Psychological weight. What reasons prevent you from losing weight?

Causes of obesity

Obesity is considered one of the diseases of civilization. High-calorie foods became available to people, but at the same time physical activity decreased. Working while sitting in the office, traveling home while sitting in public transport, and often relaxing in the evening while sitting on the sofa reduce the need for calories. But no one reduces consumption; the calorie content of food increases due to a large amount of simple carbohydrates - sweets, flour, and animal fats.

Research shows that there are many causes of obesity:

• poor nutrition is not only a large amount of calories, but also non-compliance with food intake, fasting in the first half of the day and a large amount of food in the evening before bed;
• lack of sleep - going to bed after 12 o'clock at night disrupts the production of the hormone melatonin, ghrelin and leptin, which regulate appetite. A person who gets little or no sleep at night is more likely to become obese;
• medications - taking hormones, antidepressants, can provoke increased appetite or disturbances in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism;
• genetic predisposition – it has been proven that children with obese parents are prone to the appearance of excess adipose tissue;
• endocrine diseases - hypothyroidism, type 2 diabetes mellitus, Cushing's disease are often accompanied by obesity; in men, pathological weight gain is observed with testosterone deficiency, and in women with a lack of estrogen, polycystic ovary syndrome;
• pathology of the central nervous system - brain injuries, some types of tumors can provoke eating disorders. Some mental disorders are also accompanied by overeating and excess weight.

Women tend to gain weight at certain times in their lives. Sometimes premenstrual syndrome is accompanied by the development of edema and weight gain. This is due to a lack of the hormone progesterone. Many people feel that on the eve of their period and in the first days they begin to eat more, which causes serious fluctuations in body weight.

The risk of gaining excess weight increases during pregnancy. Hormonal changes lead to active fat storage. On average, body weight increases by 10-15 kg during pregnancy, but some women gain 20-25 kg. Pregnant women with a thin build are especially prone to this.

During menopause, the risk of obesity increases again. The lack of estrogen affects the metabolism in adipose tissue and leads to a gradual gain of body weight, which is very difficult to get rid of.

Nothing works

Diets and hard sports don't work? Do you want to praise yourself with food for another success? Would a couple of cakes brighten up stress or just a bad day? This is just a consequence of your weight gain. Overeating, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, gambling addiction is not a need, but a defense.

Surely you have already heard that at the moment when you want to open the refrigerator and start eating, you need to identify and write down your feelings, and then analyze what exactly you are trying to eat. I find this to be ineffective. You are not a psychologist. For example, the husband is late from work, does not want to sit with the children, throw out the trash and lies on the sofa. You open the refrigerator and start eating. What will you write down about this? My husband doesn't help around the house. In a month, in the list you will see a continuous list of “husband is lazy” and “boss yelled,” and I have +5 kg. But the reasons are hidden much deeper.

The first thing you need to understand is what is the reason that your body needs protection from something. Excess food, alcohol, hanging out on social networks is an escape from reality. “I don’t want to see something, encounter something.” Often women have no objective reasons to defend themselves - a wonderful family, good income, profession, self-realization, but they gain weight. And then it becomes even more interesting why the body continues to save “in reserve.”

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Psychological causes of excess weight

In medicine, psychosomatics is a separate area that is actively developing. Psychosomatic causes have been established for many diseases, obesity being one of them. It is believed that the development of pathology is based on the body’s reaction to emotional experience. first it causes functional changes, which are easily corrected when the problem is eliminated, and then pathological disturbances in work.

Psychologists explain that an unresolved internal conflict, a situation that is emotionally unpleasant for a person, can go into the subconscious and remain unresolved. But it remains at an unconscious level and leads to eating disorders or problems with other organs.

