There are two reasons why people gain back the weight that they lost when there are no health conditions present.
- I just don’t care
This is the first reason why people gain back their weight. When things in our lives are spiraling downwards, we get depressed. In depression, the person doesn’t care anymore. They don’t care about their health, their bodies, hygiene nor what they eat. They eat what they have in their homes or find at the canteen at work. They don’t think twice about what they put into their mouths, they eat because they know they should.
When things get tough, our thoughts and actions are focused on the problem at hand. We aren’t focused on taking care of ourselves anymore because we have adopted the notion of:
“I don’t care anymore.”
When this happens, the weight creeps back again and when we find ourselves at the other side of the problem, we see the scale’s number.
2. Emotional eating
Emotional eating is the other reason. For some people, food makes them feel better. The reason for this is, when you stress, your cortisol levels increase. When your cortisol levels increase, it leads to cravings. Another reason why we eat when we are emotional is that food soothes us at that moment. When you feel full, you feel content.
There is a solution
The solution to both of these problems is that when you find yourself going through difficult times, get someone to talk to rather than eating. The other strategy is, before you grab that excess of food, stop a moment and think about it. Am I hungry? Why do I want to eat this? Do I need to eat this at the present moment? If you’re answer is no to one or more of these questions, you are in the middle of an emotional moment. You can then step away from that food and try to find something to keep your mind busy. If you’re at work, go outside and take 5 minutes or find work to do. If you’re at home, take out that hobby of yours and start doing that. You can also drink a glass of water or have some coffee or tea instead.
When you do find that you have gained back the weight, after you went through a difficult time, the strategy at hand will be damage control. Here you will need to acknowledge the weight gain. Do not continue in your old ways. Find help or formulate a plan which will bring you to your goal of weight loss. After this, you need to make the decision to stick with that plan, no matter what. When another difficult time arises, smack in the middle of your weight loss journey, you will need to find support to push through rather than turn to food.
Support systems
– Someone to talk to. Either a friend or counselor.
– Your family at home, which can keep you accountable.
– A personal trainer who can help you keep accountable throughout this hard time, with regards to your exercise program.
– Stock the pantry with healthy foods and ask your children or marriage partner, to rather visit the grocery shop instead of you. Just for this time you are struggling with difficult situations.
Do not feel defeated. You can and will come out of these hard times and you will win at weight loss again.