Your outlook can be a key element in successful weight management. Many studies support the power of positive thinking, linking self-confidence and optimism as factors that promote long-term changes in behavior.

This is welcome news for people who are optimistic by nature and feel hopeful about any new plans. But what if you don't have that advantage? The news is good here, too: You can learn optimism. You can choose the way you perceive the world and explain circumstances that influence your eating patterns. You can adopt positive thinking and boost your odds of managing your weight.

Cognitive restructuring
Are you surprised that you can make changes in thinking habits? It involves a process that experts call "cognitive restructuring." Basically, this means reviewing and challenging your automatic first thoughts, then replacing initially negative or irrational thoughts with more constructive ones.

The next time you find yourself viewing a situation negatively, ask yourself: Am I being rational? Is this a realistic way to look at this? Is it sensible or helpful to think the world is lost because you ate two cookies? Dismiss the negative thought and substitute a counter thought. (For example: I'll compensate by going for a brisk walk this evening.)

Boosting self-confidence
Successful weight management efforts start with a belief in self. Do you have faith that you can stick with an eating plan? If you're like most people, you may doubt how much influence you really can exert over your weight. You may question your resolve.

Start by accepting responsibility for your body weight. You can't control all the factors that contribute to weight—your genes, for example—but your weight isn't predetermined. In positive terms, you can influence your weight. For proof, look around at the millions of others who have done exactly what you're trying to do. Weight management is difficult, but, with consistent effort, you can do it.

How can you develop self-confidence? Draw on your personal history for examples of success. Have you ever made another behavior change, like quitting smoking, drinking less alcohol, or stopping drug use? Or maybe you can look at other parts of your life where you've endured difficult conditions and found ways to succeed. You may have raised children, earned a degree, held a stressful job, or battled a serious illness. All these teach the ability to persevere.

One nice thing: Sometimes just making the decision to start a weight-management plan will boost your confidence. You'll feel like you're doing something to take control.

Learning positive self-talk
Many people who are successful at weight management use positive self-talk, or "affirmations," as they're sometimes called, to keep their spirits strong. Self-talk is a kind of mental dialogue that you have with yourself to keep on track.

Self-talk can serve as a pep talk. When you're feeling down or running low on energy, try saying something like:

• "I'm getting healthier and trimmer every day."
• "I'm a good person, and I like the changes I'm making."
• "Sometimes I make mistakes, but I know how to bounce back from them."

Positive self-talk can also help you prepare for a high-risk situation. Before a difficult encounter, arm yourself with cognitive ammunition:

• "I am in control of my eating."
• "I do not need to eat while I watch TV."
• "I've made it through parties without overeating before, and I will do it again."
• "At restaurants, I choose not to eat fried food, desserts, etc."

Develop your own self-talk so it has special meaning to you. Practice your affirmations aloud several times a day so they take hold.

Avoiding negative self-talk
Negative self-talk or irrational thinking can undermine a weight management plan. Some examples are:

All-or-nothing thinking. Do you tend to view events in good-or-bad fashion? Are you a perfectionist in your self-expectations? If you're too rigid, you may overreact to a minor lapse: "I just ate three cookies instead of one. Now that all is lost, I might as well finish the bag." The next morning, you may feel disappointed in yourself and continue to overindulge, maybe never getting back on track. The remedy is to change how you think about mistakes: Consider them as feedback.

Should's and never's. Traditional dieting breeds good-food versus bad-food thinking. You may think you should always eat healthy vegetables and never eat chocolate. But overly restrictive diets may make you feel deprived and resentful, which in turn tends to cause bingeing or overindulgence. Rather than swear off chocolate forever, find room for it occasionally, eating it in small portions.

Self-fulfilling prophecies. If you think everything will turn out wrong, you often help to create conditions for negative things to happen. For example, you might think to yourself: "Whenever I go to my friend's dinner parties, he makes me eat seconds." Soon after, you visit your friend and you accept a heaping serving of seconds. So you say: "See, I knew I couldn't say no." The next time, create a positive self-fulfilling prophecy. Plan ahead how you'll let your friend know that you like him and his food, but are firmly committed to your plan.