Psychosomatics of excess weight in women may be associated with the following factors:

• stress eating is conditional; if in childhood a crying child was immediately offered something sweet, this action was reinforced in the subconscious. An adult woman also, when experiencing negative emotions, tries to eat something tasty to cheer up. Most often these are sweets, fast food, alcohol, which also leads to weight gain due to its high calorie content;
• low self-esteem - psychologists believe that in women who lack self-confidence, excess food consumption is activated, which leads to excess weight. This way they become more noticeable to others, but will continue to live with low self-esteem;
• the desire to become ugly - women who were raped at an early age psychologically increase their appetite. So subconsciously they try to disfigure their body in order to avoid repetition of unpleasant events;
• protection from the outside world - consuming large amounts of food and building up a layer of fat allows you to hide and build a tangible barrier. This is observed both in shy people and in victims of physical or mental violence;
• attention deficit in childhood or in marriage - psychological reasons are related to the desire to become more noticeable to parents who do not devote enough time to the girl. Married women sometimes begin to gain weight when their spouse loses interest in them;
• reluctance to please the opposite sex - the root of the problem also lies in childhood, when the girl was imposed false stereotypes of behavior, limited communication with boys, or was taught that beauty and sexuality are bad. Subconsciously, the girl begins to change her body, hiding it under a layer of fat.

Psychosomatics can increase metabolic disorders in the body and lead to the development of obesity, which is resistant to diets and requires special comprehensive treatment.

Childhood is to blame

The usual scenario of behavior and your reactions was formed a long time ago. This strategy is ingrained and automatically jumps out in every unpleasant situation. It is important to notice how you react to stress, and not how you feel when you eat. Naturally, at this moment you will feel guilty about the extra plate of borscht or the third eclair. However, it will still not be the same. How I feel in conflicts, in communicating with people, when I don’t get things done - this determines whether you will overeat or not.

Try to rewind your life. There is one great technique for this. You draw a life line with a cutoff of one year. For each period, indicate your weight. You will notice that at one point it enlarged and became fixed. And then throughout your life you either gain or lose weight, but usually stay within that value. Search your memories. Most likely, it was a lot of stress - the death of a loved one, a divorce. Your psyche does not allow you to drop below this weight, because it allows for a repetition of that terrible situation.

When you decide to work through this episode with a psychologist, you will be able to get rid of fixed emotions and beliefs, and the weight will come down easily and calmly. You can and should work with the psychosomatics of excess weight. It is important to look for the cause and understand that it is a symptom. Shift your focus from “I want to lose weight” to what your body is protecting itself from.

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What does the distribution of body fat indicate?

Psychologists believe that emotional problems can be judged by the distribution of fat in a woman’s body. A double chin appears due to understatement, fear of expressing one’s thoughts out loud. Fat deposits in the shoulder and back area are associated with the burden of the past, which a woman continues to carry, or with a deep sense of guilt. Fat folds on the back in the lumbar region are an indicator of feelings of guilt and shame for one’s misdeeds or mistakes. In general, the distribution of fat in the upper body is a reflection of increased responsibility for others, the desire to help everyone, often to the detriment of one’s own interests.

Psychosomatics explains the distribution of fat deposits in the lower body as follows:

• buttocks – lack of fulfillment in sexual life, excessive stubbornness, egocentrism;
• belly - excessive concern, a large number of unrealized ideas that a woman carries within herself, some psychologists associate it with problems between mother and child;
• hips - childhood fears and grievances, infantilism or a sense of shame;
• riding breeches are an area of ​​meaningless accumulation, when a woman maintains unnecessary relationships, goes to a job she doesn’t like, and saves unpleasant emotions.

Losing weight in women with psychological causes of obesity is possible only after careful work with a psychologist and psychotherapist, who will help find the root of the problems and understand themselves.

Where to begin

The moment when you eat is not so interesting. Analyze what you experience during the day, week and month in some incomprehensible situations. Fear, guilt (didn't look after the children, not ideal, imperfect), loneliness (even having a family), feeling of discomfort, shame, irritation.

