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Did You Know?
While obesity may indeed be regarded as a disease instead of a case of "having no willpower," you still may find yourself falling into destructive eating patterns that are influenced by your mood. Throughout my own diet counseling experiences, I have seen and identified numerous personality traits that have recurred in many of my clients. Though there is no scientific research to support these seven basic traits, there is much evidence to support the relationship between mood and food. Consider the following behaviors below and see if you identify with any of them:
(Note: Although the personality traits listed below refer to the eater as being a "she," they do not exclusively refer to females, and thus can be experienced by men as well)
- The Emotional Eater. The Emotional Eater looks to food for comfort. When stressful feelings occur she reaches for food to relieve these painful emotions. Food brings back feelings of security or carefree times. The only problem is that the comfort feelings she experienced while eating were only temporary, and are now replaced with feelings of self-disgust.
- The Unrealistic Overachiever. The Unrealistic Overachiever is always unsatisfied with her results. No matter how much she does it's never enough. If she loses five pounds it should have been ten. She also has the "all or nothing syndrome"—if she eats one cookie then she's a failure. And she wants to lose it all now. It didn't matter that it took her six years to gain that extra 20 pounds, she wants to shed it in one month. She has trouble meeting her goals because her expectations are too high. These thoughts can make her run to the refrigerator because she becomes disappointed with herself.
- The Postponer. The Postponer will put her life on hold until she loses weight. When I lose 30 pounds I will (fill in the blank). However, she isn't able to meet her weight loss goal because she isn't comfortable with the expectations she has placed on herself when she loses the weight. Food has become a crutch; it helps her to keep the weight on so she doesn't have to reach her goal and address other issues in her life.
- The Sabotagee. The Sabotagee allows herself to be sabotaged by friends and loved ones who hinder her weight loss efforts. Maybe her husband likes her overweight due to his own insecure feelings of losing her, or maybe her girlfriends have become jealous by her success. Her husband or friend may encourage gatherings around food to make sure the Sabotagee keeps the weight on.
- The Defeatist. The Defeatist believes she has no discipline with her eating. She sets herself up for failure by going into a party saying "There is no way I will be able to avoid overeating." She thinks she doesn't have the willpower to control what and how much she puts in her mouth. By having a defeatist attitude she lives up to her own expectations by gorging herself at the party.
- The Avoider. The Avoider declines invitations to go to social gatherings because she doesn't like the way she looks and thinks "When I lose the weight I'll start going out." However, this mentality can have a rebound effect—while everyone else is enjoying themselves, she's home alone and depressed. The Avoider uses food to subdue her feelings of loneliness. This prolongs her agony and continues to foster her social isolation.
- The Codependent. The Codependent's life revolves primarily around food. Codependency is usually associated with being dependent on another person, but the codependent eater may consider food her best friend. When problems arise or when she's lonely, she can always turn to food. It is non-judgmental and always there for her. This can create a vicious cycle because after overeating she becomes depressed and thus returns to overeating.
While becoming aware of your eating patterns is a good first step, the next step is to identify the situations that cause you to overeat. Seeking professional advice is an option, especially if you find it too difficult to address your specific issues.
With or without outside help, getting started doesn't have to be overwhelming.
1. When making behavioral changes do them one at a time.
2. Maintain a positive attitude.
3. Be patient with yourself.
4. Choose your own monitoring system.
5. Develop a support system.
6. Reward yourself when you meet a goal.
Remember the tortoise and the hair, who won the race? Slow and steady is always better than rapid weight loss.
The above information is for general use only. Every person is different and has their own individual issues. For individualized attention contact a health professional experienced in weight control. Before beginning any exercise program, always contact your physician.
Excerpt taken from Agnes Kolor, R.D.