Intake Restraint

Lets look at some patterns of behaviour which research has proven helps sustained weight loss.

Intake Restraint

"Intake Restraint" refers to how rigidly we restrain our food intake and relate everything we eat, directly to the comfort of our clothes and our weight.

Someone who exhibits high intake restraint might daily consider her calorie intake, by allocating themselves every day 1,000 calories consisting of exactly 300 calories for breakfast, 400 calories for lunch and 300 calories for an evening meal. This person would not allocate calories for snacks and her food would probably make her food plan rigid, without variety.

High intake restrainers read labels rigidly, are skilled at counting calories and conversation about dieting. While they may not appear to need a group like BellyBusters, they are very valuable members of our team, as they offer excellent advice to others. Moreover, very high levels of intake restraint often go hand in hand with unsuccessful weight control and can easily lead to binge eating.

Research shows that people who exhibit high intake restrain have high levels of cortisol (stress hormone).

Referring back to how normal people feel torn between treating themselves and restricting their intake, an expert at Intake Restraint often has an Inner Child who let-down and unfulfilled by this rigid restraint. This is where bingeing patterns are born, like two year old tantrums, because the grown-up person is so controlled and obsessive about food that they don’t allow for little lapses and treats.

Therefore research shows that people with high levels of intake restraint are also prone to yo-yo style weight loss and gain. Continue ....