There are countless social media accounts where I’ve been seeing unqualified people give inaccurate and even dangerous advice on nutrition or weight-loss methods.
I wrote this article because I am sick and tired of the negative effect that certain so called “health experts” who have never been overweight themselves can have on people’s self-esteem and body perception.
Weight Loss Experts-NOT!!
Here’s an example of what I am talking about and you can read more here
Steve Miller, who presented Sky One’s slimming series Fat Families, appeared on Good Morning Britain on the 29th April, 2021 with London-based journalist Ateh Jewel where he claimed we need to adopt a ‘tough love’ approach to obesity in Britain.
And he told Ateh Jewel to ‘get a grip’ when she suggested that addressing the reasons behind eating badly could be the key to weight loss.
Viewers were not impressed, with several saying that ‘shaming’ overweight people won’t do anything but make them more likely to binge on unhealthy food, claiming overeating is often triggered by ‘feelings and emotions’.
One of the viewers said:” Obesity isn’t the types of food overweight people are eating. It’s mostly triggered by feelings and emotions”
I feel that this is something of an insult to the sensibilities of smart people everywhere, and that they are fed-up with the endless cycle of starting, falling off track, and feeling hopeless and helpless.
And this is happening more and more on Social Media…
Here’s another example:
Instagram apologises for promoting weight-loss content to users with eating disorders , read more here.
I can tell you from my own experience and that with my clients that it’s not what you put in your mouth as much as what you put in your mind…
Obesity isn’t the types of food overweight people are eating. It’s mostly triggered by feelings and emotions.
Allow me to explain…
This because there’s a whole brain science behind what drives people to comfort eat and there’s a psychology to that relationship, which all these so called “health experts” tend to ignore..
People who are struggling with weight loss are probably already judging themselves, they don’t need more judgement or useless solutions from people that don’t know how it feels to struggle with weight.
If they feel shame and/or guilt they are less likely to exercise or move as easily and that means they may feel worse about themselves but then that releases those same hormones which drives them to comfort eat even more.
Our Food Environment
There is no denying that our food environment- the access we have to specific food has an impact on our food decisions.
This food is hyperpalatable – a hyperpalatable food is one where the synergy between components of the food — such as fat, sodium (salt), sugar, and carbohydrates — makes it tastier than it would otherwise be.
We have a constant supply of nutritionally poor food, and because we are so busy, we get into bad daily habits that are hard to break.
Generic Solutions Suck!
And of course, there are so many generic ‘weight loss’ programs out there as well as numerous books that provide useless advice on how to exercise, diet and food deprivation plans.
These include many band-aid solutions that fail to achieve long-lasting results.
They have a poor track-record of long-term weight maintenance, mainly because they fail to address the psychological causes of overeating behaviours.
Directly Addressing the Root of The Feeling Is Key to Weight Loss.
London-based journalist Ateh Jewel said that having lost 4st herself after a chat with a GP helped her realise she was ‘eating her feelings’, it is ‘love and coping mechanisms’ that are the key to weight loss.
‘We should be focusing on coping mechanisms…shame is what stops people for reaching for help.’ Ateh said.
This ridiculous, lazy approach needs to STOP- it’s not a quick fix.
What needs to happen are conversations about accepting and loving yourself at all stages of your life and directly Addressing the reason why people overeat in the first place.
According to a study in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being , women are starting recognise that it is not the diet; it is the psychological and emotional part they need to focus on in order to change their relationship with food and consequently achieve permanent weight loss.
Guess What …
If we put more emphasis on educating people to learn HOW to manage their emotions– they may NOT need to feed them!
Retraining the Brain- Thoughts and Beliefs
Let’s face it – you can have the best food in the house and plans and goals, but you will only use them if you have the right attitude.
Our brain tends to run on automatic pilot, and we are not even aware of our thinking.
Picture yourself at the end of a long day where you’ve been run off your feet.
What do you reach for?
- Fresh air?
- A bath?
- A walk?
- Or a glass of wine or some chocolate?
The reality is, what people believe causes them to have certain thoughts, and therefore, to act a certain way.
Showing people HOW to catch their thoughts, question them, and manage them can help them to rewire their habits of thought.
And it doesn’t need to be complicated, becoming aware or one’s thoughts is the first step in this change process and one that I strongly back.
Ultimately finding out the reason why people are filling up on their feelings and applying some ways to get out of that cycle will be a lot more beneficial then the silly solutions being out forward
Most people struggle to do this on their own and working with a professional coach can be an effective strategy to take control.
My Experience
After many struggles with emotional eating and trying every method, every therapy, and reading every book on the subject, nothing worked for me until I discovered the life-altering truth:
The key to sustainable change through the mind.
I finally made peace with food following a massive mind transformation, in other words I learned how to manage stress, addressed my inner critic, and developed healthier thoughts and beliefs.
Any everyone deserves the same opportunity.
Now it’s over to you…
- What are your thoughts on this subject?
Please comment below, I would love to hear your story.❤️❤️
Irena Geller
🍓Food & Mood 😃 Coach
BSc (Biomed), Cert IV (PT), Wellness Coach (Level 3))
I coach busy women to put down their fork and pick up their life.
If you want to eat well consistently and lose weight effortlessly book free 30-minute-coaching session with me and I’ll show you how to add years to your life and live those years to the fullest, looking amazing and feeling confident!
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