1. Weight Control During the Holidays: Highly Consistent Self- monitoring as a Potentially Useful Coping Mechanism. Baker, R.C. & Kirschenbaum, D.S. (1998). Behavior Therapy, 17(4) 367-370.

2. Holiday Weight Change 38 participants (32 female) In PAR program an average of 50 weeks, average 21 pounds lost. Examined 10 Weeks of Self-Monitoring 3 Holiday Weeks – 3 Holiday Weeks (Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukah, and New Year’s Eve) 7 Non-Holiday Weeks – 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, – 3 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, – 2 weeks following New Year’s Day

3. Holiday & Non-Holiday Weeks NH TGNH XMASNY’sNH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910 Compared Holiday Monitoring indexes vs. Non-Holiday monitoring indexes: Holiday week monitoring indexes (w3+w7+w8)/3 Non-Holiday week monitoring indexes (w1+w2+w4+w5+w6+w9+w10)/7

4. Monitoring Index Calculations All foods eaten (at least three distinct food entries) + any food eaten + any time food was eaten + any quantity of food eaten + any grams of fat consumed - not monitoring Range = -7 to +35

5. Mean Weekly Weight Changes for Four Quartiles of Self-Monitoring Consistency During Holiday and Non-Holiday Weeks

6. Summary Holidays were demonstrated to be high-risk situations by producing substantial decrements in self-monitoring. Only the highly consistent self-monitoring participants consistently lost weight over the 10 weeks of the study. The least consistent self-monitoring group was the only group that consistently gained weight over the 10 weeks of the study.

7. Conclusions Benefits of self-monitoring seemed to extend over the holidays, providing a buffering effect for the potentially adverse impact of the holidays Participants gained 500% more weight during the holiday weeks compared with the non-holiday weeks. “It may take nearly perfect self-monitoring to buffer the effects of certain high-risk situational challenges.” “Taming the formidable biological challenges of weight control requires a remarkable degree of attention, control, and concentration, especially during the holidays.”

8. Impressions & Suggestions Are the Weight Changes Really Significant? What Constitutes a Holiday? Can Self-Monitoring be used as a “Slump Buster?”

9. “Classic” Holiday Scenario Disruption in normal routine. Traveling or having guests Changes in normal schedule Higher than normal levels of socialization and entertainment Increased food temptations