Baird Brightman

Here’s a novel concept: lose weight by thinking differently! Baird Brightman, a PhD with an interest in baby boomers, says there’s a way to manage our weight that won’t be hard. It’s all in the head. So, less pain… less gain!

We boomers will never be “old”, but we are aging! As you might have noticed, as people age they tend to gain pounds along with wisdom, so many of us are concerned about our weight and our health. And we are not alone. Two-thirds of Americans today are overweight! 41% of Americans are currently trying to lose weight and 63% have dieted at some point in their lives, spending an estimated $46 billion dollars a year to do so.

Major reviews of both commercial and clinical weight loss programs indicate that they can fail to deliver the desired results for their clients. Most fail because they are based on the prescription that people should create a negative calorie balance by eating less and exercising more, in other words, starve. This approach fails to appreciate the powerful brain survival mechanisms that have been refined and strengthened through millions of years of evolution to prevent starvation.

By simply advising people to eat less and exercise more for their health, we are pitting one part of the brain (about 200,000 years old, modern, verbal/rational) against another part (about 500 million years old, emotion/survival-based). The evidence is now clear: in a direct contest, the old survival brain wins nearly every time. Starvation, whether caused by poverty or a self-imposed diet, generates intensely painful feelings of distress and cravings to eat. See the connection? More pain … more gain!

Discouraged yet?! Quick, some good news! Behavioral scientists are learning a lot about what we can do to feel good in our lives. I have always believed that if we can find an easier and more pleasant way to accomplish a goal, that’s the route we should take over the harder more miserable route because we are more likely to persist over time and win.

So here are three strategies for replacing the pain and suffering of weight loss with good feelings, so you can stick with your healthy eating plan and achieve/maintain your healthy weight:

1. FEEL GOOD!! We Boomers have always been connoisseurs of good vibes. Rx: Learn to generate lots of pleasurable feelings/experiences as an antidote to the pain of weight loss.
2. CONNECT!! Boomers have always believed in the power of group action. Rx: Learn to generate positive feelings of connection by establishing mutual support/coaching relationships with others as you work toward your healthy weight.
3. HELP OTHERS!! Boomers have always known that one person can make a difference and together we can save the world. Rx: Learn to generate the positive feelings that come from living up to the virtues of compassion and justice by fighting poverty and hunger around the world.

So remember, don’t completely fall for the “No Pain/No Gain” cries of the diet gurus. The science of weight and emotion teaches us that dieting creates more pain, which leads to more gain! Just follow our 60’s mantra “If it feels good, do it!” but with a little science thrown into the equation. Can it hurt?

Read more from Baird Brightman … click here.