Behave Yourself Podcast

Dr Heather McKee is a health behaviour specialist with a masters in physical activity and health psychology and a PhD in weight loss behaviour change psychology.
She supports others to build health and wellness with measurable and long lasting results.

We talked about:
What do people who successfully maintain health behaviours long term do differently from those who don't?
How to view failures
How to plan for failures
Mindset
Compassion
Goal setting

You can find more from Heather at www.drheathermckee.co.uk and www.bitesizedhabits.co

Connect with Us!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
Facebook
Behave Yourself Podcast (private group)
Instagram:
instagram.com/emily.a.macrae
instagram.com/thebehaviourlady
instagram.com/behaveyourselfpod
Email:
[email protected]

Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

We welcome Mallory Anderson-Macy on the podcast to discuss ACT, burnout and self care.

* Mallory's work and what she does
* What is ACT?
* High rates of provider burnout
* What is burnout?
* Where to start?
* Defining the life you really want
* Big 3 - time, resources, energy
* Don’t ’should’ on yourself
* What as a clinician can I do to help my staff to protect against burnout?
* Book reco - Brief Intervention for Radical Change - book Kirk Strosahl
* mindfullymallory.com
* Book - Seven Days to Clarity
* YouTube - Mindfully Mallory
* @MindfulMallory on Instagram

Connect with Us!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
Facebook
Behave Yourself Podcast (private group)
Instagram:
instagram.com/emily.a.macrae
instagram.com/thebehaviourlady
instagram.com/behaveyourselfpod
Email:
[email protected]

Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services.

Water - salty foods, heating
Still prioritise movement - Lack of motivation for "summer body"- reframe goals
Still eating veggies and fruit
Those with kids / working in schools, big change in schedule, much busier
Celebrate the festivities on the days not for the whole month
Not labelling Halloween/thanksgiving/Xmas food as that
What are some non-food activities you could do?
Is it a hell yes? Do you need pumpkin spice lattes for the whole of autumn?!

Connect with Us!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
Facebook
Behave Yourself Podcast (private group)
Instagram:
instagram.com/emily.a.macrae
instagram.com/thebehaviourlady
instagram.com/behaveyourselfpod
Email:
[email protected]

Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

Substance addition - more traditional idea of addiction to a substance that causes a physiological addiction (that’s not to say there aren’t behavioural elements). Often mind-altering substances.

Behavioural addiction - behaviours that impact the rewards centres of the brain, such as gambling, binge eating, sex, shopping, gaming, exercise, cosmetic surgery, watching porn, risky behaviours.

The current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th Edition (DSM-IV-TR) has designated formal diagnostic criteria for several of these disorders, classifying them as impulse control disorders, a separate category from substance use disorders. Other behaviors (or impulse control disorders) have been included in DSM-IV DSM – gambling, kleptomania, internet gaming disorder, internet addiction, food addiction, hypersexuality, shopping addiction, exercise addiction, and tanning addiction.

Behavioural addictions have more than tripled in the last decade while substance abuse has remained relatively stable over the last 20 years. This also correlates with the widespread use of social media (correlation not causation!)

Phones - one click on Amazon prime, a few clicks to online porn, a few clicks to takeaway orders, a few clicks to place an online bet…

Signs of behavioural addiction:
* Spending the majority of your time engaging in the behavior, thinking about or arranging to engage in the behavior, or recovering from the effects
* Becoming dependent on the behavior as a way to cope with emotions and to “feel normal”
* Continuing despite physical and/or mental harm
* Having trouble cutting back despite wanting to stop
* Neglecting work, school, or family to engage in the behavior more often
* Experiencing symptoms of withdrawal (for example, depression or irritability) when trying to stop
* Minimizing or hiding the extent of the problem

Gambling - Johnson & Dixon (2009) used a response cost to reduce gambling behaviours in pathological gamblers by getting the participants to pay to gamble (or have the dealer perform the response for free). Only partially successful. To me this makes sense. To gamble, you have to pay?!

Dixon, Marley & Jacobs (2003) found through multiple measures of delay discounting indicated that gamblers discounted delayed rewards (1 week later) more steeply than did control participants. SO maybe casinos/online gambling forums should deliver rewards one week/month/year later?

Interestingly, there have also been behavioural interventions for substance abuse disorders, such as alcoholism and heroin use published in JABA.

Personal use?
- Baseline data
- Social validity
- Determine intervention
- Take data

Ref:
Johnson, T.E. and Dixon, M.R. (2009), ALTERING RESPONSE CHAINS IN PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLERS USING A RESPONSE-COST PROCEDURE. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42: 735-740.

Dixon, M.R., Marley, J. and Jacobs, E.A. (2003), DELAY DISCOUNTING BY PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLERS. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 36: 449-458.