So that you can find this feeling in yourself, remember any last situation during the week where you didn’t like something, it was unpleasant - being late, a reprimand, a conflict with someone. Do you remember? Did your heart feel bad? Did your chest tighten, or did a lump form in your throat? Now try to define this feeling - anxiety, resentment, fear, etc. If you can’t pinpoint it, ask yourself what am I like at this moment - small, worthless, wretched, timid.

In every unpleasant moment, the same strategy works - what you think about yourself, how you feel about it. At the same time, you don’t grab the bun, but unpleasant emotions accumulate. How you deal with stress, how you cope with it, determines how you will act in the evening - eat, drink, drink sedatives, dive into social networks. And this will have consequences in the form of extra pounds and other addictions.

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How to solve the psychological problem of excess weight

It is necessary to treat obesity, which is psychosomatic, together with a psychologist. But first you need to make sure that the problem has a psychological cause and is not associated with endocrine disorders or other diseases. To do this, an examination is carried out by a therapist and an endocrinologist.

Sometimes the impetus for successful weight loss is the conclusion of a diagnostician, which indicates serious wear and tear on internal organs. Often, grade 2-3 obesity is accompanied by fatty hepatosis (obesity and impaired liver function), an increased risk of atherosclerosis, impaired glucose tolerance and a tendency to surges in blood pressure at a young age.

To treat psychosomatics, it is important to find an experienced psychologist who will help you find the causes of overeating and teach you how to control your desires. This process takes a lot of time and consists of several stages, during which the psychologist will suggest performing certain exercises:

The identification of subpersonalities, one of which seeks to overeat, and the second – to control. Psychology usually recommends giving them names and setting up a dialogue, during which you can determine the reasons why a woman overeats, how one side controls this process, and the other interferes.

Search for motivation, or the benefits of excess weight. A woman may blame obesity for the misfortunes that happen to her. But subconsciously she often justifies herself, looking for benefits in this situation. Thanks to this exercise, she can identify her needs, which are satisfied with the help of excess weight, and find another way to satisfy them.

At the third stage, the psychologist suggests answering questions about excess weight, dividing the answers into columns with pros and cons. Once she is convinced that the disadvantages of obesity are greater, a woman can set herself up for drastic weight loss.

Sometimes emotional problems or experiences are so significant that they require medication correction. The doctor may prescribe herbal sedatives that will not cause harm and will help maintain mental balance. These can be valerian tablets, motherwort tincture, Novopassit or Persen. These medications do not disrupt carbohydrate metabolism, unlike antidepressants.

In addition to finding the reason for eating high-calorie foods, with the help of psychology you can try to give it up if you build the right motivation. Psychological techniques work well when the same portion of food is crushed into small pieces. They visually look more voluminous than one large piece of meat or other dish. It helps to replace standard plates for meals with small ones that visually increase the amount of food.

For psychosomatic causes of excess weight, positive emotions are needed that will displace unpleasant experiences and help overcome stress. For reinforcement you can use:

• creativity - drawing, singing, playing musical instruments, dancing - any areas that will help get rid of negativity or switch to good emotions;
• sports – if obesity has not reached a severe stage, when physical activity worsens your well-being, you can remember your previous hobbies or find new ones. These can be team sports, martial arts or any other types of activity;
• hobby - helps you not to eat high-calorie foods, but to take your mind off troubles and switch your attention to activities that bring pleasure.

The results of losing weight for psychosomatic reasons need to be recorded so that the woman sees changes for the better. But weighing should not be daily, because... body weight may fluctuate. It’s better to step on the scale once a week to confirm positive changes.

Why is it important to overload your brain for weight loss?

Psychology does not accept concessions: whatever one may say, without rebooting the brain, all attempts to lose weight will be futile or will only bring temporary weight correction. And by teaching the brain to think differently, it will be possible to reflash the subconscious, which will instantly pull up the corresponding conscious actions.

It's like a computer program, by installing which you achieve certain goals. Of course, before rebooting the brain, it is necessary to determine exactly what subconscious attitudes are preventing you from losing weight, what needs to be worked out and changed.

