Shaping the Path

203.5...that will have to be the official weight of the week. I managed to coerce the scale into 203 at one point yesterday evening, but I think that the above-referenced number is less attributable to shenanigans.

Sooooo...on the one hand, I am depressed that I have failed to reach my unrealistic goal of 2.5 pounds per week. On the other- a loss is a loss, right? I would have been THRILLED if I had kept to my promise of stepping onto the scale only once per week. However, I weighed myself about 20000000000 times per day, so I fell victim to the false hope and grief that water fluctuations wreak.

2 pounds down for the week. Not bad! I am pleased that I spent the entire week going in a positive direction. I had a total breakthrough at the movies yesterday as well. Although I DID order popcorn for my daughter, I took a little plastic ziplock bag (sandwich sized), filled it up out of her bucket and limited myself to just that much. It was a pretty nice compromise. I read a book recently "Switch: How to Change things When Changing is Hard", (http://www.amazon.com/Switch-Change-Things-When-ebook/dp/B0030DHPGQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1276541301&sr=1-1) and it cited research about why people eat. They did an experiment where they gave people terrible, close to inedible popcorn in different sized containers and sent them to watch a movie. In the end, the people with the biggest sized containers ate the most, even though the popcorn was nasty and they weren't hungry at all. The example is cited as a lead-in to a concept that the authors call "shaping the path"- that is, rather than relying on your own internal motivation to employ a different behavior, you manipulate your outside environment to make it more difficult (if not impossible) to act in the undesired fashion. So, if I have a tiny bag of popcorn, I am less likely to gorge (and I know how much I ate!). Another example is eating off of small plates, or the weight-loss-book-favorite: having half of your meal at a restaurant boxed up before it comes to your table (Who DOES that? Honestly!!!! (Although, I ordered Key Lime Pie at Red Lobster Friday night (I know, I know! I was naughty- but listen!) and asked for a box along with the pie (so that I could carve off a little sliver and put the rest away like a good girl). The waitress pre-boxed it for me (defeating my purpose, since I had to break into the box to get the bite that I was dying for anyhow)).

I think that there really is something to this "path" idea. I am looking for other examples to put into practice. If anyone stumbles across this blog, let me know if you have ideas!