What’s your favorite food? How was that status acquired? When do you typically have that item? How do you know when you to stop eating it? What prevents you from stopping sooner? What’s your least favorite food? How did that happen? Children are not born with cravings for chocolate cake or Mc Donald’s; nor do they naturally detest vegetables.

During childhood, they are bombarded with innumerable messages about food from parents, friends and the media. The messages associate various foods with reducing stress, performing well and “feeling good.” You are ten, over-worked and under-paid. It’s been a grueling day — Math, Science, English, Geography– and miles to go yet before you sleep. But it’s three o’clock, time for a break! Time to feel good: Milk and cookies. Lots of rich chocolate cookies. That’s what works. After all, the best teacher in the world taught you, your Mom. Your friends do it; their Moms taught them, too. “Why don’t parents use healthier foods for the same purpose?” Some do.
However, the reality is that children talk to each other, and most Moms– who are products of their own reinforcement histories– associate mid day snack with a healthy glass of milk; and that with sweets…not carrot sticks and “trail mix.” Parents who use a form of behavior modification with their children known as, “contingency contracting”, in which targeted appropriate behaviors are followed with desirable consequences often select food as well. Thus, rewards are often “M & M’s” and other snacks. And when things are really going well and you believe you “deserve a break today”, where do you go? (Hint: The health food store and gym are not high priorities!)
The food messages we receive continue to guide our behavior throughout our lives. When under pressure, for example, many adults still consider the pause that refreshes to be milk and cake. Unfortunately, these messages can lead to weight problems. And worse, other internal messages that maintain weight problems: “Diets never work on me”, “Everything I eat goes right to my ___(waist, legs, buttocks)”, “One piece of candy won’t make that much difference. Besides, I can always jog tomorrow”, “I skipped a meal, so I can have anything I want.” Once installed, people often maintain weight by recycling these and other negative internal comments, without even realizing it! What you say is what you get. If you want to get something else, say something different!
This last point is essential for understanding and effecting change. A brain is like a computer. It is capable of being programmed and “learns” quickly. Each of us develops a soft- wear package for his (her) brain through a reinforcement history in which beliefs, values and behaviors are selectively reinforced or deleted. But like any software package, it needs to be evaluated, updated or replaced from time to time.
One aspect of reversing years of inappropriate eating behaviors consists of reprogramming your brain with new software:

1. See what you say. During the course of a week, as they occur, write a list of negative self-comments that maintain your weight problem. Write in pencil. Post the list in a highly visible food area such as on the refrigerator.
2. Change your point of view. In red ink, write over each negative comment, a healthier message. For example, over “Potato chips are so good with t.v., and besides, one serving right now won’t make that much difference”, you might consider, “My body is a Temple. Everything I put in it counts! The t.v. still works when I eat healthy food.” Bad-talk wasn’t built in a day. You will need to recite better messages for awhile before they become automatic.
3. Anticipation! Negative self-comments often lead to the consumption of an unhealthy food by first generating other internal experiences, such as the sensation of having already tasted one. After reciting a healthy comment, create pleasurable sensations such as good taste or comfort and associate them with a healthier food or activity.