If the problem of excess weight lies in low self-esteem, self-acceptance, dislike of your body (excess pounds act as a punishment and another proof of your insignificance), then you need to work on increasing your self-worth and learning to love yourself.

If fat deposits are a person’s psychological armor, protecting him from a hostile world, then it is necessary to remove conflicts and help a person make friends with the reality around him. When a big belly is perceived as a guarantee of solidity and success, then you will have to work on self-esteem and change perception stereotypes.

Sometimes, in order to lose weight, you have to eradicate infantilism, learn to understand the nature of your actions, get rid of excessive anxiety, fight fears and stereotypical patterns of behavior, and get out of your cocoon, no matter how difficult it may be.

Additional measures for weight loss

It is impossible to lose weight only with the help of psychology; it is necessary to reduce the caloric content of food and increase physical activity. To do this, a nutritionist or endocrinologist prepares a special diet in which there will be a calorie deficit of 10-20% of the daily requirement. The following foods are excluded from the diet:

• baked goods made from white flours, black bread, which enhances fermentation in the intestines;
• sweets in any form, it can be replaced with dried fruits or fresh fruits;
• fatty meats;
• any foods that stimulate appetite - spicy, smoked, carbonated and alcoholic drinks.

Be sure to normalize the drinking regime; the female body requires at least 1.5 liters of water, and in hot weather, with active physical activity, this amount can increase to 2-2.5 liters.

To lose weight, you need to reduce the absorption of incoming fats. Therefore, for women with critical forms of obesity, the doctor may prescribe special medications for weight loss. The effect has been proven in the following drugs:

• fiber in various forms - increases the volume of intestinal contents, adsorbs some of the lipids and does not allow them to be absorbed, creates conditions for the proliferation of normal intestinal microflora, which synthesizes vitamins B and K;
• Orlistat - inhibits the activity of lipases - enzymes that are involved in the breakdown of fats coming from food. Therefore, lipids come out naturally and are absorbed, which accelerates weight loss.

They use various dietary supplements that help replenish vitamin deficiencies and improve digestive function.

Physical activity with severe obesity is not always possible due to a large belly and voluminous hips, which interfere with movement. Often women suffer from shortness of breath due to excess weight. Therefore, they begin to increase physical activity with exercise therapy, and after positive dynamics appear and increased tolerance to stress, they switch to more active sports.

A course on the psychology of weight loss instead of constantly paying a psychologist

Wellness Consulting Academy decided to simplify the task for everyone who wants to effectively lose weight forever, having worked through all their psychological barriers and problems. Our team of experts has developed a special proprietary course “Lose weight. How to put order in your head and plate”, consisting of 10 modules of valuable and very interesting information.

After completing the course, you will receive all the knowledge you need to successfully correct weight, establish a new, better lifestyle and improve your relationship with yourself. This is much more profitable than constantly paying for consultations with a psychologist, turning to him again and again with new difficulties and fears.

For only $49 you get 90 days of access to all training video materials of the course, located on a modern online platform (access is possible from any device and gadget connected to the Internet).

In addition, during the training you will be able to use for free the author's calorie analyzer of foods and dishes for faster menu creation and the author's body composition analyzer for developing an individual weight loss program.

And if you need help and support from nutritionist consultants, you can always find it in a closed community of wellness specialists, to which you will be given access on an ongoing basis.

It is also worth noting that the speaker of the course is a practicing nutritionist, experienced psychotherapist, certified coach and consultant on eating disorders Lara Serebryanskaya. So you will definitely be in good hands.

All questions that arise during the course can be asked for discussion during the live webinar. In addition, you will have a personal curator who will provide assistance and assistance if difficulties arise in completing the training modules.

Foods that can be consumed without restrictions

• cabbage (all types), mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers
• lettuce, greens, spinach, sorrel
• tea, coffee without sugar and cream
• drinking still water
• meat (lamb, turkey, veal, beef). Avoid chicken, it contains a lot of hormones and antibiotics (you can only eat homemade chicken)
• wild fish
• zucchini, eggplant, beets, carrots, green beans, radishes, turnips, green peas (vegetables can be eaten raw, boiled, steamed, baked; frying is not recommended)

The use of fats (butter, mayonnaise, fats) in cooking is not allowed.

