Electronic Supplemental Materials
Appendix A
Example E-mails
This appendix contains examples of lesson e-mails and feedback e-mails sent to participants in the minimal, nondirective, and directive support conditions. Introduction e-mails for each group as well as example feedback e-mails are included below to allow readers to compare subtle differences between these support conditions. For purposes of saving space, quiz answers were only included for the introduction e-mails and the minimal support feedback e-mail; feedback graphs were only included for the minimal support feedback e-mail. All names have been changed.
Contents:
Example 1. Lesson e-mail. Similar in all three conditions
Example 2. Introduction e-mail for the minimal support condition
Example 3. Minimal support feedback e-mail
Example 4. Introduction e-mail for the directive support condition
Example 5. Directive support feedback e-mail
Example 6. Directive support feedback e-mail
Example 7. Introduction e-mail for the nondirective support condition
Example 8. Nondirective support feedback e-mail
Example 9. Nondirective support feedback e-mail
Example 1. Lesson E-Mail.
Hi Amy -
Attached is this week's lesson on Goal Setting. This lesson describes different types of goals (process and outcome goals), effective goal setting strategies, and different areas in which you can set goals to help you achieve weight loss.
Here is the link to the Weekly Check-In Survey I mentioned in the previous e-mail: [survey link]. Please fill out this survey for Week 1 so we can provide you with feedback.
Next week’s lesson: Healthy Eating
Enjoy your week!
(E-Coach’s Name)
Example 2. Introduction E-mail for the Minimal Support Condition
Note: Because this e-mail was the first e-mail and used to communicate expectations of the program, it is significantly longer than the remaining e-mails for the minimal support condition.
Hi Mary -
Welcome to the Weight Loss E-Coaching Program! I am going to be your weight loss e-coach over the next 12 weeks. I’d like to use this week’s e-mail to tell you a little bit about myself and let you know what you can expect from me and from the program.
I am a clinical psychology doctoral student with a master’s degree in exercise and sport science and a master’s degree in clinical health psychology. For the past four years, I have been counseling people who are trying to make health behavior changes. I am now looking forward to working with you to help you achieve your weight loss goals!
Over the next 12 weeks, we will be communicating with each other by e-mail about your progress. I will send you two e-mails each week with a subject line that starts with "WLEP:" This way you will know that the e-mail is from the Weight Loss E-Coaching Program.
Each Monday, I will send an e-mail which will contain a Word document with a lesson and a link to a short check-in survey. The lessons provided in this program are based on the Diabetes Prevention Program, which contained a lifestyle intervention targeting diet, physical activity, and behavior modification. These lessons have been studied extensively and have been found to be effective in helping people to lose weight. A short quiz will follow each lesson. Send your answers to me once you have read the quiz. I have included last week’s quiz answers below.
The check-in survey will allow you to send information on your weight, total daily calories, and exercise, as well as any comments you had about the week. Using this information, I will send you a second e-mail each week with quiz answers and graphs showing your progress. I can only do this if you provide me with information in the check in survey, so please fill out this information each week.
The aim of this program is to help you to make lifestyle changes so you can lose weight and keep this weight off. In this program, we promote a healthy rate of weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week. People are more successful in losing and maintaining their weight loss at this rate than when they lose more than 2 pounds a week.
With that said, here are the goals we have for you in this program:
o To lose 1-2 pounds a week
o To lose 9 pounds in the first 6 weeks of the study
Thanks for sending your weight on your home scale. I will use that as your baseline weight when providing you with feedback. Have a great week,
(E-Coach’s Name)
Last Week’s Quiz Answers:
1. How many calories are in a pound?
a) 1200
b) 1800
c) 3500
d) 4000
2. What is a healthy rate of weight loss?
a) 1-2 pounds per week
b) 2-3 pounds per week
c) 3-4 pounds per week
d) 5 pounds per week
3. Using your Calorie, Fat, & Carbohydrate Counter book, which of the following has the least amount of calories:
a) Wendy’s Mandarin chicken salad with dressing (550 calories, 26 g fat)
b) Caribou Coffee’s 16 oz mocha (480 calories, 19 g fat)
c) Mc Donald’s cheeseburger (310 calories, 12 g fat)
d) Arby’s baked potato with butter and sour cream (425 calories, 23 g fat)
e) Starbuck’s cinnamon chip scone (515 calories, 23 g fat)
* I am not promoting eating cheeseburgers! I just wanted to point out that some things that you may think would not have a lot of calories can be more costly in terms of calories and fat than a cheeseburger.
Order and Description of Study Lessons:
1. Introduction to weight loss
2. Goal Setting - describes different types of goals, effective goal setting strategies, and different areas in which you can set goals to help you achieve weight loss.
3. Healthy Eating – discusses ways in which you can change your eating behavior to decrease the fat and calories in your diet.
4. Reducing and Changing Eating Cues - describes common cues for eating and provides solutions for replacing or changing these cues and building healthier habits.
5. Eating Healthy When Eating Out - discusses four strategies for eating healthy when eating out: planning ahead, asking for what you want, taking charge of what's around you, and choosing foods carefully.
6. Increasing Physical Activity - discusses the health benefits of physical activity and strategies for adopting and maintaining an exercise routine.
7. Talking Back to Negative Thoughts - discusses different types of negative thoughts and strategies for you to identify these negative thoughts, stop them, and replace them with positive thoughts.
8. Enlisting Social Support - discusses different types of support, how to find support, what you can do when people are unsupportive, and ways your family can help.
