Whoever invented the term “fathead” could have been referring to those of us who constantly struggle to lose weight. Half the battle (or more) is mental. Whether it’s self esteem issues, boredom, or stress, tackling why we binge or overeat is the key to sustained weight loss.
We’ve all heard about books like The Secret that promote the Law of Attraction as the answer to everything we desire. I’m not sure I buy in to that philosophy when it comes to being healthy and losing weight. It would be nice if visualizing it hard enough we could all be thin and healthy, but I don’t think it’s that easy.
However I do think that analyzing why we overeat and visualizing alternative behaviors to cope with the emotional issues can lead to success. Of course the final step is to actually carry out the substitute actions we’ve visualized.
Let’s practice and have a little fun. See if you can identify with any of these people.
TV Munching Queen
Vanessa is an avid TV fan. CSI, Grey’s Anatomy, Survivor, American Idol, she loves them all. But when Vanessa settles in for an evening of TV bliss, she includes a bag of her favorite Doritos or a pint of ice cream. For Vanessa, TV and junk food are joined at the hip, and her hips reflect this partnership!
If Vanessa is serious about losing weight, she needs to break the TV/junk food relationship. There are a couple of ways to do this. If she needs to keep her hands occupied, she should try knitting, doing a jigsaw puzzle, or folding laundry while she watches. If she needs the “comfort” of food, maybe she should call a supportive friend during the show so they can watch together and analyze every plot twist in real time on the phone. Somehow, Vanessa needs to separate eating junk food from watching TV.
After Work Pig-Out Dude
Daryl has a stressful job. He often skips lunch and survives on coffee and vending machines during the day. By the time he gets home at night he is so keyed up and ravenous that any food within reach is fair game. While Daryl always intends to prepare a healthy dinner, he is all about what is easy and quick. Often this means frozen pizza, or the McDonald’s drive-through on the way home.
Longer term Daryl needs to slow down and during the day or he is going to die young from a heart attack. If Daryl really has no time for a healthy lunch, then he should consider getting another job! But while he’s looking, he can bring fruit and healthy energy bars to eat at his desk.
For dinner, Daryl can break this harmful cycle by keeping healthy, easy to prepare food at home. Even Daryl can open a can of low fat soup or pick up a pre-made salad. If take-out beckons, he can call ahead to a Thai or Chinese restaurant for a healthy dish with plenty of veggies and maybe even some brown rice.
Weekend Binger
Cindy eats healthfully and exercises regularly during the week. But starting with Friday night happy hour and going through Sunday brunch, Cindy is all about eating and drinking. She vacillates between heavy drinking and being hungover all weekend, so she is either drinking and staying out late, or sleeping it off. Cindy can’t understand why despite her healthy habits during the week, she is still gaining weight.
Cindy wants so much to be accepted by her social circle that she’s sacrificing her health and weight loss goals to fit in. Longer term she may need a new group of friends who are more health-conscious. Shorter term she can try inviting her friends to go hiking or rollerblading on Saturday afternoon. How about going to a movie instead of a bar? Cindy needs to shift the focus away from bars and drinking on the weekends.
You get the idea. Lifestyle change is not easy, but for lasting weight loss, it’s the only way. So break the mental ruts that are holding you back and lose weight for life.
Author: Diane Gilabert
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera Information
