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Stressed? Attitude adjustment can help you lose weight

December 7, 2008 12:36 am

EMOTIONAL eating, self-criticism, stress and pessimism can cause weight gain. Luckily, psychological strategies can help.

In this column, the second of two dealing with stress and weight, I'll highlight more ideas from Dr. Robert Kushner and registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner. The pair drew crowds to their talk about weight and personality at the recent American Dietetic Association convention.

Kushner and Blatner have identified and written about seven personality patterns that drive weight gain. I summarized three in my last column: Persistent Procrastinator, People Pleaser and Overreaching Achiever.

This week, I'll delve into the other four coping patterns Kushner and Blatner describe: Emotional Eater, Self-Scrutinizer, Fast Pacer and Doubtful Dieter.

EMOTIONAL EATER

Sadness, stress, boredom, worries--whatever the problem, some people distract themselves with food.

Kushner and Blatner recommended four strategies for change:

The first step, structured journaling, includes making lists of situations, feelings, eating and consequences.

I find it's helpful for people to journal in a nonjudgmental way, as if they were anthropologists studying a foreign culture. Use specific, neutral wording, such as "After my boss yelled at me, I ate four doughnuts and felt calmer at first, but still overly full, and stressed all day," rather than "I ate disgusting amounts of trash."

Journaling for a few days can lead you to step two:

This second step is to identify which situations or emotions trigger overeating.

Step three is to plan ways to cope with these specific situations without food. The first and most important thing to try is to "ride out" the feeling, the way a surfer rides a wave. Like ocean waves, emotions tend to rise and fall, according to Kushner and Blatner.

Also, plan actions for dealing with specific emotions. For example, if you eat when lonely, your plan might address your social hunger with actions such as calling or messaging a friend, or going to a health club.

The fourth step for long-term prevention of emotional eating is to make time for daily relaxation.

Choose from dozens of options such as deep breathing, meditation, yoga, exercise or watching funny movies.

Some cases are too severe to treat on your own. If you feel depressed, or if your emotional eating includes out-of-control binges, I strongly recommend treatment by a doctor or therapist.

SELF-SCRUTINIZER

Self-scrutinizers are their own worst critics. They fixate on body parts they don't like, such as the belly, and then tell themselves that they are worthless in every situation.

Kushner and Blatner offer these four strategies for self-scrutinizers:

First, put your body image in perspective by listing your accomplishments in your career and personal life. Notice that most milestones have nothing to do with your body shape.

Next, stop "body-checking." If you usually fixate on certain body parts, instead try to look at your body as a whole. While it's OK to check in the mirror to see if your clothes are presentable, it's not helpful to spend minutes navel-gazing.

Third, be positive. Instead of calling yourself names in your head, saying to yourself "I'm gross," talk to yourself as respectfully as you would to a friend: "I'm uncomfortable at this weight and wish I could walk up the stairs without getting out of breath."

Fourth, enjoy your body. Take walks in beautiful parks, keep up a nice hairstyle and clothes, and enjoy sensual activities such as a hot bath.

FAST PACER

If you rush through life feeling frazzled and time-strapped, you may be a fast pacer. This pattern makes it hard to plan regular meals and exercise.

Kushner and Blatner's four strategies are:

First, set priorities for the roles you want to play in your relationships, work, spiritual life and self-care. Examples might be parent, mentor, volunteer, bicyclist, etc. If you are overextended in some areas, think of ways to pull back so that you can get your life in balance and make time for regular meals, exercise, sleep, family time, etc.

Mindfulness is another strategy. Scientific studies show a specific way of breathing and being aware of the present moment can actually reduce heart disease and overeating. You can find whole books on the topic of mindfulness in everyday life.

Third, seek support. When possible, delegate tasks at work. Make time for friends. Research shows that folks who have more social connections have lower blood pressure. If your schedule feels too packed to fit friends in, consider inviting friends to something you've already scheduled, such as a walk or a class.

Fourth, carve out time for enough sleep and daily relaxation.

Along with things like meditation and watching funny movies, another great way to relax is to try for the relaxation response, a method developed and tested by Harvard physician Herbert Benson. You can learn more about this online at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine: mbmi.org.

DOUBTFUL DIETER

If you sound like Eeyore on a diet, "This will never work, it never does," you may be a doubtful dieter.

Studies show that pessimists have more health problems than optimists, perhaps because they aren't expecting opportunities and overlook ways to better their lives.

Four strategies for change include:

First, realize that you can alter your fate. While you may not be able to change your genes, studies show that choices are at least as important as what you inherited.

Second, confront your beliefs by journaling about them.

Third, reframe pessimistic thoughts. If you think "This will never work," re-frame your thoughts to say "This program has helped other people and can help me, too."

Fourth, help yourself. Notice the real issues that are bothering you and do something about them. Martin Seligman's book "Learned Optimism" has some great examples of this, Blatner and Kushner said.

Your personality affects your health habits. So if you want to take charge of your weight and health, try out Kushner and Blatner's personality-based strategies for change.

Jennifer Motl welcomes reader questions via her Web site, brighteating.com, or mailed to Nutrition, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401.