicide is foiled by his guardian angel. Frustrated, the banker laments that the world would be a better place if he had never been born.

This gives the guardian angel (named Clarence) an idea. With a nod of his head, he announces to the banker, “You’ve been given a great opportunity – a gift – to see what the world would be like if you had never been born.” The rest, of course, is movie history.

The message of this film is forever timely. It reminds us that each life is connected in one manner or another to every other life. And as John Donne said so long ago, “No man is an island.” We are reminded that everything that exists is accounted for – every hair on our head is numbered, nothing is valueless or irrelevant. The existence of each and every one of us is intentional and important.

Because our world is so big and our universe so vast, it may seem sometimes that no single life can be all that valuable. Yet, precisely because our world is so big and needy, each life becomes all the more important. Our lives have unique significance.

Life has a way of preparing each of us specifically for our role in grand scheme of existence. If we were all as useless, insignificant and replaceable as we sometimes believe, how could the grandeur of the greater good ever be realized? Without you and me, who would sow the seeds, turn the soil, water the seedlings and encourage the growth?

Consider Two Thoughts
  1. Ponder how your life was enhanced by some significant “other” – a parent, sibling, teacher, coach, neighbor or family relative. Their contributions to your life continue to shape you in invisible ways. Consider how your life would have been different had they never been born. As people contribute to your life, they return a portion of the sacrificial investment others made for them.

  2. Consider how the lives of others would be altered if you had never been born. Each person makes a direct or indirect impact upon the lives of those they contact. Who would not be here today if you did not exist? What impact have those you raised had upon the lives of others? How much suffering would not have been relieved? What work was accomplished that would not have been done in the same way that you accomplished it? Don’t minimize your uniqueness.
In the movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” Clarence had only advanced to the rank of “Angel, Second Class.” However, he offered this first-class summation: “Each person’s life touches so many lives that when he or she isn’t around, it leaves quite a hole.”

As you reflect on the turns your life has taken in the past year and plot your course for 2008, give some thought to the ways you directly contribute to the lives of others. For example, you do so when you:
…learn to overcome what troubles you.
…become increasingly more mature, disciplined and accountable.
…become an inspiration to others as they witness your change.
…reach out in meaningful support to others.
…teach others, who ask, what you have learned.
…support the efforts of others who make an effort to support you.

In a variety of ways, you make indirect contribution to the lives of people you may not even know.

As we enter the New Year, please know of my profound respect for your efforts in poking a hole in the darkness.

John Jolliffe, MFT
Host of Bariatric Radio

10 KEY BEHAVIORAL WEIGHT LOSS CHANGES
Last Edited:2007-11-15 11:53:22
10 KEY BEHAVIORAL WEIGHT LOSS CHANGES
Change is really an exchange
By John Jolliffe, MFT

This we know. Although, Bariatric Surgery does not cure or prevent obesity, it is the best tool available to aid in its management. But that is where the hope ends and personal responsibility begins. I challenge you to walk down another street. I refer you to my article, “A Hole In The Sidewalk.”

Before I share with you 10 key behavioral changes necessary to manage and control your weight, I want to reiterate an evidence-based truth,

“Relapse is high in food addictions for two main reasons.”

  1. Post-operative patients fail to learn the following key behavioral changes.
  2. What is learned is not practiced for a lifetime.

Quoting from my previous article: “Top Ten Reason You May Relapse,” #10 “You continue to think post-operative rules don’t apply to you.” Well here are the rules regarding eating your parents never thought to teach you. Ignore them at your risk.

