Achievable targets and social support
- Dieting is when a person intentionally restricts their food intake to achieve a goal such as weight loss or improved health
- Research suggests that those who try to lose large amounts of weight in a short amount of time by restraint have less success than those who set smaller, slower and more realistic targets towards a more long-term goal (Bartlett, 2003)
- For success at dieting, the boundary model suggests that the psychological and physiological boundaries of hunger and satiety should be set close to one another, thus reducing the chance of overeating and dieting failure
- If the psychological and physiological boundaries were set closer to one another, then the dieter would be less likely to go beyond their psychological boundary due to hunger or overeating and the diet would be more successful
- Even if dieting under medical supervision, individuals should also be involved in personal target setting to create a sense of ‘ownership’ of their dieting
- More personally realistic targets can be flexible and designed for the individual, rather than based on some unachievable ideal that makes failure and disinhibition more likely
- Social support from friends, family and dieting organisations (e.g. Weight Watchers) has also been shown to be important in dieting success, as it allows for careful monitoring and positive feedback and encouragement when restraint wavers (Miller-Kovach et al, 2001)
Setting SMART goals can help achieve dieting success.