Dr. Kenneth Schwarz is a psychologist who specializes in personal change and goal achievement. He is the founder of MariasLastDiet.com, a website for women that is all about the psychological side of dieting. He is the creator of www.diettuffy.com, the psychological tool that keeps you on your diet. Dr. Schwarz is in clinical practice in Sharon, Connecticut, where is also a member of the allied health staff at Sharon Hospital.
An Internet-Based, Interactive, Serious, Game-Like Method
to Promote Diet Adherence
by Kenneth Schwarz PhD*
Research that compares diets and commercial weight loss programs finds that it is not the diet that counts; it is being able to stay on the diet that makes the real difference. “Sticking to” a regimen—a diet, or exercise program, or taking prescribed medication—is known as adherence. The problem of adherence has been carefully studied over the years in order to find out what prevents people from sticking to whatever it is they need to, want to, or should stick to.
Willpower alone is an unreliable source of energy and motivation for adherence because it is easily depleted. Instead of counting on willpower, people are more likely to adhere to their diets if they solve the personal problems that interfere when they try to diet. Some examples of such problems are low motivation, vulnerability to temptations, emotional eating, feeling deprived, negative thinking, hard to break habits, and low self-confidence.
When it comes to adhering to a diet, the dieter is usually left substantially on her own to solve these kinds of problems. Adherence helpers are not readily available the way that food plans are. This report is about an adherence helper that has recently been developed for dieters. It does not replace the diet or food plan. It is a compliment to the food plan (diet). It is universal, and can be used with any diet.
The adherence helper, called Diet Tuffy, is an internet-based, interactive e-system for women dieters. It helps a woman stay on her diet by enabling her to solve the problems that have been preventing diet adherence. Diet Tuffy guides women dieters through the following processes: problem identification, solution development, solution implementation, specific planning, plan testing, and corrective, self-regulating feedback. These psychological processes provide the basis for five fun-filled and confidence building steps.
Diet Tuffy has been developed and designed as a self-help, ehealth tool, easy to use, easy to access. It is a serious internet-based game-like guide that can be used over and over again to solve the problems that threaten diet adherence. When completed, the dieter has a well-tested, specific plan in hand to solve a particular problem that has prevented her from sticking to her diet.
*Dr. Schwarz is a psychologist in clinical practice in Sharon, CT, a member of the allied health staff at Sharon Hospital, and co-founder of MariasLastDiet.com