9. Problem Solving - discusses five steps to effective problem solving.
10. Slippery Slope of Lifestyle Change - discusses what slips are, what causes slips, and how to overcome slips.
11. Managing Stress - discusses ways to prevent stress and ways to cope with stress that can’t be avoided.
12. Staying Motivated – discusses how to maintain motivation to continue activities associated with weight loss.
Example 3. Feedback E-mail for the Minimal Support Condition
Hi Mary –
Thanks for checking in this week. I have your Week 7 feedback graphs and the Enlisting Social Support quiz answers below. Congrats on reaching the 10 pound mark!
(E-Coach’s Name)
Enlisting Social Support for Weight Loss Quiz Answers:
1. A friend offers to pick up your son from baseball practice in order for you to exercise.
What type of support is this?
a. Listening Support
b. Shared Experience Support
c. Technical Support
d. Emotional Support
e. Practical Support
2. A coworker tells you about how she dealt with a challenging experience you are going through when trying to lose weight. What type of support is this?
a. Listening Support
b. Shared Experience Support
c. Technical Support
d. Emotional Support
e. Practical Support
3.What are two ways someone close to you can help to support your weight loss efforts?
Answers can vary. Examples include helping you with grocery shopping, watching the kids so you can exercise, eating low calorie foods when around you, going for a walk with you, clearing the table and putting food away once the meal is over, praising your efforts, and being open to trying new foods.
Example 4. Introduction E-mail for the Directive Support Condition
Hi Dianne -
Welcome to the Weight Loss E-Coaching Program! I am going to be your weight loss e-coach over the next 12 weeks. I’d like to use this week’s e-mail to tell you a little bit about myself and let you know what you can expect from me and from the program.
I am a clinical psychology doctoral student with a master’s degree in both exercise and sport science and a master’s degree in clinical health psychology. I have been counseling people who are trying to make health behavior changes for the past four years. I am now looking forward to helping you in losing weight!
E-Mails:
Over the next 12 weeks, we will be communicating with each other by e-mail about your progress. I will send you two e-mails each week with a subject line that starts with "WLEP:" This way you will know that the e-mail is from the Weight Loss E-Coaching Program.
Each Monday, I will send an e-mail which will contain a Word document with a lesson and a link to a short check-in survey. The lessons provided in this program are based on the Diabetes Prevention Program, which contained a lifestyle intervention targeting diet, physical activity, and behavior modification. These lessons have been studied extensively and have been found to be effective in helping people to lose weight. I have included the order of the lesson topics and lesson descriptions below. A short quiz will follow each lesson. Send your answers to me once you have read the lesson and completed the quiz. I have included last week’s quiz answers below.
Weekly Check-In Survey:
The check-in survey will allow you to send me information on your total daily calories and exercise, as well as any comments you had about the week. The quality of the counseling you will receive will be dependent on the information I receive from you. The more information I receive from you through the check-in survey and e-mail, the better able I am to provide you with feedback. So please fill out this information each week.
Once a week, I will review your e-mails and the information from your weekly check-in survey and will send you a feedback e-mail. In this e-mail, I will provide you with a weight graph and goals for the next week. I will also help in establishing plans to overcome areas in which it seems that you are having difficulty. It will be important for you to check your email regularly during the program because sometimes I may ask you questions in order to get additional information.
Program Goals:
The aim of this program is to help you to make lifestyle changes so you can lose weight and keep this weight off. In this program, we promote a healthy rate of weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week. People are more successful in losing and maintaining their weight loss at this rate than when they lose more than 2 pounds a week.
With that said, here are the goals we have for you in this program:
o To lose 1-2 pounds a week
o To lose 9 pounds in the first 6 weeks of the study.
Self-Monitoring:
Over the next week, I would like you to begin recording your foods and drinks. Many experts consider self-monitoring to be the single most effective approach to changing dietary behavior. To help me get an idea of the types and amounts of food you are eating, send me a list of everything you ate and drank for a two day period (either the last two days or the next two days). Also, let me know what a typical week is like for you in terms of physical activity. What do you tend to do and for how long?
I look forward to hearing from you,
(E-Coach’s Name)
Lesson 1 Quiz Answers
1. How many calories are in a pound?
a) 1200
b) 1800
c) 3500
d) 4000
2. What is a healthy rate of weight loss?
a) 1-2 pounds per week
b) 2-3 pounds per week
c) 3-4 pounds per week
d) 5 pounds per week
3. Using your Calorie, Fat, & Carbohydrate Counter book, which of the following has the least amount of calories:
a) Wendy’s Mandarin chicken salad with dressing (550 calories, 26 g fat)
b) Caribou Coffee’s 16 oz mocha (480 calories, 19 g fat)
c) Mc Donald’s cheeseburger (310 calories, 12 g fat)
d) Arby’s baked potato with butter and sour cream (425 calories, 23 g fat)
e) Starbuck’s cinnamon chip scone (515 calories, 23 g fat)
* I am not promoting eating cheeseburgers! I just wanted to point out that some things that you may think would not have a lot of calories can be more costly in terms of calories and fat than a cheeseburger.
Order and Description of Study Lessons:
1. Introduction to weight loss -
2. Goal Setting - describes different types of goals, effective goal setting strategies, and different areas in which you can set goals to help you achieve weight loss.
3. Healthy Eating – discusses ways in which you can change your eating behavior to decrease the fat and calories in your diet.