KEEPING FIT AND SLIM: AN ACTION PLAN

Beating externally controlled eating

Obviously the problem with this type of eater is that he or she lives in a world full of food-related cues, ranging from chocolate advertisements on street hoardings to fixed-point ritual dinners with parents-in-law. Breaking the pattern is not going to be easy. How, for example, do you get round the fact that you are the type of eater who gets 'hungry' the second the clock reaches a notional - or indeed official - lunchtime? One approach is consciously to decide not to eat lunch at exactly the same time each day, or to skip a mid-morning snack altogether - not because these measures will in themselves cause you to shed pounds, but because they will lead to that all-important dissociation between stimulus and response. Similarly, you might try to cut out all eating in front of the TV, or munching sweets behind your desk, or whatever. Avoid the sight and smell of food as much as possible. Make detours to avoid the odours wafting out from that French bakery. Go into the kitchen as little as possible, making sure that anything you might want during the day is elsewhere.

Beating emotionally cued eating

In much the same vein, you should try to interpose something between yourself and an emotional cut to eating. If you feel that food is for 'comfort' or 'pleasure', then it must follow that, at those times of acute susceptibility, you need to find substitutes - or better still, attempt to prevent the need to assuage strong feelings in the first place. Try to get to the root of your anxiety or preoccupation and work on that.

Beating internally cued eating

The approach here is much the same as for externally cued eating. Look for ways of preventing automatic responses to every sensation of 'hunger'. Try to reshape lifetime habits by changing long-established mealtime routines.

If you are a food-craver type who seems driven by the body to get satisfaction, you will have severe difficulties in overcoming the urge. It is very hard to argue with hunger pangs on the grounds that they are 'conditioned' by one's timetable. This is where an eating technique might be of use. Taste every mouthful s-l-o-w-l-y - not necessarily cutting down on quantity to begin with, but learning to appreciate everything you taste. Take small mouthfuls. When you begin to feel you have eaten enough, get into the habit of leaving some food on your plate - none of that mother-knows-best nonsense of finishing up good food to the last crumb.

Beating consciously restrained eating

From the questionnaire analysis you can see that the secret here is self-awareness. It is particularly useful for you to keep up your daily diary, because you are the type of eater who can exercise considerable control provided you are operating within a strict framework. Watch, too, for events and situations that will undermine your authority over yourself, like parties, eating out and travelling. Your main worry is that you might switch from control to chaos after a sudden lapse. Try to remind yourself that, as with smoking, one deviation does not mean that you are an inferior being, nor that you will never get back on the right lines again.

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