Connect with Us!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
Facebook
Behave Yourself Podcast (private group)
Instagram:
instagram.com/emily.a.macrae
instagram.com/thebehaviourlady
instagram.com/behaveyourselfpod
Email:
[email protected]

Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services.

This week, we answer client questions!

What is the strongest behavioural contingency?
* Positive reinforcement, the faster it’s delivered after the behaviour, the stronger the effect.
* Temporal discounting can weaken behaviours/habits
* Individuality? Interesting research?
* Escape maintained behaviour - e.g. not missing a gym class, avoiding social disapproval
- Diet and exercise - avoiding future ill health and feeling discomfort
- Work ethic - avoiding homelessness, peer judgement
- Teeth brushing - avoiding poor dental health
* What kind of reinforcement people prefer is also individual. Personally, a lot of my reinforcers are automatic - I like endorphins from exercise, cuddles (from Jim!), food… but I’m not strongly reinforced by most tangible reinforcers.

Creatine - what is it?
* Other than protein powder, it’s probably the most researched supplement
* No published literature supporting it being unsafe in any way
* But… anyone with underlying health conditions, especially liver and kidney, children and pregnant should talk to their doctor first.
* Our bodies make their own creatine, in your kidney and liver, after you eat protein. Animal protein, like meat and fish, contain creatine, but you'd need to eat a HUGE amount to get as much creatine as supplements give.
* Creatine increases the body’s ability to produce energy rapidly. Creatine exists naturally in our bodies and helps fuel our muscles, which is why some people take it as a supplement to boost their performance in the gym.
* Your muscles convert creatine into creatine phosphate, which is then converted into adenosine triphosphate (ATC), which your body uses for explosive exercise.
* It’s not an either or - you can’t replace other protein intake with creatine - they work in different ways. Creatine fuels strength in workouts, protein fuels muscle protein repair/synthesis.
* Cognitive performance
* When you start to take it, you’ll put on weight - it’s just water - but that’ll make your muscles look bigger. So… you also need to make sure you’re drinking enough water.
* Like we mentioned on last week’s episode, how people respond to supplements is very individual and partially genetic. Not everyone will respond in the same way.
* Take data on it! Does your training volume increase? Weight increase? Other effects?
* It doesn’t work without working out!
* Minimal calories so won’t cause fat gain.
* Lots of different types - creatine monohydrate is what is typically studied and is the cheapest - you don’t need the ones with bells and whistles - they probably won’t do what they’re claiming to do.
* When starting, some people have digestive issues - gas, bloating etc.
* 5g per day, every day

I’ve been doing pushups on my knees for FOREVER and can’t seem to progress to ‘proper’ pushups. Other progression ideas? Will chest press help?

Connect with Us!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
Facebook
Behave Yourself Podcast (private group)
Instagram:
instagram.com/emily.a.macrae
instagram.com/thebehaviourlady
instagram.com/behaveyourselfpod
Email:
[email protected]

Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

Insider secrets or simply lesser known facts... We cover some topics that have come up with clients recently.

Superfoods are nonsense
- The term ‘superfood’ is unregulated and doesn’t mean anything (note: same with the word ‘natural’).
- Well known superfoods = blueberries, goji berries
- 100 calories worth of goji berries will give you 250% of your RDA vitamin c. 100 calories worth of broccoli will give you 429% of your RDA vitamin c. It’ll also cost a fraction of the price.

Supplements are white labelled - they all come from the same factory
- A lot of supplements aren’t FDA approved.
- All foods and drugs affect different people in different ways. For example, in contraceptives, there are genetic factors with how many oestrogen receptors you have and how much water you retain.

Cheaper foods
- Dried beans/lentils - typically at least half the price than buying canned
- Frozen or canned fruit and vegetables are often cheaper, particularly out of season but often fresher and with equal or more nutrients.

Freezing food doesn’t make it last forever. Fat content does.
- You know the ziplock bags that have writing on them and a place for you to write the content and the date. Yeah, that’s for a good reason.

You don’t need to cleanse. Your liver does everything cleanse-y you need it to do without any special help.

Movement:
You have to workout for several hours per day several times per week
Headlines such as "7-minute Abs" and "You only need to exercise for "11 minutes per day
https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/professional/expert-articles/7750/exercise-for-only-11-minutes-a-day-a-case-study-in-misrepresenting-the-science/?topicScope=exercise-science
You need to do crunches and sit ups to get abs
Walking on the treadmill is a good warm up for strength training

A certain time of day is better to workout
Cardio equipment machines don't accurately report calorie burn
Spot training to lose fat.....DOESN"T WORK!!!!
Sweating means you're burning fat.....nope, your body is regulating it's temperature

Connect with Us!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
Facebook
Behave Yourself Podcast (private group)
Instagram:
instagram.com/emily.a.macrae
instagram.com/thebehaviourlady
instagram.com/behaveyourselfpod
Email:
[email protected]

Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

Nick Jolly is not only one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, a superb personal trainer but he also has a superpower. In this episode, he talks to us about his journey with ADHD and how he sees it as his superpower.

