WHAT IS CONSCIOUS WEIGHT LOSS?

Many of us attempt weight loss by trying to strip kilos from our body without any understanding or awareness of the real reasons the weight is there in the first place.

Some weight gain occurs after a short period of self-indulgence. It can result in negative body image which can often be overcome with diet or exercise. However, most hard-to-shift weight is due to a psychological need that is being met and/or a series of behaviours that have become habitual and difficult to interrupt. These behaviours can include things like binge eating, stress eating and emotional eating. In some cases, the weight is a symptom of food addiction or abuse.

Conscious weight loss is where we assess and understand the roots of our weight issue and then employ the appropriate psychological and behavioural strategies to address this accurately. This gives the best chance for long-term success.

THE EFFECTS OF POOR BODY IMAGE.

Poor body Image can have a debilitating impact on our confidence, careers, how we move through the world, our relationships with family and friends, and our ability to find and connect with a loving partner.

If you have underlying self-loathing because you have not dealt with old issues of victimisation, objectification, neglect, bullying or abuse, you may well blame your body, store unresolved pain in it, and make it the focus of hateful thoughts. As a result of negative body image, you may well do damage to yourself in the form of bulimia, starvation or obesity.

The reverse is also true. If you have received safe and nurturing validation, love and admiration for your body, you may have a positive body image regardless of shape or size.

The key to overcoming negative body image is to understand and address the underlying issues. Love and acceptance of your body will actually help you lose weight consciously. The results will inevitably be more long-lasting than any weight loss based on fear, shame and criticism.

Identifying underlying trauma and triggers is also a critical component in the successful treatment of food addiction.

WHAT IS FOOD ADDICTION?

A key indicator of food addiction is the inability to stop eating despite negative consequences. Food-addiction behaviours can include binge eating, stress eating, emotional eating, having food as your constant companion, craving, obsessing and compulsive dieting.

IS YOUR BODY IMAGE SUFFERING? ARE YOU ADDICTED TO FOOD?

For many, food represents an emotional crutch, an anti-depressant, a social lubricant, a friend and even a drug. To create the right relationship with food and your body, it is critically important to correctly identify what kind of eater you are, i.e. a user, an abuser, or a food addict.

• A user is a person who uses food to fuel their body. If they want to lose a few kilos, they can turn to a fitness program or healthy eating plan, because diets work for them.
• An abuser uses food to alter their mood. These kinds of people are like people who drink a large amount of alcohol, but are not alcoholics. They can gain a normal relationship with food through using therapy to process the feelings they are medicating, minimising stress, improving their self-esteem; changing their social patterns, and so on.
• The food addict uses food like a drug. It controls them. They are possessed by cravings and obsessions. No amount of body-image shame can assuage their compulsion. There are three stages of food addiction: early, middle and late. The Late Stage (Chronic) Food Addict is someone who, like the alcoholic on the park bench, has lost all ability to control their relationship with food. They don’t control their consumption because they simply can’t.

HOW TO OVERCOME FOOD ADDICTION AND IMPROVE YOUR BODY IMAGE.

If misdiagnosed or untreated, food addiction can affect you on every level – your body image, mental well-being, social and emotional interactions, the list goes on.

From age seven, I suffered with a food addiction and poor body image. It’s the reason I chose to study food addiction and make it a focus of my practice. And it’s why I’m sharing my insights with you now.

If you or someone you know is binge eating, stress eating, emotional eating. or has a problem with body image, talk to me. I can start you on your own road to discovery, healing and recovery.

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TESTIMONIAL

“Grace, I am so glad you gave up law, because you have found your calling! You have such a gift for zeroing in on the crux of the problem, and give such stellar guidance. You are so charismatic, with a razor-sharp intelligence and wit, yet deliver it all with such compassion. I hope you know how powerful, wonderful and truly special you are. Thank you for flying half way around the world to give so much to all of us.”

– Participant, A Course in Weight Loss Retreat, San Diego, CA