"Overeating was trying to
help my stress and anxiety.
I can now accept this and deal with it. I use all the
tools you taught me and the weight loss is a nice
side effect. I'm doing really well now with less
anxiety and more in control."
-- Christine
Williams, Vero Beach, FL
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We are obsessed with dieting.
Just look at the magazines at the grocery check-out stands. Listen
to friends complain about their weight. Notice your reaction to
your naked body in the mirror.
We should be concerned! Obesity and its health consequences of
diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease are on the rise
in spite of diet foods and diet programs. Our children are fatter
than ever. And this trend is spreading throughout the world!
The reasons for this obesity epidemic are many.
You may think that overweight is just a personal problem but the
truth is that it is a social problem. We do not naturally eat according
to prescribed diets. We eat according to social standards and cultural
influences.
Understanding our society's problem helps you understand your
weight problem. Basically, we have too much food that is fattening
and too easy to obtain. We are culturally hypnotized into eating
it. And we have too little exercise. It's that simple!
Many years ago we had to expend energy to obtain food, whether
by hunting, gathering, or farming and could only preserve a limited
amount. Those natural foods were high in fiber and very filling
and were low in fat and concentrated sugars. Back then food preparation
took effort, for example, homemade bread, homemade noodles . .
. Nowadays we easily buy more than we need and the micro-waved
and prepared foods take just minutes. And fast food is quick and
easy.
And our tastes have changed -- from the lean game meat to fatty
ones, from whole grain starches to processed white ones and from
whole fruit to juice and "fruit drinks". Sweets, which
were completely foreign to our distant ancestors (aside from an
occasional honey tree), now fill several grocery aisles. Fats are
so prevalent that we have to really check the labels in order to
avoid them. And fast foods and snacks cater to our desire for salty,
fatty or sweet foods.
Our diets are largely unnatural -- not at all what we as a species
were designed to eat! And we suffer as a result. We then compensate
for this fundamental problem by temporarily "going on a diet".
Wouldn't it be more intelligent to address the real issue of what
caused the weight gain in the first place?
Even when we try to eat healthy it feels like an uphill battle
in this culture.
Television, billboards, and magazines program our subconscious
minds to crave certain foods. Food Corporations spend millions
of dollars doing this "hypnosis" and it works! Do you
ever wonder why you want to eat an evening snack while watching
television? The food commercials are enticing, aren't they? (Hmm
. . . hypnosis at work).
We also eat automatically with little conscious choice in social
situations. When everyone else is eating a certain way it takes
real effort to be different. Unconscious peer pressure is very
powerful! Have you noticed that our culture is more focused on
quick eating rather than on slow pleasure? And on quantity rather
than fine quality?
Restaurants serve at least twice the food we need. It's usually
flavored with extra fat with bread, fries or chips on the side.
As more of us eat out more frequently it is harder and harder to
say "No, thank you." And it's so cheap and easy to order
the bigger sizes at the fast food drive-through.
Many of our lives require little physical effort.
Electricity and gasoline do the work for us. We seldom hang clothes,
plow the field, or walk to the store. In order to exercise we have
to consciously choose to do it. We have to set aside time from
busy schedules, pick out equipment or clothing, and have a certain
willingness to be bored. Decisions, commitment, and effort -- it's
much easier to just sit on the couch!
And notice our increasingly overweight children. They are also
sitting in front of the TV and computer more and moving less. Remember
when we used to play outside after school?
These are physical reasons. Emotional reasons may be even more
important.
For many of us food is comfort and reward, just like when we were
children. We may eat out of boredom, loneliness, anger, guilt,
stress, and poor self-esteem. Food is the "drug of choice" to
mask these negative feelings. We feel bad so we eat, we feel better
temporarily, then we feel fat and guilty and eat again -- a vicious
cycle! Sweets and "comfort food" are especially addictive.
We never look at the real causes of our feelings. And we may never
have learned how to comfort and reward ourselves in healthy ways.
Food is much more than nourishment. It is pleasure.
Food is all the physical sensations of taste and sight and smell
and texture. We want to enjoy life - it's natural! Eating is sensual
pleasure. And when we are so focused in our lives on thinking,
perhaps food is an important way to get out of our minds and enjoy
our bodies. Food feels good!
And we rarely slow down enough from "doing" (or get
away from the television, computer, and work enough) to just enjoy "being".
We are spending less and less time in nature. Food can be a very
poor substitute for simple nonfattening pleasures -- such as feeling
the sunshine, hearing a bird's song, or being touched by the smile
of a child.
So please . . . Have more compassion for yourself and less judgment,
we are all in the same boat!
Yes, this modern society has profoundly influenced us to gain
weight. The obesity epidemic is here. But just as we tell our children
to not give into peer pressure and "just say no" to drugs,
let's remind ourselves that we are responsible for our own behavior.
Given all of these outside influences isn't it remarkable that
you've decided to do something about your weight? To not give up.
To not be prey to unhealthy advertising. To not do what others
are doing and eat away your feelings. You are making your own personal
and powerful choice. In fact, you have decided to join the happier,
healthier crowd. And you have chosen to do it in a way that works!
Congratulations!
"I'm more energetic and am
doing more activities with
my two boys, kickball, soccer and basketball. I also
started doing Pilates with a friend three times a week.
(And my husband noticed I'm in a better mood!)."
--
Jennifer Magrane, Sebastian, FL
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