|
MINDing Your Weight
By Dr. John H. Sklare
What motivates one to overeat and consistently make poor nutritional choices is a very complex and confusing matter. Up until now, no one has been able to build that one perfect machine or create that incredible, body shaping, wonder drug that will immediately make you slim and happy. So, maybe the answer isn't "outside" at all. Maybe it's time to stop looking out there and start looking "inside". Well, buckle up. It's going to be a bumpy ride.
Even though consciously you may desperately want to eat healthier and make more responsible nutritional choices, there always seems to be this uncooperative other part of you that keeps getting in the way. I have had many people tell me that it's like there are two totally different personalities living inside them fighting for control. One part of them wants to eat healthier, lose weight and take better care of their body, while this other part of them procrastinates, makes excuses and always finds a way to interfere and sabotage. This common internal conflict is simply an everyday part of human nature. It is also, fundamentally, at the very heart of this incredible struggle you have with weight control.
This mental debate that goes on inside of us is technically referred to as "internal dialogue". As a mater of fact, if you stop and pay attention the next time you are struggling with an eating decision, you will actually be able to hear this debate going on inside your head. Don't be alarmed though, it's absolutely normal. Gaining a basic understanding and awareness of how this internal struggle operates will put you well on the road to successful weight management.
Psychology has long accepted and addressed this notion of internal dialoguing. For our purposes here, let's call these two opposing internal characters the Adult and the Child. In other words, imagine that there is this responsible, conscientious part of you that cares deeply about how you feel, what you weight and what you eat. We'll call this part the Adult. Conversely, imagine that there is also this irresponsible, impulsive part of you that doesn't care about how you feel, what you weigh or what you eat. Let's call this part the Child. I bet this is already starting to sound familiar to you.
The decision to eat involves many thoughts and behaviors. Some of which are conscious and some of which are unconscious. The first step involved in changing negative eating patterns, however, involves the process of discovery. Psychologists refer to this process as "awareness". Awareness is like a beam of light in a dark room. It breaks through the darkness, shows the way and allows you to move with confidence. You see, awareness creates knowledge and knowledge creates power. One of the most important aspects of awareness is that it brings with it the ability to consciously direct your behavior. In today's mind/body language, this is referred to as "mindfulness".
The key to creating change and ultimately eliminating negative eating decisions lies in the development of a more powerful and mindful self. In order to successfully change the way that you treat and feed your body, you simply must make better choices. The solution lies in your mind not in your body. The simple fact that you are now aware, of the adult and child inside you fighting for control of your eating choices, should already change this pattern to some extent. Obviously you must be conscientious about what you eat and you must involve yourself in exercise, but if you don't attend to this mental aspect as well, you will most likely just spin your wheels. There are plenty of statistics to verify this.
Traditionally, the weight loss industry has focused totally on the body. Directing efforts and resources at treating the symptom of overeating (the weight) while totally ignoring the causes of overeating (why you overeat) will never solve this problem. Let me give you a related example. When I was in private practice, verbal fighting was a common issue presented to me by couples seeking counseling. As a professional, I knew immediately that the fighting was not the problem. The fighting was only the symptom. Obviously I had to help these people stop fighting but if I didn't help them understand why they were fighting they were doomed to fight again. This very same notion holds true for weight management. If you don't understand why you are overeating, you will continue to overeat in the future. For example, let's say that you are a stress eater. That is, whenever you feel stressed you overeat. This is a very common issue among overweight people. As a matter of fact, my research with The Inner Diet shows that 77% of all overweight individuals have a serious problem with stress eating. If you're a stress eater and participate in a weight loss program without addressing the issue of stress eating, you are almost certain to regain any weight that you might lose. Understanding why something has happened in the past is the key to avoiding it in the future. That is precisely why we study history as a society—to avoid repeating mistakes that bring about catastrophic results.
Successful weight control simply must address both the body and the mind. The reality is that the physical act of eating always follows the mental decision to eat. There is no great mystery here about which comes first as in that great debate regarding the chicken and the egg. The thought always precedes the action. The decision to eat always comes before the actual eating. Eating is a choice! The tricky part about this "decision to eat" is that it is not always a conscious decision. Achieving successful weight control involves more than just monitoring everything that you eat, it must also involve an awareness and understanding of why you eat. After all, your goal is not just to lose weight, you want to lose it and keep it off! Following a sound exercise and nutritional program will safely and effectively reduce your weight and improve the health and fitness of your body. However, real success also demands improving the health and fitness of your mind. A healthy and fit body combined with a healthy and fit mind results in a healthy and fit lifestyle. In other words, I don't want you to diet; I want you to live it!
The professional community now agrees that a complete and effective weight management program must address and actively involve the two major fundamental elements of an individual's life. Those two elements are: the tangible or physical part of you (your body); and the intangible or thinking part of you (your mind). To address only your body, as almost all other weight management programs presently do, leaves the job undone. Perhaps an example would help! read more›
|
|
| Get your FREE, 8-part audio course,
Understanding Hypnosis when you sign up here for my news list.
HYPNO NEWS NOW
Get the latest news about all things hypnosis. Updated very regularly--really!
Click the button to listen to our weekly radio show
HYPNOSIS HEALTH RADIO
I lost over 70 pounds while working with Dr. Moore and my entire demure and disposition improved.
-- Pearl Thomas |