10 Key Behavioral Changes Necessary For Weight Loss & Control

1.Keep your metabolism active by eating 2-3 meals plus 2-3 snacks per day.
Eating regularly during the day starting with breakfast will maintain a higher metabolic burn rate. An active metabolism burns more calories. If you want to loose weight you have to eat more regularly, starting with breakfast.
2.At lease three meals should be high protein meals.
Remember to eat protein first. Protein causes more satiety than carbohydrates. When eating smaller portions, start with protein-based foods – meat, fish, eggs, etc, to insure better nutrition. Remember women need 60 grams and men 90 grams of protein per day.
3.Decrease your portion size.
Switch to 9” plates or smaller. It’s an established fact that you will eat what you are served irrespective of your better judgment.
4.Decrease the number of bites you eat to around 2-3 bites per minute.
Monitor the number of times you put the fork to your mouth. People who are overweight tend to have 5-8 bites per minute with minimal pauses between bites.
5.Learn to chew – macerate – your food.
People who eat too quickly swallow their food rather than chew it. Aim for 25 chews per bites as a general rule. This not only helps you digest food more easily, but also makes you more aware of approaching fullness. When attempting to take 25 chews per bite, put your fork down while doing so. When finished take 2 deep breathes before picking up the fork and taking another bite.
6.Savor and focus on the taste of your food.
Remember to eat good tasting, flavorful food, chew well and eat slowly. This is very important. You will eat more slowly and chew longer if you have good tasting food you enjoy. This is an important part of feeling satisfied after a meal. Being satisfied has everything to do with enjoying your food.
7.Learn to take at least 3-5 long pauses per meal.
It’s the pause that refreshes. Your meal should take at least 25-30 minutes to finish.
8.Limit the number of distractions while you eat.
Distractions lead to rapid, mindless speed eating. Avoid television and the computer. In virtually every research study, television viewing evidences having one of the strongest correlations with obesity. You will not be able to monitor how much or fast you eat if you allow distractions during meal times. Eat your meals in eating rooms, dining, breakfast or cafeterias. Research studies testify that meals are likely to be more healthy and nutritious when a family sits down at mealtime together with the television turned off.
9.Hydrate daily.
Drink eight, eight ounce glasses of calorie –free beverages per day. Dehydration occurs when you drink less than the required amount of calorie-free liquid/water each day. Dehydration will often be mistaken as hunger. Remember, water is a micronutrient. You hunger after water as you do after food. But if you don’t know that you may be confused by the hunger and reach for food remaining dehydrated.
Drink one, eight ounce glass of water 30 minutes prior to each meal. This will give you a feeling of satiety. Do not drink during meals for this flushes food from your stomach leaving you wanting more.
10.Exercise.
Many people don’t realize that exercise is an essential part of nutrition. Not only does exercise burn calories during the activity, but also it builds muscle mass that keeps your metabolism burning calories even during rest and sleep. Healthy muscle also helps balance your blood sugar and hormone levels and will help minimize cravings. Refer to my article on “The Role of Exercise.”

Now pick up the telephone and dial the toll free number, 877-474-3302, and discuss with me your commitment to follow this evidence-based advice - Thursday, 12 – 1 p.m. at Bariatricradio.com or listen to our archives 24/7. And tell a friend.

PARENTAL INFLUENCE
Last Edited:2007-11-08 12:28:05
PARENTAL INFLUENCE
DO AS I DO
By John Jolliffe, MFT

Parenting is full of contradiction. “Do as I say not as I do.” Sad gladly this ill-conceived advice died along with those who intended better than they practiced. The by-product of this double standard generation rose more than children. Liberated from childhood’s restriction of restraint, our generation exercised its freedom by ushering in the most crippling health crisis in American history – modern obesity.

We love our children, as did our parents. If we have learned anything we now know that health decisions we make for our young children today will still count when he or she is 50. A growing body of evidence shows that childhood is actually the best time to start protecting an aging body. They deserve better than neglect. “Do as we do regardless of what the advertisers say,” is an enlightened mantra for all of us to follow.

Most parents would never dream of putting a child in a car without a seat belt, or ride a bike without a helmet. But what about the things that will end up killing most of our children once they reach adulthood? How can you go about protecting your child from heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and high blood pressure? It all starts in childhood where the only window of opportunity to markedly influence certain aspects of later health exists. What impacts will you as their parents have upon their vulnerable lives?

“Do as I do, not as the advertisers say.”

We know that eating behavior and food preferences, perhaps the biggest determinants of long-term health are primarily decided in childhood and adolescence. Studies show that eating habits and obesity can affect risks for diabetes, liver and heart disease, and many other health problems. And while adults certainly have the power to change their eating patterns, much of how we eat and what we like to eat is powerfully programmed by our experiences in childhood, making us exceedingly resistant to change as adults.

Many of you as parents already know that healthy eating habits, exercise and weight management are the keys to long-term health. The problem is how do you make your kids follow those practices? It seems like an insurmountable challenge in a world where the Golden Arches are now more widely recognized than the Christian cross. Surprisingly, influencing a child’s lifelong health isn’t about big changes. In fact a series of small, subtle shifts in the way you raise your children can actually translate into huge advantages well into adulthood.

Tune in to Bariatricradio.com for a discussion of the small, simple changes you as an adult can make that can have a powerful influence on the health, happiness and future life of a child. Bariatricradio.com Thursday 12 – 1 p.m. (PST).

