| |
| |
| KeralaClick.com | Weight Loss Information | |
| Co-Dependency and Food: Trying to Fill the Void
Nice girls don't speak up. Nice girls take care of and support others. These are just a few of the messages girls often receive as they are socialized. Often in adulthood, these ingrained messages turn into full-blown co-dependency. Years can go by. Unmet needs build up energy; they demand attention. But without learning skills in setting boundaries, letting others feel their own pain and making oneself a priority, food often becomes the hassle-free, soothing balm to take the edge off and release that pent up energy momentarily, that is until the guilt sets in. We are in one of the following roles when we are co-dependent - victim, rescuer or persecutor. Following are a few examples of how these roles play out in our relationship with food: Victim: You eat too much food. You gain weight and then can't eat what you want. No matter what you do, what diet you try, you can't lose weight. No matter how you eat, you seem to continue to gain weight, feeling worse and worse. Rescuer: The dessert makes you feel better, especially the chocolate. It makes you feel loved. You feel comforted and nurtured when you eat certain foods. You reward yourself with food over the smallest perceived successes. Or someone may rescue you when you claim you can't lose weight. "You've tried hard. It's not working for you. Go ahead and eat it. You're not losing weight anyway. You can try that new diet tomorrow." Persecutor: You're great at beating up on yourself. No matter what you do, you can't lose weight. Your tortured thoughts go something like this: "I'm never going to lose this weight; it's too hard to lose weight. I hate myself because I can't control my eating. I hate myself because I'm not following this diet perfectly. I'm fat. I'm ugly. I hate myself." How do you get out of your co-dependent relationship with food? First, pay attention to your thoughts - I mean really notice. What are you saying to yourself about food, your body, your weight, yourself? Likely you'll find that you wouldn't say those things to your worst enemy. Secondly, write those thoughts down. Ask yourself if any of your thoughts are really true about you or do they come from unconscious, past patterns. Next, ask yourself if you wish to continue to believe these thoughts. If not, forgive yourself for believing them and replace those thoughts with the ones you want. It goes like this. My thoughts: I always eat too potato chips, and I can't lose weight. I'm so spineless. Are my thoughts true? I don't always eat too many potato chips. I've been eating dessert, which is probably why I can't lose weight. It's not the potato chips. I don't know why I said I'm spineless. I'm not. Why do I eat so many potato chips? When I ate them today, it was after that conversation with my friend. I felt angry. The crunch of the potato chips helped me feel less angry. Now that I think about it, I eat potato chips a lot when I'm angry. Do I want to continue believing my thoughts? No. I forgive myself for eating potato chips to swallow my anger. I forgive myself for calling myself spineless. New thoughts: When I'm angry next time, I'm going to express my anger appropriately and talk with the other person. I'm not going to eat potato chips. I can lose weight. I am successful in losing weight. Learn to listen to yourself and not rely on outside cues for what you may or may not think and feel. It's not selfish to meet your real needs directly. When you meet your true needs, food is no longer a bandage. Then you can freely choose whether or not to eat that particular food without the intensity of unmet emotional needs. It's about valuing yourself and making decisions and choices that honor your value. New thinking will support your weight loss efforts. About The Author Zo Houseman is the author of Live Lightly! that describes how she lost 100 pounds and kept it off by learning to think differently. Read free excerpts. More information and resources are available at http://www.setyourheartfree.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Staying Toned After Weight Loss Staying Toned After Weight Loss ---------------------------------------- Following significant weight loss, it is vital to have an exercise routine to keep your muscles firm and help to tighten the skin. One of the biggest drawbacks to significant weight loss is the flabby skin that is visible that often can take months to disappear. Spare Muscle Mass and Power, Lose the Fat The goal of many athletes and exercisers is to "get cut" or to lose excess fat while at the same time retaining muscle mass and power. Unfortunately, it is not possible to lose copious amounts of fat without incurring some loss of muscle mass. Weight Loss Fads that Dont Work No matter what the reason, successful weight loss and healthy weight management depend on sensible goals and expectations. If you set sensible goals for yourself, chances are you'll be more likely to meet them and have a better chance of keeping the weight off. How To Lose More Weight And Reach Your Goal With A Weight Loss Journal The diary is an essential help in reaching your weight loss goal. Writing down your goals and progress will motivate your in a way nothing else can, thus helping you reach your target weight much more easily. The Truth About Dieting And Weight Loss You may not like what I'm about to say, but dieting alone will not help you to lose weight. Watching your diet alone is not going to yield results unless it is coupled with proper exercise. 