Why “Fat” Thoughts Can Make You Gain Weight
I hate my thighs / my stomach / my arms…I gain weight easily / I can’t trust my body / Why don’t I look like that?…..these are just a few of the common “Fat” thoughts that so many women repeat to themselves over and over on a daily basis.
Most of the time you may not even be aware of your negative recurring thoughts. But here’s the deal, they are just as much an obstacle to reaching your health and weight goals as the junk you are trying so hard to keep off your plate.
Most weight loss strategies are completely missing the boat on this key truth: how you think and feel about food and your body has a direct effect on your ability to lose weight. There’s an abundance of research that proves that your thoughts, emotions, attitudes and perceptions powerfully impact your behavior and your biology.
For instance, a 2015 study published in the International Journal of Obesity found that people who think they’re overweight are more likely to gain more weight than those who don’t think they’re overweight. Researchers discovered that people who thought they were overweight experienced higher levels of stress and therefore were more likely to overeat and gained weight.
But here’s what’s fascinating — this happened regardless of whether a person was actually overweight or not. What this and other research shows is that “Fat” thoughts actually lead to the very behaviors that trigger weight gain.
In our thin ideal obsessed society, we’ve bought into the myth that shaming, criticizing and battling our bodies is the “motivation” we need to lose our unwanted pounds, while believing that accepting ourselves will somehow cause us to slack off and blow up to an unthinkable weight.
A preoccupation with being fat or being dissatisfied or harshly judgmental of our bodies:
· Triggers emotional eating
· Sets the stage for the diet / binge cycle
· Leads to unsustainable restrictive diets and punishing exercise regimens
· Causes us to deny the things in life that make us feel good like social connection and relationships
“Thinking and Feeling Fat” can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
This connection is all rooted in a person’s stress mechanism. Feeling overweight is connected to feeling anxious, insecure, fearful or hopeless in a variety of life situations. To deal with these stressful emotions, food becomes a natural way to soothe and comfort.
But here’s the other really important fact – not only do “Fat Thoughts” affect our choices and behaviors but they impact our biology as well.
The resulting negative emotions that come from “Fat Thoughts” like shame, fear and frustration wreak havoc on our metabolic chemistry through a cascade of hormonal changes known as the “fight or flight” stress response. Over time, repeated activation of this stress response creates the opposite conditions we need for optimal health and natural weight loss.
So how do you break the cycle of negative self talk and swap your “Fat “ thoughts for “Healthy” ones so that you can get on track to obtain your perfect body without having to starve yourself?
That’s exactly what you’ll learn in my new Group Coaching Program that starts on Sept 12th!
I’d love to see you there. Early Bird Pricing Ends Sept 1st at Midnight!
