I haven't posted here in quite some time (nor have I actually posted in the online weight loss forum I also belong too, actually) but it's not because I have completely fallen off the wagon in terms of my weight/health/fitness/general well-being.
I realized fully, a few months ago, that my weight has little to do with food. It has a lot, instead, to do with many of the following: stress, coping, emotions, relationships with other people, avoidance, discombobulation, my career, and my family. If I actually took the time to explain all of those contributions, I could monopolize this blog for a looooooooong time!
After finding myself suddenly single a year and a half ago, I quickly dropped about 30lbs of excess weight. (I have a lot more excess weight to go). I consider those to be my "relationship stress" pounds - 30 pounds gained in a short amount of time that are likely entirely due to the extreme dysfunction of my relationship combined with no appropriate way to cope other than to fight with my partner or avoid via eating.
But, I plateaued after that at a weight I do not enjoy - a weight that is approximately 30 pounds heavier than when I started graduate school (That's right, I gained roughly 60 pounds in graduate school. That number seems atrocious, but believe me when I say I didn't even notice due to stress and a complete disconnection between my mind and body.)
Frustrated with the plateau, I finally forced myself to do some more research and purchase a (gasp!) self-help book. The one I finally chose? Beck's Diet for Life, particularly the workbook.
As a psychologist, I know that cognitive therapy is effective for a lot of disorders, and I have a lot of respect for the author (Judy Beck) and the work that comes out of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy. I haven't lost much weight, and that's because I tried to burn through the book too quickly. The basic premise is that you need to learn (cognitive) skills when you feel motivated to lose weight, that will help you get through the (inevitable) tough times that lie ahead. Skills like reminding yourself of your reasons to lose weight, using coping flashcards when you need them, planning your food, using social support, etc.
The nice part about Beck's book is that (Despite the title) it's not necessarily a diet. You can take it as slow or as fast as you want to. Personally, I've slowed down quite a bit - my goal for the past two weeks has not been to monitor my eating or even exercise, but to master the simple skills of reading my list of reasons to lose weight every day (multiple times per day) and reading my coping flashcards before every meal. Without intending to, I find myself eating less. A nice bonus to the skill-building phase of cognitive work.
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3 comments:
I have read that behavior change, meaning, the way we think about food, is key to weight loss. In the past, I could eat when I was stressed and would lose wight. Now, when I am stressed, I crave comfort food and my workouts and healthy eating take a bad seat.
I wish I could find the balance. Please keep us posted on you progress.
I've heard of the Beck book, but didn't know much about it. Thanks for posting some info about it.
Looking forward to hearing more about your progress with using what you're learning in the book.
I tried a Cog. Therapy book for a different problem w/o much success, so I'll be curious to know how you do! For me my weight problems are related very heavily to overeating (emotional eating) and not enough activity.
I gained over 40lbs between our wedding day and when I finished grad school.
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