The Thinking Habits You Need to Lose Weight

Gary Foster, PhD., joined Quick and Dirty Tips for a Q&A about the research in his book The Shift: 7 Powerful Mindset Changes for Lasting Weightloss.

What advice do you have for a person who has tried multiple diets and weight-loss fixes only to end up back where they started? 

What I've learned through my decades-long career as a clinical health psychologist focusing on obesity, is that what you eat and how much, along with levels of activity, may seem to be all that count in weight loss, and they do count, of course—but without another crucial component, they will not add up to long-term weight-loss success. That component is your mindset. How you think about yourself and how you think about the journey you’re on is a key component to lasting weight-loss.

How you think about yourself and how you think about the journey you’re on is a key component to lasting weight-loss.

What is the mindset people should acquire about weight loss? The Shift discusses building thinking habits to help you lose weight—what are those thoughts?

There are several mindset shifts that I’ve identified in my book—seven altogether—but the overarching theme is one of self-compassion. The ideal way to think about yourself is to accept you as you are now; a great way to do that is to practice self-compassion. When I work with people that are hard on themselves, often cruel to themselves, after eating more than they’d planned, or a day that they claim they “failed,” I ask them one simple question: Would you act this way, or say those things, to a friend?

Talking to yourself as you would to a friend is a key step in cultivating self-compassion.

How do you envision readers interacting and engaging with The Shift?

This is not a diet book. Rather than telling you what to eat or not eat, The Shift focuses on your mindset and how you think, factors that are crucial to lasting weight-loss. Each chapter focuses on a different mindset shift, and  includes practical, actionable, and science-based techniques that help readers develop the skills for success. My greatest hope is that, in reading this book, that people will be inspired by the smart, caring scientists and researchers I consulted while writing The Shift, as well the real-life examples of people who have made their own meaningful shifts.

What are the 7 mindset changes for lasting weight loss discussed in The Shift?

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