Tag Archive for: obesity

Are Negative Food Messages Causing You to Gain Weight?

Woman apple-cupcake decisionIt’s no question that obesity is a major concern in the United States. The rise in obese adults in the last few years has given authorities a reason to take action.

 

Today there are a number of campaigns out there trying to steer the public towards healthier food choices. However, some of these messages are actually backfiring. The reason? Because they’re delivering strong negative messages instead of positive ones.

 

Researchers are finding that negatives messages such as “sugary snacks are bad for you, don’t eat them” can actually cause you to choose these foods rather than ignore them. Interestingly, positive messages around sugary snacks that don’t illicit negative feelings about eating them have less of an impact in you choosing these foods.

 

One study from Arizona State University wanted to see if this theory was true. The study included 397 participants who were given a positive or negative message about sugary snacks in the form of an advertisement. Following the ad, the subjects were offered cookies on their way out.

 

What they found was that people who received the negative message consumed 29% more cookies than those who saw the positive message.

 

The researchers wanted to further explore the effects of messages on food choices. This included a negative message, a positive message and a balanced message that portrayed even-handed information about the benefits and drawbacks of consuming sugary snacks. In this study, 324 people participated.

 

The results of the study found that participants who were shown the negative message consumed 30% higher unhealthy snack choices compared to the group who received the positive message. The group that received the balanced message consumed 47% less unhealthy snacks. What this study ultimately shows us is that advertisements in the media have an effect on influencing how you perceive food and even the choices you make.

 

But let me take this a step further. The diet industry and other health gurus and experts out there who are telling you “don’t eat carbs they are bad for you (or gluten, sugar, etc… you can fill in the blank with all the negative messages you are told), are actually setting you up to crave these foods and eventually break down and overeat them. This in turn perpetuates the restriction/deprivation/dieting/feeling guilt and shame vicious cycle that so many overweight people struggle with every day of their lives.

 

Is this you?

 

Do not be fooled; be aware of the information you’re exposed to and stay alert to inaccurate information from biased sources.

 

For more information on becoming the expert of your own body, download my free e-book here

 

Your turn to take action: What negative messages have you fallen prey to that led you to overeating those foods?

 

Are You a Yo-Yo Dieter? Find out now!

It’s the same story with every diet you start: “this time it’s going to work, this time I’m going to be stronger, this time I’m going to stay committed”.  However, the unfortunate truth of dieting is that it will never help you achieve your long term weight loss goals.  In fact, statistics show that 46% of people who make a weight loss resolution never make it past 6 months.  So, if dieting doesn’t work you may be wondering how you will ever reach your weight loss goals.  The key for weight loss success is not to follow a diet, but rather to understand what is really sabotaging your weight loss.
Here are two questions you need to answer to get started:

 

Question #1: Am I a Yo-Yo Dieter?

Yo-yo dieting is a term you are likely familiar with.  It is a process that results in what is commonly known as weight cycling and it involves going on and off diets and constantly losing and regaining weight along the way.  You may be thinking that yo-yo dieting is the perfect description of your life.  The cycle of yo-yo dieting is crippling mentally, emotionally and physically.  Not only does it lead to an emotional rollercoaster of successes and failures, but weight cycling has also been shown to impose adverse health effects.  Does this sound like you?  If it does, move on to question #2.

 

Question #2: Have I Hit Diet Bottom?

Hitting diet bottom happens when you simply do not have it in you to go on another diet.   You have hit diet bottom when you’ve been dieting your whole life and you no longer have the energy or inner strength to worry about the number on the scale, count any more calories or deprive yourself of foods that you love.  The negative emotions and feelings of guilt that come along with overeating are tormenting you and something that you cannot endure any longer.  Hitting diet bottom is the first step you need to catapult you into a diet-free life.

If you have succumbed to the yo-yo cycle of dieting for many years and still haven’t reached your weight loss goals, consider if you are at the point where you have hit diet bottom.  Figuring out for yourself if you are at this point takes self-reflection into your personal diet patterns and being honest with yourself as to how dieting has affected you throughout your life.  Then, and only then, can you move to the next step of discovering the biggest mistakes you’ve made at dieting.

 

To help you on this discovery journey, please accept my Hitting Diet Bottom Blueprint as my gift to you. Find out if you have hit diet bottom, and learn what you can do to end the yo-yo dieting cycle.

International NO Diet Day

No DietingToday is a very important day: International NO Diet Day!

 

The purpose of this nationally recognized day is to raise awareness of the harmful effects unhealthy dieting can have as well as the importance of respecting and accepting body types.  The goal is to teach people how to have a healthy relationship with food and ditch restrictive eating habits.

 

May 6th has been the designated day for NO Diet Day ever since it was created in 1992 by Mary Evans Young, director of the British Group “Diet Breakers”.  After overcoming anorexia, Young worked to help people appreciate themselves for who they are and the body that they have and established the following set of goals for this very important and meaningful day:

 

GOAL: Celebrate the beauty and diversity of all our natural sizes and shapes.

 

GOAL: Declare a personal one-day moratorium on diet/weight obsession.

 

GOAL: Learn the facts about weight-loss dieting, health and body size.

 

GOAL: Honor the victims of eating disorders and weight-loss surgery.

 

GOAL: Help end weight discrimination, size-ism and fat phobia.

 

These are a great set of goals to set not only on International NO Diet Day, but for every day of the year.  Learning ways to eat intuitively by honoring your hunger and satiety cues is the best way to ditch the diet mentality and develop a healthy relationship with food.

 

Chronic dieting and the perpetual obsession with food and body weight is something that we are faced with constantly, especially in a culture that glorifies the notion that thin is beautiful.  This misconception has caused food to become the enemy for most people.  This is sad because food is something we should all cherish and enjoy and view as a means to nourish our bodies.

 

If you have been struggling on and off diets, let today be the day that you say NO MORE! Contact me for your FREE Break Free of Dieting Strategy Session and let’s turn this around for you. I will help you transform your relationship with food, your mind and your body so you can achieve the body that you love!

 

Your turn to take action: Click here for your Break Free of Dieting Strategy Session.