Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone here can relate to what I'm about to talk about. Have any of you ever felt that you are a little too pre-occupied with weight loss, gain, food, exercise, the scale, etc? Someone recently told me that I seem to have an unhealthy obsession with counting calories, fiber, fat, protien,carbs, weighing in and all of that. I know that in my line of work, it would be impossible for me to not be aware of things and to pay attention to health and fitness. I chose this because I want to help people, but I look at the clients I get and the people at weight watchers and I can't help but wonder how unhealthy some of this is mentally. I mean to be constantly be concerned with what one is eating and how much one weighs to the ounce (I mean some of these people flip out if they gain a single ounce). And it is all you hear on the news anymore; this epidemic. Our culture is obsessed I think, and it can't possibly be healthy, but being overweight and not caring about ones health isn't good for you either. And lately I, myself have been having dreams about food. And foods that I don't even like and wouldn't eat. But I don't know what to do about it. Obviously, I can't put it all out of my mind as this is something that I have to deal with in my job every single day, and I can't very well tell people not to worry about what they eat, because that is wrong. I was just curious if anyone else has had an issue like this at all, either from a personal or professional standpoint. People tell me I take my work too seriously, but I'm in it to help people. I went through part of my life being obese and I want to help other people to lose weight like I did and to feel good about life and enjoy it. But it just doesn't seem like it is enjoyable when one is always worried. Take Care, Jen
I feel you on the obsession thing. I'm on a weight-loss trip right now, but I also find that I enjoy eating my favorite foods a lot MORE now that I restrict what I get. For example, I enjoy that rare treat of chips and salsa far more than my boyfriend, who snacks all day every day!
I used to be obsessed and would count every calorie and every calorie burned. I was a binge excerciser (going for 4 to 5 hours at a time for a week) and then I'd turn that in for a week of binge eating where I'm sure I would eat about 5000 calories a day easily. There was no balance! But as soon as I just said enoughs enough and stopped thinking about it and just ate when I was hungry and thought about how I would feel after I ate it, I started loosing weight. Now I keep active during the day but I don't specifically DO excercises (except for yoga and the treadmill). Cleaning, for instance, is an excellent way to burn unwanted calories AND keep a tidy house. Also, I gathered that you're in the health profession, but what do you do?
I'm sorry, I'm a personal trainer. So I can't first of all not exercise, second of all cleaning house for some people might be exercise like gardening and other simple things, but for me there is no way that would get my heart rate going. I'm not saying that I'm better than anyone else in any way (actually I feel flawed), but it is just that I've tried looking at house cleaning as exercise and it isn't enough for me. I need to be running on a treadmill for an hour as hard as I can or lifting heavy weights. I mean if I were making a program for someone who said they wanted to lose weight, I couldn't tell them to mow the lawn and run the vaccuum, that isn't enough exercise to burn the calories needed to lose weight. I already know I have an unhealthy obsession, which is what actually brought me to my profession. And I know where my fixation came from and all that happy psychological bull shit. My problem is that I do not know how to change my way of thinking and in turn change my habits. Other bad habits have crept back in recently too and I'm having trouble with them right now, but I don't know why they came back or what to do to get rid of them. And I can't afford a shrink right now because we are moving. I'm hoping that after the move things will settle down and I'll be able to get back into a routine and change my habits and work on my way of thinking, but right now, I'm just going to be constantly obsessed with food calories fat grams and exercise.
I can relate. I just think it is funny how no one says a word and it's so taboo to tell somone their smoking/eating junk food/drinking is unhealthy yet everyone is allowed to jump on you if you care about your health. It also amuses me how the most unhealthy people will be the first to comment that I go to the gym to much, need to eat meat etc. I think especially with your job I would feel enormous pressure to look perfect in fear of other's judging me.
Exactly, there is a ton of pressure. I mean just the other day some fat old guy (and I wouldn't have called him that except I hate him with a passion) told me that I can't be a personal trainer because I have fat on my body. Now, mind you I already knew that I could not explain to him that the human body needs fat to survive and believe me he had a surplus of it on his (he just loves making fun of people, he told a bunch of off color jokes before deciding to turn his attention to pick on me). The irony of all of it is, I have not had fast food in over 5 years, I eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies, I haven't had white bread in 2.5 years or white rice or anything high in carbs. I don't keep junk food of any kind in my house. If I want ice cream I go get a cone from the organic dairy farm down the road once in a blue moon and that is the end of it. We don't have chips or cakes or pies or anything like that in my home. I work out hard every single day of the week. If I'm not in the gym, then I'm playing volleyball or rollerblading or mountain biking with my boyfriend. Yet still, I'm not perfect and people tell me that I can't or shouldn't be a personal trainer. Funny though, my clients have all lost substantial amounts of weight. Anywhere between 20 to 50lbs. They love me too, keep buying more sessions. I have an article that I think I'm going to post tonight when I get home from the gym if I remember to get back on here.
