Does it seem like you’ve tried everything to lose weight and still struggle with losing weight and keeping it off? You’re not alone.
I was listening to an old podcast on NaturalNews.com about the mind – body connection regarding weight loss. The discussion was about how your mood affects the cravings your body will have and as a result makes it tougher for you to lose weight.
The truth is that if we are depressed, stressed out, bored or anxious our bodies secrete certain hormones in an attempt to maintain balance. The result of this can lead to high sugar cravings and result in overeating in an attempt to self-medicate. Obviously, this is a cycle that becomes self-defeating.
This is something that doesn’t get talked about much because so many people often overlook the reasons for overeating and focus instead on ways to suppress their appetite and eat less in an effort to lose weight. However, you might want to consider what types of emotional issues may be hindering your weight loss efforts?
I’ve touched upon this before in an article on diet and mindset. However, the issue there was motivation and changing your mindset from one that hates to exercise to a mindset that feels exhilarated and healthier if you exercise.
The underlying basis of many people’s struggle with weight loss may just be an emotional pain that needs to be dealt with in order to succeed in losing weight. According to experts approximately 75% of overeating is caused by emotional overeating. It’s definitely something to consider if nothing else has seemed to work.
Signs of emotional overeating you should look out for according to RecoveryConnection.org.
- Eating uncontrollably
- Preoccupied with food
- Preoccupation with weight
- Preoccupied with one’s next meal
- Hiding of food
- Eating in secret
- Multiple failed attempts at dieting
- Increasing depression
- Losing interest in previously enjoyed activities
So what can you do if you’ve identified yourself as a person that emotionally overeats?
First, identify the triggers that cause you to overeat then choose an alternative behavior other than eating.
Here’s an example of activities you can choose to do instead of emotionally eating (provided by Medicinenet.com )
- Read a good book or magazine or listen to music
- Go for a walk or jog
- Take a bubble bath.
- Do deep breathing exercises.
- Play cards or a board game.
- Talk to a friend
- Do housework, laundry or yard work.
- Wash the car.
- Write a letter.
- Or do any other pleasurable or necessary activity until the urge to eat passes.
Ways to deal with emotional stress :
- Relaxation exercises
- Meditation
- Individual or group counseling
The bottom line is, you want to get active and do something other than think about eating. I’m a big fan of physical activity because it releases chemicals in your brain that help stabilize mood and enhance well-being. You will feel happier and more relaxed just by getting out and going for a walk. If you do this regularly your mood will improve and your body will become more fit giving you an additional boost in self-confidence and self-esteem.
Learning how to cope with emotions may be hard and initially take a lot of work. If you are struggling with this on your own don’t hesitate to speak with a counselor or trained therapist in order to resolve these issues. The better equipped you are to deal with emotions in an effective manner the happier you will be and less likely you will be to turn to food as a way of feeling the void.
I think most of us know how to diet. I mean, intuitively we know that we should be eating healthy foods in order to lose weight. As a personal trainer it’s important to emphasis that losing belly fat is more than just what we eat. A good exercise program also plays a key role in how we feel and how quickly we lose fat. With that said, taking a look at what we put into our bodies, not just for the purposes of a short term diet, but a long life is vitally important to our health.