Foods to eat in moderation

• milk and fermented milk products of normal fat content, and preferably homemade. Do not use low-fat dairy products!!!
• boiled potatoes, preferably steamed
• mature legume grains (peas, beans, lentils)
• whole grain cereals (no more than 6 tablespoons per serving). Eliminate semolina, white rice, instant cereals
• vegetable, meat and fish soups cooked in a second broth
• pasta cooked al dente (durum wheat only) (no more than 6 tablespoons per serving)
• bread and bakery products - not rich (preferably coarse or whole grain bread, 1-2 pieces per day)
• fruits (except those specified in the “exclude” paragraph)
• nuts, seeds
• eggs

“Moderate amount” means half of your usual serving. Food should be as natural as possible, “roughly cooked” - it is better to undercook than to overcook.

How food and physical activity affect our emotional background

It seems that mood is an abstract entity that lives on its own. Meanwhile, having understood the cause-and-effect relationships, we can learn to manage our mood

How are emotions and physical activity related? “Mood in the physical sense is the level and balance of various neurotransmitters in the body, the activity of certain areas of the brain; in the mental, it is a reflection, a feeling about what is happening around a person in the aggregate. The kinesthetic component of our being, influencing thinking,” says Denis Varvanets, biogerontologist, athlete and one of the most famous biohackers in Russia. He runs long distances, tracks his health biomarkers, and guides clients in that direction.

“During sports, dopamine is produced,” notes Denis. – It plays an important role in maintaining athletic fitness under conditions of increased physical activity and helps mobilize the body’s energy resources. People who exercise regularly have a decreased release of cortisol, the “stress hormone,” in response to stressors. The parasympathetic nervous system is more active, which can be recorded using heart rate variability. With high-intensity aerobic interval training, the BDNF factor increases - it is responsible for neuroplasticity of the brain. This is a good prevention of depression and dementia.”

At the same time, a certain type of activity can affect us in different ways. Strength training releases hormones; High-intensity aerobic training affects metabolism, the BDNF factor, oxygen consumption also increases, and lactate (lactic acid) levels fluctuate, which helps strengthen memory. Low-intensity aerobic running releases nitric oxide, which plays a role in the feeling of relaxation, also known as “runner's high.” Yoga practices help develop concentration and cognitive flexibility.

Leading yoga therapist Yulia Sinyavskaya says that yoga and breathing practices are responsible not only for concentration, but also for the accumulation of resources: “Due to the fact that yoga is a combination of flexibility, breathing techniques, relaxation, in the end all this will work to strengthen tone of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the restoration and accumulation of body resources.” She explains that in modern people the parasympathetic system itself is very difficult to activate due to the fact that our minds are constantly active. And inverted poses - primitive states given to us evolutionarily in order to survive - improve cerebral circulation, thereby reducing the level of anxiety and aggression. “It’s ideal to add breathing practices and meditation to yoga; this is what makes the state of mind calmer, and we become less susceptible to emotional swings,” the expert advises.

Nutrition

Surely you have noticed that after eating an almond croissant, in the first minutes you feel a surge of energy, and then depression, heaviness, drowsiness and even a feeling of guilt appear. “This is due to a jump in sugar and insulin,” explains endocrinologist Anastasia Muzhchinina. – If you eat a plate of fresh vegetable salad instead of a bun, you will feel full faster, feel light, and have a surge of energy. We cannot completely give up carbohydrates, this is our fuel, but we need to give preference to complex carbohydrates.”

