Weight control during the holidays: highly consistent self-monitoring as a potentially useful coping mechanism.

The study examined the extent to which trait self-monitoring (the systematic observation and recording of target behaviors) was related to weight control during the high-risk holiday season. The participants (32 women, 6 men) averaged 223.1 lbs (101.41 kg), 57.2% overweight, 50.2 weeks of participation, and 21.3 lbs (9.68 kg) lost at the beginning of the study. Consistency of self-monitoring and weight changes were assessed for 3 holiday versus 7 nonholiday weeks. Analyses of variance (Consistency of Self-Monitoring Groups x Holiday/Nonholiday Weeks) revealed that participants gained 500% more weight per week during holiday compared with nonholiday weeks. Only participants in the most consistent self-monitoring quartile averaged any weight loss over the 10 weeks of the study and during the holiday weeks.