You owe it to those who will never think to thank you.

ADDICTION SWITCH
Created: 2007-11-01 12:25:12
ADDICTION SWITCH
Dependency’s Deep Roots
By John Jolliffe, MFT

How much do you know about addiction?  What do you believe?  Can anyone become an addict?  Are we all vulnerable to addiction?  The answer from evidence is no and you can’t be sure.  The truest truth is that not everyone exposed to objects of addiction will become an addict and there is no scientific method to determine who will become addicted and who will remain independent from the sticky grasp of dependency.

By way of illustration, let me describe the four-stage process of the Drug Dependence Syndrome.  The most observable aspect of the Drug Dependence Syndrome is the pattern of use and the sequence or progression of the signs and symptoms resulting from that use.  Stage one is experimentation and first-time use.  Not only is experimentation unsafe, but it is also the first step toward drug dependence.  Stage two is occasional or social use.  This use is less frequent than once a week.  Stage three is regular use.  At this stage the user maintains their own supply insuring continuous access.  Use at this stage is once or twice a week.  Stage four is dependence – addiction.  At this stage daily use has become a major part of the user’s life.  Any effort to separate the user from the dependant object will be met with substantial resistance.  

From the previous paragraph I ask you to make two observations.  Alcohol is a drug.  How many of you have progressed beyond stage one.  Remember once arriving at stage one, there are only three other stages until full dependency.  And yet few of you are alcoholics in the true sense.  The truest truth is we just don’t know who will become addicted and who will remain only a social drinker or at what point will those who socially drink slip into stage four addictions.

The second observation is that we are unable to practice abstinence in relationship to food as can be exercised with alcohol or other drugs.  And yet to be diagnosed obese is no less an indictment of addiction – “uncontrolled use despite negative consequences.”   Whether you use the term addiction or habituation or the newest term dependence fact is fact, we have centered our lives on a specific dependency – food – and would have literally follow its pleasures, however hapless or harrowing to our graves if it were not for Bariatric Surgery.

Dependence is defined as a psychological and physical state characterized by behavioral and other responses that include a compulsive desire or need for continuous use in order to experience its effects and or avoid the discomfort of its absence.  The concept of tolerance lies at the root of dependence.  Because we adapt over time more is less.  Our addictions provide less benefit requiring more and more of the same to produce the same desired effect.  Once dependence develops a craving will develop which if not promptly satisfied will proceed to painful withdrawal symptoms.  

The most fundamental biological effect of dependence is pleasure.  Dependence producing experiences have the capacity to trigger pleasure signals in specific centers in the brain.  That which produces pleasure – good feelings – runs the risk of producing dependence.  The brain and our behavior are organized around the simple principle of maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain.  This is the sad paradox of pleasure disorders.  Begun as a search for pleasure, dependence progresses to an ever-increasing level of tolerance until the brain-reward systems fails do to unnatural excessive stimulation.

The most striking feature of dependence addictions is addiction transfer.  Recovering from Bariatric Surgery and all that entails can be very distracting from the underlying unfinished business of life.  Issues of life we have yet to confront or learn to properly manage are very patient.  Once the Bariatic Patient has learned to adapt to their post-operative regime unfinished business from the past burst forth like flowers in spring.  Will the post-operative Bariatric Patient be able to manage the issues of life that are now competing for attention without their previous dependency upon food as comfort or distraction?

Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported on “The New Science of Addiction:  Emergence of Alcoholism After Weight-Loss Surgery Offers Clues to Roots of Dependency.”  One post-operative Bariatric Patient who switched addictions said, “I drank like I ate.”

Bariatric Surgery does not cure morbid obesity, and recovery work does not cure addiction.  Relapse is high in the world of addiction.  No different if you are an alcoholic or a food addict.  A 50 percent rate of sobriety over the first year is considered a highly successful intervention program for alcohol and drug treatment.  Even when a person is extremely successful with weight loss surgery, we as healthcare professions know that there is much unfinished business and the psychological and emotional reasons that led to a person becoming obese are still present.  

There is some disagreement in the world of Bariatric Surgery support.  From all observations there is a window of opportunity in which a post-operative patient must learn new habits and skills sets to do more than cope with the issues in their lives.  Some say the window is open from 9 – 12 months after which post-operative patients will return to previous habituated behavior or cross addict.  What say you?  Call me at Bariatricradio.com toll free 877-474-3302 any Thursday 12-1 p.m. (PST).

 
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