The scientific name for the fear of gaining weight is obesophobia. The causes of obesophobia can be different, as well as the degree of its severity. Here are some of the reasons for developing a fear of gaining weight:
– The desire to meet the standards of beauty, rejection of one’s own appearance or a distorted perception of one’s figure.
– There are fat people in the family, there is a predisposition to be overweight. You have lost weight and are afraid to return to the past state.
– The problem is not overweight – constant calorie counting, worries about what you eat helps you distract from a more serious problem.
Any fear reduces the quality of our lives, and this one is no exception. In addition, scientists have come to the conclusion that the constant fear of getting fat and the fear of food can provoke weight gain. Increased appetite is our body’s response to the production of cortisol, the stress hormone. Obesophobia can lead to such consequences as anorexia and bulimia.
So what should we do if we are faced with such a condition?
Try to relax and understand the reasons for your fears. What scares you the most? Psychologists recommend facing your fear in the face. This will help reduce its significance to you.
Have you met your fear? The second thing to do is to imagine the worst case scenario. Imagine that what you feared most happened. Imagine the consequences of this. The mental experience of the problem helps to get used to it, after which it no longer seems so scary, and it will also be easier to find ways to solve the problem.
– An active lifestyle and sports will help you escape from obsessive thoughts. At the very least, you’ll have less time for self-blame. In addition, playing sports contributes to the production of hormones of joy, and obviously, it will be easier for you to keep yourself in shape. And this will give you more confidence in yourself and your abilities.
– Eat mindfully. It’s great if you have the opportunity to consult a nutritionist and create your own nutrition system. Try to eliminate harmful foods from your diet, replace them with healthy ones.
– Finally, focus not on the task of “being thin”, but on the task of “being healthy.” Being healthy is a task with a “+” sign, a positive one, in this case you will not have to limit yourself, but on the contrary, you will need to add a lot of new and useful things to your life (sports, healthy food, interesting books, etc.). Thus, all unnecessary by itself will leave your life.