She is convinced that proper nutrition is the basis of our health and good mood. Firstly, most bacteria and viruses multiply in an acidic environment, and they die in an alkaline environment. Therefore, it is imperative to include fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits in your diet. Secondly, excess amounts of refined sugar and salt in the diet contribute to the development of visceral obesity and, as a result, insulin resistance and diabetes. And this is a completely different quality of life. Thirdly, when nutrition is balanced in terms of macro- and micronutrients, the risk that a deficiency of vitamins and microelements will occur is reduced several times. And when there is a lack of, for example, iron or vitamin D, we feel depressed, constantly tired, and apathetic. In addition, the deficiency of vitamins and microelements is directly related to the functioning of the endocrine glands, in particular the thyroid. “In general, I recommend that residents of our country take vitamin D year-round; it not only gives a boost of energy and strong bones, but also strengthens the immune system,” adds Man.

Endocrinologist, specialist in medical information and scientific communication, author of the scientific and educational Telegram channel “Endonovosti” Evdokia Tsvetkova talks about the meaning of hunger: “The connection between hunger and emotions is not very well studied, but there is an idea that our body has evolutionarily adapted its behavior to be more aggressive during fasting, thus increasing our chances of competing for food." According to another version, Tsvetkova explains, it’s all about hormones: if glucose levels drop, the body protects the brain from starvation by actively releasing adrenaline and cortisol. They help release glucose stores in the liver and muscles, as well as fatty acids, so that glucose flows into the blood and then into the brain. These are the same hormones that the body produces in situations of emotional stress, so if you have an irregular diet, your mood may worsen.

Water

One of the world's most famous biohackers, Chris Dancy, who tracks his health using 700 different devices, says in an interview that after doing biohacking for more than ten years, he made a simple discovery: “It turns out that we need more water than we think. I promise that by doubling your usual intake of plain clean water, you will become happier, you will have more energy and desire to live.” Anastasia Muzhchinina agrees with this observation: “Water is necessary for all our organs and systems: the brain, circulatory system, heart, joints and every cell. And when there is not enough water, we get poisoned, dehydrated, and, as a result, this affects our mood. It is especially important to drink water for women with symptoms of PMS, when the emotional background is unstable.”

Dream

Even at the simplest sensory level, we notice that, without enough sleep, we are ready to go to war with the whole world. The concept of “healthy sleep” includes two indicators: sleep duration and quality. An adult needs approximately seven to eight hours. But even more important, sleep efficiency is an integral indicator, which includes the presence of a deep sleep phase (delta sleep). There is also a phase of superficial sleep and a paradoxical phase in which dreams come to us.

However, not only the quality of sleep can affect your mood, but also vice versa: the most common form of insomnia (doctors use this very term; to say “insomnia” is not entirely correct) is acute, the cause of which is most often emotional stress. In the practice of somnology, there is such a thing as “sleep hygiene” - elementary actions to normalize one’s sleep, because in one way or another every person faces sleep disturbances. Somnologist, associate professor at the Department of Nervous Diseases and Neurosurgery at Sechenov University, author of the book “Riddles of Sleep. From insomnia to lethargy” Mikhail Poluektov talks about the simplest preventive actions that will help improve the quality of sleep. First of all, routine is important: you need to go to bed and get up at the same time every day. If the regime is violated, it is recommended to restore it as soon as possible.

An hour before bedtime, it is better to limit vigorous mental activity, as well as physical activity. The exception is sexual activity. It is important to create comfortable conditions for sleeping: a ventilated room, thick dark curtains, minimal noise level (earplugs can be used), as well as a comfortable orthopedic mattress and pillow. “Do not consume food, coffee and caffeinated drinks, Coca-Cola and alcohol before bed. Limit the use of gadgets - these include mobile phones, e-readers, laptops and even digital watches. It’s even better to put gadgets in “airplane mode”, or even leave them in the next room,” concludes Poluektov.

A bad mood negatively affects not only the quality of life, but also its duration. There are clinical studies that indicate that optimists live, on average, longer than people with a depressed emotional state. Some contemporaries seriously claim that they aim to live to 120 years. Well, apparently, you can’t do without a good mood and the ability to “fix” it yourself.

Link to publication: RBC