Obesity is not an easy condition to cope with. If you are obese, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s no fun to have people stare at you when you’re out in public.
It’s depressing when you can’t enjoy playing the sports that other people are involved in, simply because you’re too overweight to participate at any level of competence. It’s humiliating to be refused entrance into a theatre because you are too big to fit into a seat.
Yet, you’re very thinking is one of the things that causes obesity. In fact, in many cases it’s the main reason for an individual being extremely overweight.
Are you surprised by this? If so, don’t be, allow me to explain what I’m referring to and I’m confident you’ll see my point.
It’s well known that two of the main factors causing obesity are overeating and a lack of physical exercise. In this article, I want to focus on overeating, and in particular, what it is that drives people to overeat in the first place.
Are you prone to using food as a means of comforting yourself when you’re feel emotional about something? When sad, lonely, discouraged, or even depressed, do you automatically think about and choose to eat?
Answering yes to these two questions means that you are letting your thoughts become a cause of your obesity.
As some people use alcohol or drugs as an emotional crutch, there are also many individuals who choose to use food as their emotional crutch. We often hear or even use the expression “comfort foods” to describe the types of things that people will consume when they are feeling bad about something and want to find some solace. I personally find pizza to be a great comfort food.
What’s noteworthy is that “comfort foods” are usually high fat, high sugar, high calorie foods. I don’t know anyone that would choose a large salad or a plate of carrot sticks as a comfort food. We usually choose to eat things that are not very good for us to make us feel good.
The Reason People Need An Emotional Crutch
Since I’m not a psychologist, there’s no point in me discussing here the number of different emotional problems people have to face daily, which make them feel the need to turn to food and end up overeating.
But it is true that the majority of people have some sort of crutch they use in order to comfort themselves when they’re feeling emotional about an issue.
One emotional issue people face that often drive them to the refrigerator is stress.
How do you personally handle or even try to eliminate stress? For many people, the solution is to eat something. Now, this is where an individual’s thought process comes into play.
Instead of reaching for food when we feel stressed out, we should STOP and THINK for a moment. This will give us time to come up with a better alternative to dealing with and/or eliminating our stress than reaching for a box of Twinkies.
Rather than letting emotions control our actions, we should learn to take a pause, a deep breath as it were, and decide to do something better for ourselves than just pigging out in order to deal with stress.
What better alternatives can you come up with right now that would help you eliminate stress and would be much better for your health than eating a dozen donuts?
How about stopping everything you’re doing at that moment and practicing some deep breathing?
Would you be able to get out of the office or whatever stressful situation you’re in and go for a 20 minute brisk walk outside?
Is there a fitness center nearby where you can engage in some aerobics or some weight training in order to deal with your stress?
Do you have a close friend or even your spouse whom you can call up and just talk to for ten to fifteen minutes about how you’re feeling?
How about a 20-minute afternoon nap, or even a really good night’s rest? I’m sure you’d agree that when you’re tired it’s much more difficult for you to handle stress.
Are you starting to understand now how the way you think is actually one of the main causes of your obesity?
You THINK you need to eat something when you’re under stress in order to help you feel better. But, when you take the time to STOP and THINK about it, to deal with stress there are numerous alternatives to eating that are much better for you and much more enjoyable to engage in.
A really good workout can give you a “high” that no amount of eating will ever give you. If you’ve ever had an intense workout, you know what I’m talking about.
If you’ve had the opportunity to try deep breathing exercises then you’ll know how doing so can completely change for the better your feelings.
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to just talk to someone for ten or fifteen minutes about how you’re feeling, then you know that it can do wonders for you emotionally and even help you to solve perceived problems.
You Are In Control Of One Of The Causes Of Obesity - Your Thinking
Despite what you may feel, you’re thinking can be controlled and thus this cause of your obesity removed. It’s true that you are not going to change your thought process overnight, but if you make a committment to STOP and THINK the next time you want to eat for comfort, you’ll be able to begin developing a better pattern of thinking. In turn, this will lead to you developing healthier ways of dealing with emotional issues than eating.
Prior to reading this article, you likely didn’t realize how big a role your thinking plays as a cause of obesity. But I’m confident that you can now see how powerful your thinking really is, for good or for bad and that it’s something you must change if you want to change your life for the better.
From this moment on make a committment to changing the way you think when it comes to dealing with emotional issues and stress, and instead of reaching for something to eat, you’ll choose a healthier and more positive option and stop allowing your thought process to be one of the causes of your obesity.
Would you like more information on the causes of obesity? Visit the Big Fat Obesity Blog now and get your Free 12-Step Weight Loss eCourse.