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April 24, 2015

Flexible dieters are more successful dieters: weight regain and the tendency to think in black and white terms

Maintenance
of a healthy body weight is challenging for many people. Diet success rates are
generally low and it has been shown that 50% of the weight loss is usually regained
after one year.

A factor that has been associated with overeating and weight
regain is thinking in black and white terms; a personality trait that is called
dichotomous thinking. People often hold divided beliefs about food (healthy
or unhealthy), their diets (on track or out of track), but also about their
weight (acceptable or unacceptable) and these beliefs may lead them to
overeating when they have the feeling that they have violated their diet.

The study revealed that the greater the self-initiated
attempt to control food intake (dietary restraint) the higher the weight regain.
However, it was the dichotomous thinking rather than dietary restraint that
really predicted weight regain. This implies that when the attempt to control
intake is accompanied by a rigid ‘black and white thinking’ style, people’s
ability to control their food intake may be inhibited, thus leading to weight
regain. In line with this finding, a study of Sairanen and colleagues showed that adopting a more flexible self-restrictive
eating behaviour (as opposed to rigid self-restriction) could lead to a better
weight loss maintenance and well-being.

Katerina's study again showed the importance of avoiding the 'what the hell' effect. Do not think: 'I have already ruined my diet for today, why not even indulge more..!'. Flexible dieters are more successful dieters.

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About me

More
and more people are overweight worldwide. How do we learn to enjoy our world
full of food temptations without overeating? And what is the role of subtle
cues in the environment that cause you to overindulge? How can changes in the
environment (smart interventions) assist in self-control?

With this blog I keep you updated about my own research, and helpful research
of others that you should not miss. Thanks for stopping by and do not hesitate
to contact me: Ellen.vanKleef@wur.nl.