We can’t seem to escape the commercials, social media, and celebrity news about medication-assisted weight loss. It’s a thing...
If you’re considering it or are on the journey to medication assisted weight loss , there are some things to consider. As these medications become more popular and accessible, it’s important to discuss your larger health issues for consideration, as these medications can be attained online. Most folks that I work with are sharing good outcomes with weight loss and managing co-occurring health issues. Type II Diabetes and PCOS are just a few. There seems to be evidence, that some folks do not produce GLP-1.
While these medications seem to quiet what is referred to as “food noise” that chatter in our head that tells us we’re hungry when we are not, what they don’t do is give us tools to manage our stress eating without Ultra Processed Food or UPCs.
These foods are designed in labs to produce the “bliss effect”. The perfect combination of sugar, fat, and salt that hijacks our brain and creates a feedback loop that tells us we need/want more. These foods increase anxiety and depression, wreak havoc on our gut microbiome, and are directly related to metabolic syndrome. Michael Moss has recently devoted an entire book to this, “Sugar, Salt, Fat”.
So, what are you do to?
The Food and Mood program, as previously described offers us a set of tools to manage our emotions and stress without food. Effective Communication, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and Mindfulness are the major components of this toolbox.
By using Effective Communication skills and not assuming all communication is “confrontation”, we learn reflective listening and the importance of empathy and validation. Speaking from the perspective of “I” rather than “you” allows us to communicate our thoughts and feelings without blame, rather than stuffing our feelings with food and avoiding issues.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy raises our awareness of how our thoughts affect our mood and how our mood affects our behavior. Learning to identify our Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) and Cognitive Distortions (ways we think that are usually fear-based) guides us to manage our emotions more effectively. An example of a food-related ANT is, “There’ll be nothing that I can eat at that BBQ!” All-or-nothing thinking is a pattern that just creates roadblocks and doesn’t explore possibilities.
Food is a source of nurturance from the moment we are born, that’s where “comfort food” comes from. Food is meant to be enjoyed, as mundane as a Monday evening or in celebration of a life event or reflective of one’s culture. Food can be mindful. Choosing recipes, prepping, peeling cutting, and stirring are all acts of mindfulness. The sensory experience of smelling garlic, onions, and spices are wonderful ways to light up the brain! Taking in the rainbow of fruits and vegetables or the beauty in which food can be plated is another opportunity for visual input of food. And of course, taste. Paying attention only to our meal, letting it sit in our mouth, feeling the texture, and connecting with food as energy and life force is mindfulness.
So, let’s MEND our relationship with food... Julia Swartz, LICSW
We Are Here for You
You don’t need to be alone in your pursuit of well-being. Our team is always available to help. If you'd like to schedule the next evaluation to find out which options are likely best for you, just go HERE.
Physician or PT? if you are interested in training, coaching or licensing a NeuropathyDR® Treatment Center just go HERE
Copyright © Perfect Practice Web, LLC | Dr. John Hayes Jr. All Rights Reserved, No Duplication or printing without written permission