Wonder why you can’t seem to lose weight no matter what you do? Stress is the enemy of weight loss. When you’re under stress, and you’re worried about what you’re eating and how fat you are, and anything else related to weight and food issues, your body responds to that panic by creating a chemical hormone called cortisol. Cortisol inhibits weight loss and is directly related to abdominal obesity. And the hormones that stress creates will prevent you from losing weight even if you’re doing everything right. Want to learn how to break the cycle of dieting and binging?
weight loss, emotional eating, dieting, Traci Mann, UCLA, cortisol, abdominal fat, Andrea
Amador, The Juicy Woman, Lovin’ the Skin You’re In, Blogtalkradio
Having a tough time passing up that extra helping of pasta or can’t seem to tear yourself away from your co-workers’ candy dish?
If you’ve been finding yourself going up and down the scale, hating yourself and blaming your inability to eat less and make healthier choices on a lack of will power, you’re making a big mistake. Because you haven’t failed at dieting. Dieting has failed you.
Diets work for some people, but not most. The weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar profit making machine that continues to make money on people’s desire to get thinner.
We all want to lose weight and be a better, thinner version of ourselves. No question about it.
Diets Fail 98% of All People
We invest time and so much money and effort into the goal of losing weight. Yet despite all the money spent on exercise equipment, special eating plans, cookbooks, gadgets, gizmos, vitamins, supplements, powders, healthy foods and anything else to do with changing our eating habits, it’s just not working. We’re making the sacrifices and doing our best to be more active, and mindful of what we eat, but as a country, we’re more overweight and frustrated, angry and feeling helpless than ever before.
The investment is there, but where are the results?
Here’s some sad and sobering news.
Did you know that according to research it’s been proven that up to 98% of all dieters who slimmed down, regain their weight back within 5 years. It’s a tough pill to swallow but it’s time to realize that diets don’t work.
Traci Mann, lead author of a composite study done in April of 2008 at UCLA says, “Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people. Eating in moderation is a good idea for everybody, and so is regular exercise.”
But how?
Why Don’t Diets Work
We all know what it takes to get thinner, and to be more active, but we’re getting hung up in the taking action part of doing that. It’s just not easy. Change is so hard. Isn’t it?
I’ve spent nearly 34 of my 50 years dieting. For decades, I thought of myself as an emotional eater, a fat gal who had no self-control around food. From the time I was 10 years old, every day whether on a diet or not, my life was centered around what I was going to eat next.
The angry voices of my inner critic continually reminded me of my weaknesses and made me feel awful. Like many women, I sought out comfort in food. Whenever I was dieting, I faced a constant struggle of trying to arm wrestle down my cravings. Can you relate?
It seems that no matter what we do, we still feel out of control around food. Are you one of the frustrated 98% who has lost weight on a diet only to regain it all back and more?
Your Emotions: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle
If like me, you’ve spent years dieting, hating your body, scale hopping, hyper-focused on eating carefully, and always watching your weight, you’ve probably learned to fear food and think of yourself as a bottomless pit of hunger.
So you’re doing your very best to change your eating habits, but it’s not working.
Want to know why? Diets actually are a big part of the problem that explains why people are overweight. When asked why diets don’t work for most people, Traci Mann, the author of the study explained that our emotions are the ‘X’ factor responsible for most people’s struggle with dieting, because diets don’t address the emotions that push you to eat when you’re not hungry.
Diets only focus on what you can see: weighing, measuring, and buying certain foods. Diets ignore the invisible stuff, the emotions that drive you to eat too much in the first place.
You’ve probably been feeling frustrated and heartbroken wondering why everything you’re doing isn’t working. And that’s feeding the fire that will only make things more difficult for you.
Because not only do our emotions drive our behaviors, but they’re also responsible for creating stress in our bodies. And stress is the enemy of weight loss. When you’re under stress, and you’re worried about what you’re eating and how fat you are, and anything else related to weight and food issues, your body responds to that panic by creating a chemical hormone called cortisol.
Cortisol inhibits weight loss and is directly related to abdominal obesity. And the hormones that stress creates will prevent you from losing weight even if you’re doing everything right. Want to learn how to break the cycle of dieting and binging?
Today’s Challenge for You
My challenge to you is to take what you’ve learned here and think about whether or not this feels true to you. Each time you’ve experienced a set back in losing weight, was there a crisis or strong emotions that you remember dealing with at that time? Please share your comments and let me know.
Tune into My “Lovin’ the Skin You’re In” Blogtalkradio Show for More
In the next episode of my “Lovin’ the Skin You’re In” Blogtalkradio show, I’ll be discussing my experience with finally finding peace with food and breaking free of the diet/binge cycle. Here’s the summary for the program:
Beyond Dieting and Deprivation
Toss the scale! Stock the cupboards! Kiss the tape measure goodbye! But what comes next? How do you handle the pressure when all you want to do is stuff yourself with food? Find out why dieting doesn’t work and what does. Tune into my live Blogtalkradioshow, “Lovin’ the Skin You’re In” Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern. Call in and ask your questions live:
760-888-5736.
Hope you’ll join me.
Much love,
Andrea