Table 2 -.
Session Outline
| Session 1: Introduction to the Program, Self-Monitoring, Relaxation 1 | - Introduction and program rationale - Discuss couples working together to be partners in health and ways to support one another in managing weight and symptoms - Overview and rationale for self-monitoring - Relaxation 1: Progressive Muscle Relaxation |
| Session 2: Eating for Health, Making Decisions about Eating Behaviors, Relaxation 2 | - Review the importance of weight management for survivors and partners - Discuss healthy eating and dietary recommendations - Complete Decisional Balance Exercise - Relaxation 2: Guided Imagery |
| Session 3: Increasing Physical Activity, Activity Pacing | - Provide exercise education, discuss ways to decrease sedentary behavior - Complete the exercise buddy agreement - Introduce the overactivity-cycle and activity-rest cycling as an alternative |
| Session 4: Planning Pleasant and Meaningful Activities; Relaxation 3 | - Describe the rationale for planning pleasant and meaningful activities - Help couples identify individual and joint activities - Relaxation Part 3: Paced Breathing and Mini-Relaxation Practices |
| Session 5: Identifying & replacing unhelpful thoughts | - Discuss the role of thoughts for weight management goals and wellbeing - Learn ways to recognize unhelpful thoughts (ABC model) and replace unhelpful thoughts (coping self-statements/thoughts) |
| Session 6: Refocusing & Restructuring unhelpful thoughts, preparing for maintenance | - Learn to refocus and reframe unhelpful thoughts - Discuss a plan for entering maintenance phase of the program - Review progress in the program, including areas to continue to work on - Encourage participants to review their own progress on the “off weeks” |
| Session 7: Managing Emotional Eating Triggers | - Have participants identify individual and joint eating triggers - Discuss emotional triggers and strategies to manage them - Discuss social support and matching support needs with the appropriate support person for managing emotional triggers |
| Session 8: Managing Environmental Eating Triggers | - Discuss individual and joint environmental triggers and how changing the environment can help to modify food choices/portion size - Discuss changing patterns/habits to manage environmental triggers - Review the use of assertive communication for managing environmental triggers (specifically making requests and saying no) |
| Session 9: Appetite Awareness Training Rationale & Appetite Monitoring | - Provide education about and rationale for appetite awareness training - Discuss eating in response to internal, appetite cues vs. other factors - Provide information about problems with ignoring hunger and fullness - Introduce the “What the Heck” response and tie it back to previously discussed skills (e.g., cognitive restructuring) - Introduce the Appetite Meter and discuss how to monitor appetite |
| Session 10: Managing Urges and Cravings & Food Awareness Training | - Discuss and normalize the possibility for food cravings - Discuss strategies for managing urges and cravings, including time, distance, pleasant activities, relaxation, and urge surfing. - Discuss food awareness training strategies |
| Session 11: Engaging in valued behaviors and goal setting for the future | - Discuss the importance of living a valued life - Discuss the difference between values and goals and importance of setting value-congruent goals - Introduce the S.M.A.R.T. framework for goal setting - Identify individual and joint goals related to the program |
| Session 12: Maintaining Weight Loss & Lifestyle Changes; Problem solving for relapse prevention | - Review progress and identify areas to continue to work on - Discuss continued self-monitoring for maintaining lifestyle changes - Discuss plans for maintenance - Normalize lapses; identify triggers for lapses, and create a plan for managing lapses, including using problem solving |