Millie was 19 when she met Troy, three years her senior. She was popular in school having figured prominently in many winning debates, oratorical contests, inter-school writing and drama workshops, and a report card which showed all As. Needless to say, she was in the dean’s list and felt on top of the world. More so, when she and Troy started dating.
Troy was a basketball hero, with an equally prominent class showing. He graduated with the Highest Honors in High School, and was on academic scholarship. He and Millie, of slim built, weighing just a little over 100 lbs. were a couple during the Seniors Prom, but not during the Graduation Dance. Troy was with another girl.
The heartbreak led Millie to the fridge. The betrayal made her feel worthless and so she pigged out, trying to justify what her misdirected anger led her to believe. Soon enough, she ballooned into a size that even she, dreaded to face in the mirror. Her self-esteem was crushed, she was a far-cry from the lady that she and her peers once knew.
Millie’s story is shared by countless others who when angry, bored, tired, or depressed find solace and comfort in food.
In counseling obese women, most psychiatrists have ascertained the direct parallelism of the need for understanding, comfort and security to excessive eating. While there are others who skip meals when bothered emotionally, most would fill the void or their feeling of emptiness, by stuffing their stomachs. As they feel reassured by eating, the habit is formed.
Coming back to a healthy lifestyle is both easy and difficult. Easy because the root cause of the problem can be easily identified, yet the battle against the bulge takes more than just a decision, it takes commitment. This makes the journey, difficult.
First, have a lifestyle check: assess your behaviors that trigger your compulsive desire to eat. Determine the root cause of your problem with someone you trust, and from whom you can derive emotional support. This battle can be easily won through help of family and friends. As your support system, they can sweep away the cobwebs of loneliness and unworthiness that you feel. But the inner strife has to be fought by no one else but you, thus, a firm conviction is needed to straighten past behaviors that curb your sense of responsibility towards your health.
A bad habit can only be changed by another habit – this time, by a good one. Judge your eating habits and check on your daily activities. When your hands are empty, more likely, your eyes will wander. Keep busy. Turn every idle hour into a productive expression of your talents and abilities.
Work an effective approach to changing your lifestyle.
Most often, when you do things gradually, they become little successes that pile up and strengthen your success mechanism to achieve more. Change your lifestyle one day at a time. Totally revamping your behavior may prove unrealistic. When you fail to follow through with a diet that you imposed upon yourself, for example, the feeling of defeat sets in, and you will feel unworthy again. This will set off an alarm in your brain that can trigger the impulse to seek comfort in food, as you used to.
Rather, set daily goals in bite-sizes. As you achieve one goal successfully, gradually increase your goal the next day until a new habit is formed. You will be amazed at how effective this approach can be. As you nurture your daily progress, you will be challenged to press on. This will mark a new beginning for you.
When setbacks occur, as they sometimes will, don’t lose hope. Just stick to your newfound lifestyle and move on. Losing weight is a formidable task because it is a battle against your fiercest foe – yourself.
So, next time you see a person with a weight-loss problem, don’t despise him or her. Maybe, she too, has a story to tell. Your kind understanding and firm support can liberate him or her from the confines of a debilitating lifestyle that can imprison him for life – which can be short, if left unchecked.