3 Day Diet -- Make Believe Diet Plans The 3 day diet mixes certain types of foods that supposedly react in a specific way to increase your metabolic rate. Apparently, you'll burn fat at a higher rate than usual, but be careful and don't abuse the power of the diet's reaction. Drink Beer AND Lose Weight Want to shed that beer belly? Why not try the low-carbohydrate approach? Following the philosophy of today's most popular low-carbohydrate books, dieters gradually increase the early restrictions of their daily carbohydrate intake while excess weight continues to come off, once again enjoying starchy foods like potatoes, rice and pasta .. South Beach Diet Overview Developed by Dr. Arthur Agatston, The South Beach Diet touts itself as teaching dieters to eat the right carbs and the right fats. Fitness: Getting Started It seems like everywhere you turn, there is someone trying to sell you some product or program to help you get in a great fitness level. There is so much hype that it seems hard to muddle through all the junk and find something that can actually be helpful to you. How to Do the Atkins Diet Right? Let me tell you something - if you are doing the Atkins Diet, you might be doing it WRONG. I have been on diet forums for years, have consulted thousands of people on low carb diets, and I am seeing it again and again. Ephedra - 101 What is ephedra? Ephedra, which is also known as Ma Huang, is a 5000 years old natural remedy. It grows mainly in Mongolia and the bordering regions of China. Tips For Successful Weight Loss Throughout my childhood and teenage years I watched as my mother tried every fad diet under the sun. I recall one time she ate boiled cabbage and nothing else for a whole week. Finally, Natural Weight Loss Availalble, Judge Lifts Ban on Ephedra April 14, 2005 federal judge Tena Campbell of the federal district court in Salt Lake City Utah reversed the ban on ephedra.Ephedra is an herb used over 5000 years ago to treat several disorders, such as asthma and bronchitis. Low Carb Diet Secrets Revealed! You may be considering a low carb diet program, but wonder if they really work, and if so, how well?Let's take the mystery out of low carb diets by giving you the 3 most important elements to their success.First, you need to bring your carboydrate cravings under control. Faster Fat Loss Thats Healthy I received a telephone call from a lady last week. Her first word was "heeeelp"! She was on a weight loss program and only losing about one half pound per week. Weight Loss: Its Not Always What You Eat, But What You Dont Eat On a little island half way in between Guam and the Philippines there is a rampant epidemic affecting the inhabitants. This tiny island of approximately 8,200 people is not afflicted with famine or a deadly disease as you might think when talking about an epidemic. Close Kept Secrets to Weight Loss Lesson #2 Welcome to lesson #2. First of all, I believe that gratitude is so important in everyday life. Liberate Your Set Esteem and Lose Weight Are you a 'look-and-lose' dieter? Have you studied every diet ever created, read a zillion diet books, and yet are still unhappy with your weight?Has your quest for the holy grail of dieting become a substitute for actually making changes required to take the ill health out of your current diet?If so, you may not realise your thoughts are key to your happiness and success.Do you look at yourself and say, "I'm fat", or "My hips are too big"? Many of us look in the mirror and immediately compare ourselves to those 'perfect' human specimens we see every single day on TV, in magazines and in the newspapers. Welcome to the Middle Aged Diet You are not a kid any more and becoming a senior is just around the corner. By now, you are monitoring, at least, one of the following: Blood pressure, blood sugar, or cholesterol levels. Is Diet Confusion Stopping You From Losing Weight? Diet advice - a million "experts", hundreds of snake-oil miracle pills, and an infinite number of human bodies make losing weight the subject of controversy and confusion.The diet program that worked miracles for your best friend does nothing for you.
|
| © KeralaClick.com 2006 |
