The Obese are Experts at Starvation But Fearful of Eating
As I introduce my new obese clients to my fast weight loss methods based on eating real whole food, they panic. I was the same way. At 256 lbs, depressed to the point that I was worried for my safety I made an appointment with a naturopath. I told her my concerns for my health, my history of obesity and a lifetime of dieting. She wasn't much help, but allowed me the blood tests to prove my thoughts on what was wrong with me. The following year after I had lost 136 pounds with a raw foods diet, I returned for my final blood work. It was then that she shared with me the note she made on our first visit: "Patient views food as poison."
We both laughed at that, but it was not far from the truth. Not just for me, but as I have learned from helping so many other obese women it is a common theme among the obese. None of us feel that we can trust food because we cannot trust ourselves with it. It has been the cause of all our weight problems, not actual food, but our unhealthy relationship with it. For this reason we come to fear it.
For those of us who have grown up with obesity or entered the dieting world early, we have no idea what "normal" eating is. All we know is how to diet or not diet, and the not diet has nothing to do with eating right. We have proven to ourselves over and over again, that we have no control over the food we eat except when on a structured diet, and then it is only until we can't do it anymore.
The obese have no clue how to eat like a regular person or even how much food we can eat to maintain our weight. When I tell new clients they are going to start their program on a 1800 calorie diet they want to turn and run. All we seem to know is starvation and deprivation as methods to lose weight. The thought of eating that much food and not be in overeating mode seems unrealistic. It takes me a good two weeks to convince them that 1800 calories is still slightly in weight loss mode for most.
The first week is always full of panic. Their menus are made up of foods and quantities they have picked up from dieting their whole lives. A lot of it is food they don't care for and would never eat if they weren't on a diet. When I tell them to eat more, to try something new they balk. "No, no, I will lose control. I can't do it." In truth, that is exactly what I want them to do. It is only after examining what puts them out of control, that I can help them bring things back to the middle and find a satisfying solution that will allow them to take responsibility for their daily food intake.
We are all different. Our bodies respond to different types of food and our personal likes and dislikes are highly varied. Some people can lose weight with higher fat, some people can't. Some people have no problem eating lots of salt, others like me, have to be cautious. Some people need fewer, larger meals to feel sated, others need to graze through the day. Understanding who you are as an eater becomes paramount in defining a diet that will bring weight loss and then let you adjust it for life-time maintenance.
We are so distrustful of food and our own ability to manage it that it is actually harder to get the obese to eat then it is to them to starve. If I said, okay here is this liquid diet, you won't eat for six months, they would sign on in a minute, but when I say I am going to make them eat, they back off not believing they could succeed.
New obese clients are always tentative with their food the first week. When we go over their food list it is always filled with the typical diet foods in quantities that are not worth the bother. When I question them about their choices they will defend the food stating that they really like it. I mean really? Who honestly likes sugar free anything or those rice cakes? For them these foods are treats. What happened to us? Who filled us with so much fear of real food? Breaking through these old habits is tough and it can take weeks.
It is a process, a hand holding to calm their nerves and gain their trust that it is okay to eat food as long as they understand that each choice they make needs to be seen as a whole, and it needs to work with them as a person. Once they see that they really can eat 1800 calories a day without gaining weight they are amazed. Amazed that they are now eating foods they saw as detrimental to their dieting cause, and eating those foods in amounts they find satisfying.
It is this fear of food, this fear of not being able to stick to a diet, this fear that food controls us and not the other way around that keeps the obese obese. Food is neither enemy nor lover. It needs to become a partner in the obese person's quest for health and well-being. - 17273
We both laughed at that, but it was not far from the truth. Not just for me, but as I have learned from helping so many other obese women it is a common theme among the obese. None of us feel that we can trust food because we cannot trust ourselves with it. It has been the cause of all our weight problems, not actual food, but our unhealthy relationship with it. For this reason we come to fear it.
For those of us who have grown up with obesity or entered the dieting world early, we have no idea what "normal" eating is. All we know is how to diet or not diet, and the not diet has nothing to do with eating right. We have proven to ourselves over and over again, that we have no control over the food we eat except when on a structured diet, and then it is only until we can't do it anymore.
The obese have no clue how to eat like a regular person or even how much food we can eat to maintain our weight. When I tell new clients they are going to start their program on a 1800 calorie diet they want to turn and run. All we seem to know is starvation and deprivation as methods to lose weight. The thought of eating that much food and not be in overeating mode seems unrealistic. It takes me a good two weeks to convince them that 1800 calories is still slightly in weight loss mode for most.
The first week is always full of panic. Their menus are made up of foods and quantities they have picked up from dieting their whole lives. A lot of it is food they don't care for and would never eat if they weren't on a diet. When I tell them to eat more, to try something new they balk. "No, no, I will lose control. I can't do it." In truth, that is exactly what I want them to do. It is only after examining what puts them out of control, that I can help them bring things back to the middle and find a satisfying solution that will allow them to take responsibility for their daily food intake.
We are all different. Our bodies respond to different types of food and our personal likes and dislikes are highly varied. Some people can lose weight with higher fat, some people can't. Some people have no problem eating lots of salt, others like me, have to be cautious. Some people need fewer, larger meals to feel sated, others need to graze through the day. Understanding who you are as an eater becomes paramount in defining a diet that will bring weight loss and then let you adjust it for life-time maintenance.
We are so distrustful of food and our own ability to manage it that it is actually harder to get the obese to eat then it is to them to starve. If I said, okay here is this liquid diet, you won't eat for six months, they would sign on in a minute, but when I say I am going to make them eat, they back off not believing they could succeed.
New obese clients are always tentative with their food the first week. When we go over their food list it is always filled with the typical diet foods in quantities that are not worth the bother. When I question them about their choices they will defend the food stating that they really like it. I mean really? Who honestly likes sugar free anything or those rice cakes? For them these foods are treats. What happened to us? Who filled us with so much fear of real food? Breaking through these old habits is tough and it can take weeks.
It is a process, a hand holding to calm their nerves and gain their trust that it is okay to eat food as long as they understand that each choice they make needs to be seen as a whole, and it needs to work with them as a person. Once they see that they really can eat 1800 calories a day without gaining weight they are amazed. Amazed that they are now eating foods they saw as detrimental to their dieting cause, and eating those foods in amounts they find satisfying.
It is this fear of food, this fear of not being able to stick to a diet, this fear that food controls us and not the other way around that keeps the obese obese. Food is neither enemy nor lover. It needs to become a partner in the obese person's quest for health and well-being. - 17273
About the Author:
Carlene Jones helps the obese lose weight fast on a food and exercise based diet program. Last year her clients lost over 2000 lbs. Her workbook Fat Brain Lies helps the obese face the reality of their obesity and their relationship to food.
posted by X - Men at
12:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home