Are Negative Experiences the Trick to Weight Loss?

When we first adopted our furry daughter, Nittany, she would run laps around our condo, much to the chagrin of our downstairs neighbors. We did what every overwhelmed new puppy parent does and we signed up for obedience classes. We worked with Nittany about an hour a day between classes and she learned sit, down, and target (our instructors take on come). Like many dog trainers, ours relied on positive reinforcement (treats) and warned us against using negative reinforcement (saying no). Five years later she knows all of these tricks really well, as long as I have a treat in my hand. If I don’t have a treat, she has absolutely no motivation.

A few months after our obedience class, we were still trying to calm the Energizer Puppy. We heard that biking with a dog is a phenomenal way to help them burn energy. That Sunday, we took Nitt out for a leisurely bike ride. Turns out it was leisurely for us and pure hell on wheels for her. Even though we followed the trainer’s instructions on the website and didn’t take her very far the first day, Nitt’s paws were bloody and my husband had to carry her up the stairs to our condo. Ever since this fateful day, Nitt has been terrified of bikes. She cowers if we’re on the trail and one comes up behind us. She won’t go near our bikes propped against the wall even if we put meat next to them. This one terrifying experience changed her more than countless hours of practicing tricks in exchange for treats.

Mutual of Omaha uses the a-ha moment as their marketing tag line. If you visit their website you can view a-ha moment submissions from the public by topic. A search on “weight” yields two pages of a-ha moments including a woman too embarrassed to ask for a seatbelt extender on an airplane and another woman who felt winded and had to sit down after a few minutes of playing with her kids. Every single weight related a-ha moment is sad or embarrassing.

Much professional advice on weight loss stresses positive reinforcement and rewards (e.g., When I lose 20 pounds, I’ll buy myself a new pair of jeans.) What if we’re missing a very important motivator—negative reinforcement? (Note: Negative reinforcement is different from punishment. Negative reinforcement increases a behavior by using something annoying or uncomfortable, like the buzzing that reminds us to put on a seat belt or the 110 heat index that motivates us to go indoors.)

The only issue with this theory is that plenty of people have weight-related negative experiences and don't end up making a life-long change. I think this negative experience is important, but it's only one of three important steps:

The Stages of Change by
Prochaska and DiClemente.

First, a person needs to go through a series of slow changes to his or her thinking, including contemplating weight loss and preparing to begin a weight loss journey. These steps are called the Stages of Change. This preparation is what sets apart the people who make a life change after an embarrassing situation involving an airline seat and those who drown out the negative experience with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s.

Second, at the right moment, when the person has gone through contemplation and planning stages, something embarrassing or intense happens to cause this life-changing a-ha moment. This moment jolts them into action. These triggers are often events that cause embarrassment and humiliation, and changes to self image (Tod, 2004).

Finally, and perhaps more importantly, it's the positive reinforcement and a level of enjoyment that keeps the change going. In the study discussed in the last blog post, in addition to the a-ha moment, all of the teens who lost weight also exercised vigorously 2 hours each day and had families who supported their lifestyle changes. Maintaining a 2-hour a day exercise routine really requires some enjoyment of the activity. One teen in the study got very involved in martial arts. Others found a love of basketball, track, or baseball.

According to psychologists Richard Ryan and Edward Deci (2000), we need several things to find motivation. The best and most sustainable type of motivation is finding enjoyment in a behavior. If a love of running just isn’t in the cards, three other things need to be in place: 1) a person’s environment needs to support the behavior (like the teens' families), 2) a person needs choice and autonomy, and 3) a person needs to feel capable and confident to make a change.

To answer the question initially posed, negative experiences aren't the trick; they are a catalyst to move in the right direction. It's actually the positive experiences, support, and enjoyment of an activity that keep people going.

Now, if only I could figure out a way to incorporate this into dog training…

Sources:

Ryan, R.M., Deci, E.L.(2000). Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being. American Psychologist. 55;68-78.


Tod, A.M.; & Lacey, A. (2004). Overweight and obesity: helping clients take action. British Journal of Community Nursing. 9(2);59-66.