Today, thinness is associated with health, success and happiness. In pursuit of the ideal, we torture ourselves with diets and training, but in the long run, weight increases. How to learn to control weight throughout life?
Striving for harmony, we go on a diet. But restrictions encourage cravings for banned foods. One day there is a breakdown. Breakdowns are repeated, the weight increases, and again there is a desire to lose weight. The circle closes.
The main function of food is to be a source of energy for the body. In the light of dietary thinking, food becomes the cause of experiences and negative emotions. Eating disorders are not limited to girls who are anorexic or overweight. Regular-figure women also fall victim to an unhealthy relationship with food. If you adhere to a certain nutrition system or, on the contrary, often allow yourself too much, this article is for you.
Right to eat
We are taught from childhood to ignore the signals of the body: parents force children to eat when they are not hungry. As a result, adults grow up who eat for a variety of reasons: for the company, because the family came from work, or at a party, because it is inconvenient to refuse. They eat to relieve boredom, postpone unpleasant tasks, or salvage expired food.
“The feeling of hunger — the only reasonable reason for eating — is a substitute for social norms and stereotypes. No wonder we eat too much and get fat,” says clinical psychologist Svetlana Bronnikova’s book, “Intuitive Eating: How to Stop Worrying About Food and Lose Weight.”
Eat without hunger — unhealthy for the body and detrimental to the figure. But it is equally harmful to endure the feeling of hunger. If you’re really hungry, you need to eat. The time of day, the environment and the amount of food eaten per day do not matter. If you wait for the moment when hunger becomes too strong, overeating will not be avoided. When you get to the food, you will eat more than you need.
“You can eat anything, subject to two conditions: you are hungry, and your body requires this particular product”
The concept of intuitive eating does not divide foods into bad and good. As long as there are forbidden foods, you will be drawn to them. You can eat anything, subject to two conditions: you are hungry and your body requires this particular product. Diet lovers are scared by this approach. It’s scary to allow yourself forbidden foods after so many years of restrictions. It seems that you will eat only harmful things. But studies prove that the human body itself chooses what it needs at the moment.
The child’s body, not spoiled by imposed eating habits, chose the right food on its own. Adults can do the same, but it will take time to rebuild. It is important that you have access to a variety of foods. People who are prone to overeating keep little food at home so as not to overeat. But at the time of hunger, they cannot choose what the body needs most. By finding the best option, you will be satisfied with the minimum amount of food. If you eat inappropriate foods, then you get up from the table unsatisfied. It seems to want something more.
Right to stop
It is difficult for people with eating disorders to know when they are truly hungry. But it is even more difficult to notice the moment of saturation and stop the meal. It is difficult for them to leave food on the plate: if they allowed themselves to eat, they need to eat to the end. To stop in time, you need to adjust the speed of food. If you eat too fast, you do not notice the moment of saturation and eat too much. Very hungry people eat quickly and those who are ashamed to eat in public — they do it hastily. Conscious eating also interferes with food at work, at the computer, while reading.
“Try to listen to the body, and not force yourself to limit yourself”
The pause technique will help you learn to recognize the moment of saturation. Set aside food for a few minutes, get up from the table and do something else. It doesn’t matter what exactly — the main thing is to start moving. Movement awakens the feeling of satiety and helps complete the meal. But don’t skimp on dietary control. Try to listen to the body, and not force yourself to limit yourself. If you feel hungry, keep eating.
By practicing the pause technique, you will notice that once you are full, the food is not as tasty as it used to be. You will recognize signs of discomfort from overeating and learn to stop early. Over time, you will begin to clearly feel the moment of saturation and anticipate it.
Emotion management
The cult of a positive lifestyle convinces — you need to experience only positive emotions. We try to drive away negative feelings from ourselves and hide from others — this is wrong. Emotions cannot be divided into good and bad. Emotions are just a means by which the body conveys certain information to us.
Hypersensitivity, the inability to recognize emotions and manage them becomes the cause of disturbed eating behavior. A person who does not know how to cope with anxiety or excitement resorts to food. We tend to attribute this to laziness and lack of will. In fact, people use this method because it really works.
Surfing helps to cope with emotions and avoid “jamming”. Sit down, relax and close your eyes. Focus on the moment. There is no need to control the emotion or drive it away from you. Just watch. You will notice short peaks when the emotion is strongest, and lows when the discomfort subsides. Emotional eating happens just at the peak, because it seems that the pain will never go away. When you know it’s not, it’s easier to survive the peak and save yourself the extra bar of chocolate.
Intuitive Movement
We tend to neglect simple daily activities — a short walk will not help to reduce weight. HWe think that playing sports should be hard — early rises, harsh coaches, exhausting loads. Many consider exercise only in combination with diet as part of the weight loss process. If we abandon the diet, physical education disappears. Research shows that this approach is wrong.
Separate movement from weight loss. Movement is an important part of life, not a means of losing weight. You don’t have to set high goals to be disappointed later. Just move for fun. Start by walking for half an hour a day. If walking is difficult due to excess weight, swimming or Nordic walking, in which the load on the joints is reduced by using poles, is suitable for you.
We listen to our body
Allow yourself to eat. Stop dividing food into good and bad. The taboo label on fatty and sweet foods increases cravings for these foods, and the guilt of eating a bun pushes you to the next food breakdown.
Learn to stop. Stop eating at work, watching TV or reading. Concentrate on the food and how you feel in the process. Try to catch the moment when you are already full, but not yet overeaten — ignore the size of plates, servings or packages.
Watch your emotions. Overeating occurs at the peak of your disturbing emotions. Sit back, relax and watch — the peaks don’t last very long.
Move on. Light physical activity will not change your figure in a short time, but will produce profound changes in the body. Don’t neglect taking a short walk or climbing stairs.
1 S. Bronnikova «Intuitive nutrition: how to stop worrying about food and lose weight» (Eksmo, 2015).
2 C. Davis «Results of the self-selection of diets by young children», The Canadian Medical Association Journal, 1939, vol. 41, № 3.
3 D. Tomasi and N. Volkow «Striatocortical pathway dysfunction in addiction and obesity differences and similarities», Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2013, vol. 48, № 1.
4 D. Sutoo, K. Akiyama «Regulation of brain function by exercise», Neurobiology of decease, 2003, vol. 13, № 1.