Psychology Behind Weight Management

If you stop and think about it, our society uses food not for its intended purpose.  We are constantly bombarded with words and phrases like "Let's meet for lunch", "We are having a barbeque", "Refreshments will be served", "How about coffee?", "Business luncheon", "Prayer breakfast", "Dinner theatre", "Movie and a dinner", and the list goes on and on.  Not one of these statements describes eating for the intended purpose of nutrition, nourishment, and replentishment.  The fact that we use food as a tool of enjoyment, comfort, and pleasure makes keeping a mindset of healthy eating difficult.  Nationally known weight management educator Dr. Kara Mohr Gallagher suggests the following things to consider:

Women

For many women food can be a mechanism to protect/comfort themselves.  They may have a lifetime of using food for such purposes, even beginning in the childhood years.  The cycle of eating, weight gain, and excess weight may serve as a form of protection against the psychological difficulties they face.  They may use it as a coping mechanism against feeling anxious, being stressed, feeling inferior, and struggling with social acceptance.  Some women who have struggled with this may lose the weight but then deal with the stress and anxiety of societys view of a sexy, beautiful body and the pressure to "look good."  If they have not dealt with the psychological reasons behind their weight management issues then they are likely to gain the weight back as a means of coping with their new stress.

Men

For men, weight loss issues may develop for similar reasons as for women, or for the simple reason that they do not watch, care, or are lazy in regards to what they eat.  Men have the ability to lose weight easier then women, and therefore they may have the mindset that they can always adjust their eating habits and lose the weight.  They may even have the picture of their high school or college body in their mind as to what they could look like again.  However, the truth is that as the aging process progresses, weight loss is much more difficult, and the "athletic body of college" they once knew  will be all the more difficult to get back.  Dealing with the acceptance of their age, and adopting the mindset of healthy eating and exercise habits will assist men in developing and maintiaing a strong and toned body no matter what time period of life they are in.

Children

Society places such a strong emphasis on physical looks that its impact upon children is profound.  Even "sex appeal" for young children has become important in our society, and judging from their "American Idols" and pop stars looks and a thin body coexist with success and happiness.  For children looks has become even more important than living a healthy life - the media says much about this in their advertisements, super thin models, small clothes sizes, etc.  This creates a large dissaccociation with the truth about their own bodies and their own self-acceptance.  Parents have such a huge roll in helping their children develop healthy eating habits while confirming the acceptance and genuine love for their

child.  While society bombards children with false truths parents should reiterate to their children the moral truth behind loving themselves for who they are, and be a source of  loving education in developing healthy lifestyles for their families.  Consider this:  Parents - YOU control your childs eating behaviors.  Sound extreme?  The truth is, buying your children junk food is not loving your child.  Why would you burden your child with an issue that you have struggled to overcome most of your life?  Shower your child with REAL love, and bring home healthy, wholesome foods to cook.  You are their biggest peer and  live for your child an example of a healthy lifestyle.  Help them develop habits which are healthy, truthful, and will assist them in their own future path of living, eating, and being healthy.

So next time you are about to eat, ask yourself, what purpose does food serve?  The  answer should be solely for the purpose of physiological nutrision, nourishment, and replenishment.  Food does have a social componet, but shouldn't be the focal point.