Obesity is one of the most common health problems worldwide. And even though you may be tempted to jump on the latest bandwagon and follow the latest diet, or take the trending pill or potion, these strategies rarely succeed in long-term, permanent weight loss.
And sadly, they tend to set you up for another cycle of losing and then regaining the weight, which only makes matters worse.
You feel like a failure (again), and before you know it ,you find yourself turning to sugar and carbs to feel better, even though you know you’re “not supposed to” be eating that stuff.
As a Registered Dietitian specializing in weight loss, I could spend my days telling my clients what to eat and what not to eat.
But to be honest, most of them already know this. They know that cookies, crackers, chips, and candy won’t help them achieve their weight loss goals…
But their emotions take over and they can’t seem to help themselves.
So, here’s the truth…
For Most People, Losing Weight Is NOT Really About the Food
It’s about what we’re thinking and feeling.
You could have the best diet in the world, and it may never work because your negative emotions (your emotional baggage) and your sabotaging beliefs are causing your cravings, emotional eating and weight issues.
And these are your Weight Loss Blockers.
So where do these Weight Loss Blockers come from?
As it turns out, many of the negative emotions and sabotaging beliefs that affect our food choices and our weight have their origins in childhood.
Adverse Childhood Experiences Contribute to Weight Issues
There have been numerous studies linking ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) to a significant risk of adult obesity and the studies show that females are particularly affected.
ACEs are traumatic events that happen between ages 1 and 17. These negative experiences affect a child’s brain and overall health as they grow into adults and can lead to chronic health conditions such as obesity.
Experts define many things as adverse childhood experiences, but the 10 general categories are listed below:
- Physical Abuse
- Sexual Abuse
- Emotional Abuse
- Physical Neglect
- Emotional Neglect
- Mental Illness (living with a relative with a mental health issue)
- Incarcerated Parent or Caregiver
- Mother Treated Violently
- Substance Use in the Home
- Divorce
ACEs increase the risk of obesity in a number of ways due to the chronic and severe stress the child feels. Related to obesity, one of the most obvious consequence of ACEs is using food as a coping mechanism – hence the desire for “comfort” foods.
Being in chronic “fight-or-flight” from living with ACEs can also affect the function of the amygdala, the part of the brain that regulates our emotions. This carries over into adulthood and can make managing emotions challenging. Many clients share with me that they still feel like they are in constant “fight-or-flight” mode, anxious and on-guard against real or perceived threats. And they realize they are using food to calm down and feel better.
ACEs are also associated with behaviors such as poor impulse control, inadequate sleep, binge eating, and depression, all of which can contribute to obesity.
Are ACEs Contributing to Your Cravings and Emotional Eating?
Many of the women I work with are recognizing that their emotional eating stems from their adverse childhood experiences. They use food to comfort themselves and to feel loved.
If you had ACEs growing up, it’s likely that you have emotions from those experiences that have not yet been processed and are still stored in your body. When you feel these emotions as an adult, they may trigger cravings and emotional eating.
For example, if you felt abandoned as a child and your partner abandons you as an adult, you may be triggered back that childhood event and want to use food to feel better.
ACEs can also cause us to form negative beliefs about ourselves that get stored in our subconscious minds. Maybe you were always criticized or judged and because of that you created beliefs such as “I’m not good enough” or “I’ll never be accepted.”
These beliefs become a part of your identity and, once again, you might use food to comfort or nurture yourself when you’re feeling inadequate.
The Reason Diets Don’t Work
Diets don’t work for several reasons.
First of all, they’re usually based on depriving you of the foods that you use to soothe and comfort yourself or numb out. Taking away your comfort foods is like taking a pacifier away from a baby and just expecting the baby to cope without it.
Diets also backfire because it’s your emotions and beliefs that are triggering your cravings and emotional eating. Given that the beliefs in your subconscious mind dictate about 90% of your actions and behaviors, changing your eating habits without changing your beliefs is next to impossible.
Diets also don’t work because emotional eating isn’t logical. Intellectually you know better, but emotionally you feel powerless.
There Is Hope
The women I work with have ditched the diets and deprivation and have chosen to resolve the underlying issues surrounding their cravings and emotional eating.
Using advanced energy psychology tools, they’re letting go of the emotions that trigger them, creating new beliefs about themselves, and learning how to feel better without using food. Because of this they’re losing the weight and keeping it off!
If you’d like to learn more, I warmly invite you to watch my free training: How to Stop Your Cravings and Emotional Eating. And if you have questions, please let me know in the discussion below.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
Do you have issues with emotional eating? What are your triggers? Have you tried quick weight loss programs and what were the results?