I read this article the other week on how the 'imperfect looking' personal trainers are often the best ones because they are not a victim of exercise anorexia or other eating disorders. It talked a lot about the pressures and unhealthy ways industry professionals try to meet those demands of perfection...all I can say is I am glad I have a job where i can be fat d:
Well, my obsession and eating disorder started before I became a personal trainer. But being in the industry makes it even more difficult. It happens a lot in the fitness industry actually so most people aren't surprised to hear about it. My having lost a lot of weight is actually not only what got me interested, but it is what got the attention of my boss who hired me. Don't get me wrong, I lost weight in a healthy manner and I would only suggest the same to anyone else. I just wish I could get the mental part right. I can't sleep sometimes because I think about food or exercising. And I beat myself up a lot if I do something that isn't what a "perfect" person would do. (and I know no one is perfect logically, but it is almost as if I hold myself to a higher standard or something). I have a problem with obsessing and I don't know how to fix it. I guess my only point was that one can appear to be healthy on the outside but not be very healthy mentally. And there are many people out there who might not look "perfect" but are actually more healthy than the average thin person. Below is the article I was referring to.
From Medscape General Medicine⢠Commentary Health at Every Size: Toward a New Paradigm of Weight and Health Posted 07/12/2005 Jon Robison, PhD, MS Promoting weight loss through exercise, dietary restriction, and behavior modification rarely succeeds. It often results in cycles of weight loss and gain, with the potential for serious physical and psychological health risks, and contributes to body hatred, dangerous eating disorders, and exercise addiction.[1,2] Yet we believe that if we continue to use the same approaches, we will somehow obtain different results. Indeed, this is the definition of insanity put forth by Alcoholics Anonymous. There is, however, an exciting, effective, alternative approach to this problem. It is called Health At Every Size (HAES). The basic conceptual framework of this approach includes acceptance of the: Natural diversity in body shape and size Ineffectiveness and dangers of dieting for weight loss Importance of relaxed eating in response to internal body cues Critical contribution of social, emotional, and spiritual as well as physical factors to health and happiness. The Table contrasts the underlying assumptions of traditional weight management approaches with those of HAES.[3] What Is a Healthy Weight? The HAES philosophy promotes the concept that an appropriate, healthy weight for an individual cannot be determined by the numbers on a scale, by a height/weight chart, or by calculating body mass index or body fat percentages. Rather, HAES defines a "healthy weight" as the weight at which a person settles as they move toward a more fulfilling and meaningful lifestyle. This includes, but is not limited to, eating according to internally directed signals of hunger, appetite, and satiety and participating in reasonable and sustainable levels of physical activity. Although research and experience have clearly demonstrated that focusing on weight loss as a primary goal is most likely to produce weight cycling and, over time, increased weight,[4-9] the HAES approach certainly does not suggest that all people are currently at a weight that is the most healthy for their circumstances. What it strongly purports, however, is that movement toward a healthier lifestyle over time will produce a healthy weight for that person. It is important to understand that removing the focus on weight does not imply ignoring health risks and medical problems. When heavy persons present with medical problems, HAES suggests that health professionals offer the same approaches that they would for a thin person presenting with similar problems. In the case of a thin person with essential hypertension, for example, conventional wisdom suggests dietary changes, increases in aerobic physical activity, and stress management followed by medication if necessary. Yet a heavy person presenting with the same diagnosis is told to lose weight, regardless of all that is known about the most likely consequences of this recommendation. Healthier at Every Weight The HAES approach supports a "holistic" view of health that promotes feeling good about oneself; eating well in a natural, relaxed way; and being comfortably active.