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Old 06-06-2009, 06:52 PM   #16  
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I'm a social psychologist, but I did study behaviorism a bit. I think that part of the problem is that food has immediate positive effects. It fulfills a basic desire quickly in a way that thinking about long term goals does not. If there were an immediate and consistent reward you could give yourself for eating right that would please you as much as eating the food, then it would be much easier.

I do think that behaviorism is too simplistic of a way to look at all things. Philosophically I think that you are always going to choose what appeals to you most at the time you make the decision. So to change your eating behavior you need to change what appeals to you most at the time you are making the decisions. I could never do it before, but I have a motivation change now. Used to be I wanted to lose weight to look better, but looking better a year in the future would fail when I put it up against stuff I wanted then.

Now I am doing it for my health. I am prediabetic. I will become diabetic unless I do something. I have PCOS. I got pregnant and lost the baby. (This is more common for women with PCOS than others). It is no longer a matter a looking better, it is a matter of my health and potentially a future child's life. Fixing my eating has immediate effects, like not being hungry constantly. I know that when I eat incorrectly I am going to pay for it with cravings. And it doesn't take long to begin to correct the prediabetes. And weighing that against ice cream, for once I'm much less tempted. I hope that it will serve me in the long run.
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Old 06-06-2009, 08:27 PM   #17  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Drina View Post
More so the latter than the former. The conditioning and extinction literature strongly indicates that learned behaviors can't really be unlearned so much as inhibited. My graduate mentor has been at the forefront of this research, and has shown pretty conclusively that associations that have been seemingly "erased" are actually robust enough to survive the extinction process and contribute to a number of relapse effects. It's really fascinating stuff.
Very interesting. But too bad! Still, forewarned is forearmed
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Old 06-06-2009, 08:42 PM   #18  
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Another possibility for you:

If you've never really put into practise what you preach, if you've never really given it a decent shot, then I would suggest that you are afraid of failing. If you did do everything properly, and it still doesn't work, it would be both personally and professionally devestating, and that's scary.
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Old 06-06-2009, 09:57 PM   #19  
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Qualera- - I'm a social psychologist too!!
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Old 06-07-2009, 10:53 PM   #20  
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Wow. Thanks so much for all the input and encouragement. It is so helpful to hear from people who understand this process.

I definitely agree with the belief that much of my struggle is mental, and I have spent many hours analyzing my eating habits. I know why I eat what I eat, so now all that is left is to make better decisions. I think that is what is bothering me the most, I understand the behavior so I now have no excuses left. I need to make the right choices. Ugh, not as easy as it sounds I have figured out. But alas tomorrow is a new day, and I can do this!

Perhaps I'll go pick up some new books tomorrow!

Ooh, as for what I do (as a behaviorist) it is very similar to what Tummy Girl mentioned, I work with/create behavior plans for children with autism, emotional impairments, congnitive impairments, and any other children who may benefit from my services. It is definitely challenging and extremely rewarding, sometimes exhausting, but I love it!
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