THE SKINNY HABITS RECAP

1. Make Contingency Plans: To avoid unhealthy eating, encourage exercise, resist temptation, and guard against that first slip, create your own internal scripts for dealing with difficult situations.

2. Consciously Push Back: Notice your automatic thoughts and pinpoint which kind of “distorted” thinking you’re engaging in. Develop the mental muscle to deal with setbacks (aka the cascading shame from inevitable slipups).

3. Reengineer Your Environment: Rig your home, office, and social life to accentuate the people, places, and things that support your goals, and deemphasize (or eliminate) those that don’t.

4. Challenge Yourself: Boredom is the gateway to overeating and sitting around like a lump on your couch. Keep your mind engaged and excited about something other than the monotony of your daily responsibilities.

5. Rest for Success: You can be engaged, excited, focused, and energized only if you are rested. Protect your sleep, and find time for even small moments of relaxation.

6. Dress for Thin: Don’t hide behind your baggy clothes, however comfortable they are! Reap the psychological and physiological benefits of clothes that really fit (or that remind you of the weight you want to lose).