Psychological reasons for being overweight

The human body is set up in mysterious ways: it seems that we know everything about it, we act according to science, we remember that “movement is life”, but there is no change. Yes, yes, we are talking about IT – about excess weight.

Everything seems to have been tried: nutrition systems from British / Japanese scientists, life hacks from fitness gurus, series of vitamin supplements and mud (salt, pepper – underline what you need) body wraps. But there’s no result. Moreover, the most offensive thing is when you need to lose just a few pounds, but they hold onto you with a death grip. “How?!” is a fair question.

According to psychosomatic medicine research, being overweight is not just a disturbed balance between calorie intake and expenditure. The reason for it is associated with a special mechanism of interaction between our body and psyche.

Deep inner turmoil leaves a mark not only in your memory, but also in the body.

Let’s try to figure out what specific mental problems most often lead to weight gain.

  1. Eating away the stress

That image is featured in all dramas: a crying girl eats away her grief with a chocolate cake or a tub of ice cream. In fact, it’s a very real story, originating in childhood.

If a baby cries, we give it the breast / bottle (although, maybe he is not hungry); if a toddler scrapes his knee, here’s some candy, don’t you cry; if a teenager has a fight with classmates, then let’s go at McDonald’s, you can calm down and tell me everything.

So, a habit is created and consolidated so easily and unobtrusively “emotional discomfort – delicious food – peace of mind.” And since you don’t know a healthier way to restore peace of mind (or it requires effort), you choose a way that’s been tried and tested over the years – to eat.

  1. I don’t feel – I don’t understand

When a person loves their body and listens closely to its signals, it’s not difficult for them to understand its needs: right now, I’m thirsty, but then I’m sleepy. They won’t not confuse anxiety with hunger, excitement with thirst, but, having been sated, they’ll immediately put the fork down, and not after half an hour of uncontrolled gorging.

It’s much more difficult for those who don’t really understand their sensations, block their feelings, and don’t hear the signals of their body.

In that case, you eat because it’s lunch time, eat everything on a plate because “dishes love to be clear,” take popcorn to the cinema, because that’s the way it is.

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  1. Fear of being attractive

A very difficult reason related to fears. For example, fear of relationships or of a repeat of a sexual trauma.

The firm belief that “fat means unattractive to the opposite sex” gives a signal to the body and an active production of armor weight begins.

Incidentally, this also includes being in a destructive, abusive relationship. In order to avoid having sex, the body uses an understandable and simple mechanism.

  1. My sole pleasure

It’s sad, but it’s the truth: if you don’t know different ways to have fun, then food becomes your main (if not only) source of positive emotions.

You can, of course, argue that you have fun when meeting friends, recharge your batteries from watching good movies, and enjoy a vacation by the sea. But can all that be compared with the pleasure of a wonderful steak or a soft tiramisu? Friends can be annoying, a movie can be too complicated, a vacation needs to be properly planned … But food? Always beautiful!

  1. Secondary benefits

Paradox: being overweight is not just bad, but … it’s also good. And your subconscious knows why “nasty kilograms” don’t go away and what they’re really for.

  • cause sympathy: “leave her / him alone, can’t you see they’re already having a hard time!”
  • justify failures and relieve oneself of responsibility: “this all because I’m fat”
  • avoid unpleasant obligations: “I can’t help you: with my weight being what it is, it’s very difficult to do”
  • extinguish the partner’s jealousy: “I’ll be overweight, and he’ll decide that no one is gonna look at me”
  • ease communication issues: “everyone knows that fat people are kind and good, so people will reach out to me”
  • justify lovelife problems: “of course, no one likes the fat ones, so I’m unlucky in love.”

Even the very idea that getting rid of extra pounds can trigger a cascade of changes in your life leads to the fact that your body becomes simply immune to diets and exercises.

As you can see, the causes of being overweight are different and it’s possible that some of them can interweave in your subconscious mind into a complex ball of yarn. Therefore, if sports and proper nutrition are all for naught, it makes sense to look for a reason in your mind.

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