[10] The following list outlines the major foci for helping people with eating and weight-related struggles from the HAES perspective[3]: Self-acceptance: affirmation and reinforcement of human beauty and worth, regardless of differences in weight, physical size, and shape; Physical activity: support for increasing social, pleasure-based movement for enjoyment and enhanced quality of life; and Normalized eating: support for discarding externally imposed rules and regimens for eating and attaining a more peaceful relationship with food by relearning to eat in response to physiologic hunger and fullness cues. The overarching goal for health professionals is to help people live healthier, more fulfilling lives by caring for their bodies they presently have. Health at Every Size: Major Components HAES offers an effective, compassionate alternative to the failures of traditional approaches. There is a significant body of literature that clearly demonstrates that most so called weight-related problems can be treated effectively with little if any weight loss.[11-13] Even in type 2 diabetes, blood glucose can be normalized without weight loss even when the patient remains markedly obese by traditional medical standards. This finding is further strengthened by the growing body of research showing that obese individuals who are active and fit have lower mortality rates than normal-weight persons who are inactive and unfit.[14-16] Finally, recent research shows that the HAES approach is clearly superior to state-of-the-art, behavioral weight-loss intervention for improving the long-term health of obese participants.[17,18] Although HAES may not always help make people thinner, by embracing this new approach we can help people of all sizes to be healthier. By not promoting weight loss as a primary goal, we can prevent future generations of children, women, and men from developing eating problems, loathing their bodies, engaging in risky weight-loss strategies, and dying to be thin. References Gaesser GA. Big Fat Lies. Carlsbad, Calif: Gurze Books; 2002. Campos P. The Obesity Myth: Why America's Obsession With Weight Is Hazardous to Your Health. New York: Gotham Books; 2004. Robison JI. Weight, health & culture: shifting the paradigm for alternative healthcare. Alternative Health Practitioner. 1999;5:1-25. Field AE, Austin SB, Taylor CB, et al. Relation between dieting and weight change among preadolescents and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2003;112:900-906. Abstract Field AE, Wing RR, Manson JE, Spiegelman DL, Willett WC. Relationship of a large weight loss to long-term weight change among young and middle-aged US women. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001;24:1113- 1121. Stice E, Cameron RP, Killen JD, Hayward C, Taylor CB. Naturalistic weight-reduction efforts prospectively growth in relative weight and onset of obesity among female adolescents. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1999;67:967-974. Abstract Bild DE, Sholinsky P, Smith DE, Lewis CE, Hardin JM, Burke GL. Correlates and predictors of weight gain in young adults: the CARDIA study. Int J Obes Relat Disord. 1996;20:47-55. Coakley EH, Rimm EB, Colditz G, Kawachi I, Willett W. Predictors of weight change in men: results from The Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1998;22:89-96. Abstract Korkeila M, Rissanen A, Kaprio J, Sorensen TIA, Koskenvuo M. Weight- loss attempts and risk of major weight gain: a prospective study in Finnish adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999;70:965-975. Abstract Lyons P, Burgard D. Great Shape: The First Fitness Guide for Large Women. Lincoln, Neb; Universe Press; 2000. Tremblay A, Despres JP, Maheux J, et al. Normalization of the metabolic profile in obese women by exercise and a low fat diet. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1991;23:1326-1331. Abstract Barnard RJ, Jung T, Inkeles SB. Diet and exercise in the treatment of non insulin dependent diabetes. Diabetes Care. 1994;17:1469-1472. Abstract Blankenhorn DH, Johnson RL, Mack WJ, El Zein HA, Vailas LI. The influence of diet on the appearance of new lesions in human coronary arteries. JAMA. 1990;263:1646-1652. Abstract Barlow CE, Kohl HW, Gibbons LW, Blair SN. Physical fitness, mortality and obesity. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1995;19(suppl4):S41-S44. Church TS, Cheng YJ, Earnest CP, et al. Exercise capacity and body composition as predictors of mortality among men with diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2004;27:83-88. Abstract Katzmarzyk PT, Church TS, Janssen I, Ross R, Blair SN. Metabolic syndrome, obesity, and mortality: impact of cardiorespiratory fitness. Diabetes Care. 2005;28:391-397. Abstract Bacon L, Keim NL, Van Loan MD, et al. Evaluating a "non-diet" wellness intervention for improvement of metabolic fitness, psychological well-being and eating and activity behaviors. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2002;26:854-865. Abstract Bacon L, Stern JS, Van Loan MD, Keim NL. Size acceptance and intuitive eating improves health for obese female chronic dieters. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005. Accepted for publication.