Weight
Gaining Behaviors
You
either love him or hate him. Few people feel neutral about Dr. Phil McGraw,
the outspoken psychologist who was a favorite guest for several years on The
Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah obviously believed in him because she eventually
negotiated for him to have his own show.
Dr.
Phil, as he is commonly called, is known for brutally frank psychological
advice on family, love, and other relationship issues. He dishes out the same
style of weight loss advice in his bestseller, “The Ultimate Weight
Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom”.
He
starts the book with the quote, “Change can come in either of two important
ways: Start behaving positively or stop behaving negatively”.
Dr.
Phil enumerates some of the behaviors that can negatively affect your weight
like eating too fast, habitually eating leftovers or dessert, always cleaning
your plate even when you are feeling full, and eating sweet, high-fat food
as a matter of habit.
There
is nothing new in his observation. Many other authors of weight loss books
have pointed out the same things. The difference with Dr. Phil is he calls
a spade a spade and computed approximately how much weight you could put on
from these “weight-gaining behaviors”.
He
based his computations on accepted calorie counts for common food and scientific
studies of caloric cost of specific eating behavior. He cautions that results
may vary from person to person. Annual weight gain was calculated on the assumption
that one pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories.
The
list drives home the point that your eating behaviors are directly related
to your weight gain or loss.
-
Eating second servings (200 calories per helping) three times a week = 600
extra calories a week = 9 pounds in one year.
-
Habitual overeating, every day, 380 calories a day = 2,660 extra calories
a week = 40 pounds.
-
Eating a super-size bagel (4 1/2 inches diameter, 323 calories), three times
a week, rather than having a small bagel (3 inches diameter, 156 calories)
= 500 extra calories a week = 8 pounds
-
Eating Big Macs (or equivalent, 570 calories) twice a week, rather than
choosing a small-size hamburger (260 calories) = 620 extra calories a week
= 9 pounds
-
Eating one glazed doughnut (290 calories) every day at work during your
coffee break = 1,450 extra calories a week = 21 pounds
-
Drinking a cup of whole milk (150 calories) twice a day, rather than having
skim milk (86 calories) = 896 extra calories a week = 13 pounds
-
Drinking one regular soda a day (144 calories) rather than having a calorie-free
soda = 1,008 extra calories a week = 15 pounds.
-
Snacking on 15 to 20 potato chips a day (150 calories) = 1,050 extra calories
a week = 16 pounds
-
Eating a bowl of regular ice cream (280 calories) five times a week, rather
than having a bowl of nonfat frozen yogurt (160 calories) = 600 extra calories
a week = 9 pounds
-
Bingeing twice a week (1,000 to 3,000 calories per episode) = 2,000 to 6,000
extra calories a week = 30 to 90 pounds
-
Eating out at fast-food restaurants five times a week compared to having
a healthy meal prepared at home (56 extra calories per fast-food meal) =
280 extra calories a week = 4 pounds
-
Snacking while watching television, five hours a week (136 extra calories
per snack) = 680 extra calories a week = 10 pounds
-
Nighttime eating (eating after dinner), five episodes a week (270 calories
per episode) = 1,350 extra calories a week = 20 pounds
-
Drinking three beers at Happy Hour once a week (146 calories per beer) =
438 extra calories a week = 6 1/2 pounds