Breaking Through Barriers to Achieve (and Maintain) Weight Loss
Breaking through barriers to achieve (and maintain) weight loss
Losing weight is something most people have tried at least once in their life. Many have been unsuccessful. Behavioral health research confirms that healthy weight loss requires a shift in thinking, as much as a shift in lifestyle. Psychological factors can impact a person’s ability to lose weight and keep it off. Assuming that possible medical causes have been ruled out, some of the most powerful forces that inhibit weight loss are the barriers that exist in our heads. The first step in overcoming these barriers is to recognize that they exist.
Emotional barriers to weight loss are not initially obvious, so it’s important to identify common barriers and be honest about how they might be affecting you. Once you understand possible psychological factors that may be holding you back, you’ll be better able to tackle them. Here are some behavioral health barriers that may interfere with a person’s ability to lose weight.
Mental health conditions
Many mental health conditions, depression among them, can affect both appetite and subsequent eating behaviors. Depression is often associated with decreased motivation, decreased self-efficacy, and lack of interest — all of which can negatively impact someone’s ability to achieve weight-loss goals. Other mental health concerns that can affect weight loss include anxiety, phobias and trauma.
Poor sleep health
The amount and quality of sleep is important when trying to lose weight. People with poor sleep health tend to weigh significantly more than those who get regular, adequate, quality sleep. Poor sleep is known to:
• Alter metabolism
• Influence appetite and food choices
• Favor fat cells and high blood sugar
• Reduce physical activity
Negative self-talk; past weight-loss history
Less-than-successful weight loss attempts in the past can contribute to a self-defeating attitude or the belief that someone lacks willpower. This may create the (false) belief that our destiny is to be stuck where we are now. If a person doesn’t believe he or she can lose weight, it will be extremely hard to do so. Skepticism and self-doubt can stand in the way of making lasting, positive lifestyle change.
What about stress?
We’re all aware of the emotional toll stress can take on our mental wellbeing, but did you know it can affect your body, too? When levels of the stress hormone cortisol remain high, our bodies are more likely to hold onto fat. Stress makes a person crave high-energy foods, often resulting in overeating and poor food choices.
We’ve learned through experience that eating often brings us comfort. While “emotional eating” and “comfort foods” can make us feel good (at least temporarily), eating in response to emotional cues can reinforce the very eating patterns we are trying to overcome.
Developing healthy coping responses to stress can help reduce emotional eating. Prioritizing regular self-care (examples: exercise and meditation) can help manage stress, too. Exercise is especially helpful because of the “feel good” endorphins it produces. Meditation also helps. It reduces stress and helps people be more mindful of what’s going on in their head.
Seeking outside support
Many people find peer support helpful when sticking to a weight-loss program. This support can come from a weight-loss club, online group or family and friends. Losing weight with another person or group may help someone stay motivated. It can also be a good confidence boost, learning how other people have lost weight successfully.
Medical and behavioral health professionals can also assist people in meeting their weight-loss goals. These professionals, including EAP counselors, have a solid understanding of the role behavioral health and emotions play in weight management. Trained counselors or therapists can help uncover emotional causes that may be contributing to someone’s weight-loss challenges. They can provide support and education to identify and explore any barriers that may be holding that person back.
Recognizing and overcoming behavioral health barriers in weight management is about getting to a place where you feel good about yourself — and that’s good for both physical and mental health.
When weight loss is approached from a “whole person” or “whole lifestyle” perspective, it’s easier to work through any behavioral health barriers. Gaining a better understanding of the brain’s resistance to weight loss habits can help you overcome barriers and reach and maintain your own healthy-weight goals.
Suzanne Spaeth, MS, LPC, serves as Senior Business Development Specialist for Advocate Aurora EAP
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