What are your biggest weight loss hurdles?
June 15, 2011
Many of the patients I meet with at oBand can be classified into four distinct categories of eating types. Which of the following do you find yourself falling into, in a typical day, or do you have a different weight loss hurdle?
1) Emotional Eater- uses food as a primary coping tool for boredom, stress, anxiety, anger, depression
2) Skip & Binger- may not eat breakfast, may even skip lunch..by the time you do eat, often you are making the wrong food choices and consuming too large of portion sizes
3) Grazer- eating small amounts of food all throughout the day
4) Miscellaneous- overall you recognize you are eating too large of portion sizes, or the wrong types of food
I’m interested in hearing others’ feedback regarding their own weight loss struggles. I have heard some unique situations from people who are in the entertainment industry, and find it hard to abstain when there are tons of rich and innovative foods around them all the time. What is your unique struggle?
Dr. Colleen Long is the resident psychologist at oBand Centers, and the author of “Happiness in B.A.L.A.N.C.E.” She facilitates weekly support groups for weight loss on OBanding Together, and does individual and couples therapy aimed at helping individuals lead a healthier lifestyle. Dr. Long works mainly from a positive psychology framework as it applies to addiction, depression, relationships, body image and weight loss. Her website can be found at www.DrColleenLong.com.
June 15, 2011 at 7:20 pm
I have a hate/hate reltionship with food at the present. I had surgery in September. I have no desire to eat. I eat when I have to, and I am so self concious of what I eat. Everyone seems to think that I sit around all day eating chocolate and ice cream and drinking soda. I live in fear. So I rarely eat. I was recently diagnosed with Hasimoto’s Disease as well. So life just got harder. I have that plus PCOS to deal with. I wish I could figure out how to do this. No one seems to have an answer. All I hear is “diet and exercise.” But I don’t eat junk, so that’s not a problem. I can’t exercise besause I have major bck and leg issues. So what’s the answer?
June 15, 2011 at 11:50 pm
Is it possible to suffer from more than one eating type? It seem like I suffer from being an emotional eater, a skip and binger and a grazer although not at the same time. I never eat breakfast and sometimes skip lunch. I am not hungry until I take that first bite…then I graze. When I do finally eat a meal, I do not always make the best choices. I also think I am an emotional eater. How do I get off this merry-go-round of bad food choices.
vdoming931
June 30, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Hi Vicki, I think the best possible tool is therapy (obviously). It is important to understand your unique relationship with food and then figure out ways to cultivate happiness in your life other than eating. It is very difficult to say “just stop eating as much,” without finding a replacement behavior. Also I think meditation can be an important component in that it deters us from simply getting stuck in our daily script of who we are and how we behave.