* Nick talks aboiut his journey to getting to where his is today and what inspired him to become a PT.
* ADHD as a superpower
* How Nick manages his own behaviour and what strategies he has in place to work towards his goals.
* What would Nick like to be able to go back and tell himself as a child.
* How we can all work towards the world should be more accepting of neurodiversity.
* Nick Jolly in 10 years time - what’s he up to?

Why is it that so often we know what we SHOULD do but can't actually DO it?

1. Values - is the goal truly one of your values?
2. Do you value yourself enough? An example of this might be paying for therapy. When someone is feeling at their absolute worst, it’s the time they most need someone to talk to and yet is the time they are least likely to want to invest in themselves.
3. Have you identified how hard you’re willing to work OR how long you’re willing to wait to achieve the goal?
4. How are you setting up your environment?
5. How are you altering your MOs?
6. Aversive settings? Change is HARD initially, you’re disrupting status quo.
7. If the ultimate goal is delayed, are you planning for shorter term reinforcement?
8. Have you considered competing contingencies?
9. Delayed reinforcers - what we know from the research
10. Concept of ‘future self’
11. What have you reinforced in the past - the idea that you stick to your goals or you give up on yourself?

Connect with Us!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
Facebook
Behave Yourself Podcast (private group)
Instagram:
instagram.com/emily.a.macrae
instagram.com/thebehaviourlady
instagram.com/behaveyourselfpod
Email:
[email protected]

Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

Taken from the National Eating Disorders website:

Body image is how you see yourself when you look in the mirror or when you picture yourself in your mind. It encompasses:
* What you believe about your own appearance (including your memories, assumptions, and generalizations).
* How you feel about your body, including your height, shape, and weight.
* How you sense and control your body as you move.  How you physically experience or feel in your body. 
Many of us internalize messages starting at a young age that can lead to either positive or negative body image. Having a healthy body image is an important part of mental wellbeing and eating disorders prevention.


62% of women feel negatively about their body image compared with 53% of men. 57% of those who don't identify with either as a man or a woman reported feeling negatively about their body image most of the time

Not linked to body size / weight loss - weight loss is actually linked to poorer body confidence 

Is fluctuating

Is separate from self esteem

Not linked to objective beauty - eg models are the least confident

People with good body image also have bad days
Also have a strong filter for when they hear negative comments/thoughts
Also tend to have good media literacy - know that what they see isn’t necessarily true
Haven’t always had positive body image
Have good role models (who don’t necessarily look how they’d want to look!)

What’s the antecedents:
* Is it weighing yourself? Reduce or stop OR increase and break association
* Body checking - self monitor to reduce
* Curate your inputs

Reframe it: 
* I have excess energy stores
* “We don’t do that anymore”
* I’m strong

Negative self talk - what’s the function?
* Negative self talk to others - we may be reinforced by others telling us otherwise - “No, you look great!”
* Our own responses to negative self talk - comfort ourselves with food / alcohol / bath etc
* Our own responses to negative self talk - escape the hard - by telling yourself you can’t / you’re worthless, what are you avoiding?

Connect with Us!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
Facebook
Behave Yourself Podcast (private group)
Instagram:
instagram.com/emily.a.macrae
instagram.com/thebehaviourlady
instagram.com/behaveyourselfpod
Email:
[email protected]

Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services. 

Are you a long distance runner, cyclist, triathlete or hiker? Do you know how to fuel and hydrate properly for long duration (90+ minutes) activities?

**Note** Emily is certified is Sports Nutrition but this is not her primary focus! 
Thank you to one of our listeners for reaching out and asking this question in our Behave Yourself Podcast Facebook Group!

Use schedules, such as fixed intervals to consistently take on nutrition

Collect data and track how you feel over time based on the types of foods and liquids

This is an ongoing process that even pro-athletes are still trying to figure out for themselves! 

To calculate your sweat rate:
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/how-to-calculate-your-sweat-rate/

Connect with Us!
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or topics that you would like us to cover, please reach out to us!
Facebook
Behave Yourself Podcast (private group)
Instagram:
instagram.com/emilyamacrae
instagram.com/thebehaviourlady
instagram.com/behaveyourselfpod
Email:
[email protected]

Disclaimer: While we’re both behaviour analysts and qualified in our respective fields, this podcast is for education and information sharing only and should not be taken as personal, medical or behavioral advice or services.