anuary 4, 2017
Page 5
J
The Law Offices of
Patrick John Sweeney, P.C.
Patrick John Sweeney
Attorney at Law
1549 SE Ladd, Portland, Oregon
The psychology of staying motivated is key to staying fit and losing weight.
Making 2017 Different
Staying
motivated key
to losing weight
e riC t egethoff
The most popular New Year’s
resolutions involve staying fit
and losing weight, and chances
are good that many people are
setting the same goals again.
The psychology of motivation
may hold the answer to how peo-
ple can keep their resolutions in
2017, according to Elliot Berk-
man, an associate professor of
psychology at the University of
Oregon.
Berkman says it’s important
to start with a goal that is less
abstract and more actionable
than just “staying healthy” - and
to start on it as soon as possible.
“What you want to do is to
get those immediate reinforce-
ments as early as you can,” he
said. “So, it’s kind of classic ad-
vice and it’s good advice to start
small, and to make sure to rein-
force each little step.”
According to a Nielsen study,
43 percent of people said they
planned to lose weight at the
beginning of this year by eating
healthier. But more than 75 per-
cent who had that goal had not
followed a healthy diet or weight-
loss program the year before, so
hadn’t developed the healthy
habits necessary for success.
Berkman said this can be the
hardest problem. A person’s ha-
by
bitual behavior, which may not
involve regular visits to the gym,
is the easiest to fall back on. Fol-
lowing through on a New Year’s
resolution means rewiring the
brain for a new habit - literally.
Berkman said people are bet-
ter off doing something they
like and connecting the habit to
something bigger.
“Maybe it’s connecting it to
your family or your work, or
earning money,” he said. “What-
ever is the thing that you really
care about, find the way that that
new goal is connected to that,
and that’s going to also serve as
a reinforcement for it.”
Technology also can be used
to keep people motivated. At
the University of Oregon’s So-
cial and Affective Neuroscience
Lab, where he works, Berkman
and other researchers are using
text messaging to remind peo-
ple of their goals. He said ab-
stract goals can be hard to keep
in mind day to day, especially
when concrete temptations exist
all around.
“It helps combat fire with fire,
a little bit, to get those texts in
your daily life,” he said. “And
so, you don’t need to go out of
your way to remember why you
care about losing weight or exer-
cising more. We’re going to re-
mind you, and we’ll do it in your
own words.”
The Nielsen study is online at
nielsen.com.
Eric Tegethoff is a reporter
with Oregon News Service.
Portland:
Hillsoboro:
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Email:
(503) 244-2080
(503) 244-2081
(503) 244-2084
Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com