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stiwa
Germany
16 Posts |
 Posted - 09/23/2012 : 11:23:58
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Hi Balto,
I can understand your struggle and to be honest: even though I brought that subject up I still find myself wondering whether chocolate won't make me fat at times. It's really hard to change thought patterns - but then it was really hard to convince myself that my knees are alright.
Anyway, I never wanted to imply that TMS can create mass out of nothing. No one ever got fat from eating nothing. That person died in the end but he or she was surely not fat on that day. The point is: usually we do not go that far. Yet, when we eat it is our hormonal set-up which determines whether the calories we eat will feed our muscles or our fat cells. If cortisol is high for example your muscle cells will become insulin resistant and all the calories will go to your fat cells.
I think what might give you a hard time believing this is that you take a calculation like eat 2,000 calories burn 3,000 calories and think that you can do this indefinitely. This is not what happens. At first, your body will probably use some of the stored energy to make up for the deficit. Keep in mind that weight can change for several pounds in the course of a few days. It is not that stable as we would like to believe.
But what happens when you go on eating and exercising that way? What has been observed by countless dieters is that weight-loss stops at one point. The famous plateau. And then someting else happens. Instead of using stored energy the body will make a hormonal shift which will make muscle cells insulin resistant. So while you are still losing weight you are now no longer losing fat but lean mass. You will get weaker and at one point you won't have the energy to go on burning 3,000 cals while eating 2,000. You will start eating more and exercising less at this point if you are not TMSing to a point that will lead to serious health problems. And then you will gain weight. Ancel Keyes did a starvation study which demonstrated this process. His participants starved themselves for several months then started eating ad libitum again. They gained weight for several months and then someting funny happened. While still eating ad libitum they started losing again. BEcause their bodies were convinced that the bad times were over and the reserves were not needed. Keep in mind that this happened at a time when six-packs were not mandatory for men.
The point I am trying to make is that the brain will determine what happens with the energy you consume. There is no reason one should not assume that it will choose body fat percentage as a point of attack if being fat is what you fear most.
It is true that some countries do not have an obesity epidemic. The problem is: the introduction of modern food never happens in isolation. It is always accompanied by modern media (with their constant admonition not to eat too much this or that, to watch your appetite which basically means not to trust your body and your hunger feelings but something as arbitrary as calorie measurements) and in many places it was also accompanied by the introduction of modern socioeconomic structures like capitalism and the collapse of traditional family structures. To say that food would be responsible for the obesity epidemic we witness in many countries around the world is the wrong focus I think. Once again like something physical is made responsible for an entirely emotional process.
I think it is no accident that this epidemic originated in America and Europe by the way. It ties in nicely with our general cultural attitude shaped by Christianity: everything pleasurable is a sin and you will suffer for your sins. I still think what a big joke it all is: millions of people agonizing about that innocent piece of chocolate they had after lunch. That piece of chocolate that never held the power to make them fat. Who knows? If one did not connect chocolate so much with guilt, shame, and fear, it might even help you lose weight. :-)
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mala
Hong Kong
774 Posts |
Posted - 09/24/2012 : 06:30:09
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Food is cultural, & emotional. There is no doubt the way we eat & the way we think about food will determine our weight .The body is a well-balanced piece of machinery & it will work well for you if you treat it right.
But so few people know how to treat it right. We eat becoz food tastes good. Today food tastes so good & is so readily available that we have forgotten just how much (or how little ) we are supposed to eat. We eat too much, we eat too fast, we eat too many times throughout the day, we eat badly. We don’t understand portions. Most people don’t know what a normal portion of food is. What most Americans & people in the west eat in one sitting is very often the calorie intake for the whole day.
And we don’t move enough. When we put on weight we begin to diet. Some people diet their whole lives & wonder why they aren’t losing weight. We all know that the less food you put in the more the body holds on to fat. It is the way our body protects itself. Continuous Binging & dieting screws the body.
Chocolate does not make you fat. Eating a lot of chocolate does. We are not meant to eat chocolate every day only as an occasional treat & not in conjunction with cakes, ice cream, Colas etc.
What people need is proper education on healthy food & nutrition.
Also schools need to educate kids on body image and self-confidence. The media puts so much pressure on people to look a certain way. It’s paying havoc with our bodies & minds.
The real epidemic is not that I THINK the steak is going to make me fat. The right amount of steak eaten occasionally will not make anyone fat. The real epidemic is one of size & portion. Seeing people eat a vast amount of food & thinking that it is normal to do so will most definitely cause obesity.
Mala
Honestly, I sometimes really get fed up with my subconscious. It's like it's got a mind of its own.
Alexei Sayle
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Edited by - mala on 09/24/2012 06:31:29 |
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Gemini6
7 Posts |
Posted - 09/24/2012 : 15:25:33
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Ruling out medical issues for weight problems, I also believe that obesity/bulimia/anorexia are TMS equivalents. I also believe that Dr. Sarno would probably agree. I never thought of my weight issue as being TMS equivalent, but it makes perfect sense to me now.
Most eating disorders are symptoms of depression and/or anxiety, which Dr. Sarno counts as TMS equivalents. Again, it's all about getting to the core of the problems -- the repressed anger and rage we keep inside literally eats at us.
This is such an eye-opener for me. I have struggled with weight issues for most of my life (although not obesity). But, I have extremely negative feelings about my body image (I'm not good enough, I hate myself...etc.). I think therapy and Dr. Sarno's treatment may be the way for me to start.
His treatment has worked for me in the past for other TMS problems, so why not weight management?
This forum is truly amazing! |
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stiwa
Germany
16 Posts |
Posted - 09/27/2012 : 14:51:30
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Hi Mala,
I agree with a lot of what you wrote. However, I think that part of the problem is that we think that certain foods or portion sizes will make us fat. I don't know whether what I and you think really makes such a big difference as to results. My point is that it makes a difference as to what strategy you should employ to get out of this hole.
If you think that you need to be educated on healthy nutrition and exercise you are basically in body treatment mode. You think that how much you weigh or what your body looks like will be determined by how much or what you put into it. This creates a thinking pattern which is very much alike to back pain problems. You have to eat/move in a certain way because if you don't your weight/your pain will increase. You fear chocolate/moving heavy stuff because it will bring on fat/pain. You become thin/painfree but adhereing religiously to a certain diet/back exercise program (placebo).
So how would I go about treating this problem? I have chosen to ignore all the healthy nutrition bull and start eating what I want and how much I want. Instead, I have started telling myself at lunch that what I eat cannot affect my weight or health (apart from poisonous mushrooms and the like). What's interesting is that I have found that I crave variety much more, now that I am no longer preoccupied with feeling guilty about what or how much I want to eat. I have found though that thinking about what might be bothering me has somehow affected my sweet tooth. Some things are just too sweet for me to enjoy.
I know that it is probably not healthy to stuff oneself but the point is: you won't stop yourself from stuffing yourself by obsessing about your food intake or healthy nutrition. That may work for some time and then you will either start bingeing or get another form of symptom imperative like depression. I know that this makes many people uneasy because they think that fat people now may feel justified in going overboard. My point is: I have yet to meet a fat person who is happy with her/his body. Most of them feel guilty about their body and would go a long way to change it. Yet, most of them fail (I am sorry but this is what is supported by scientific evidence).
Now the usual objection is: but I know of someone who really overhauled her life, dieted, exercised, and lost all that fat. As I said: the power of placebo is great. But there is also something else. There are people who lose a lot of weight and then stay slim. Yet, the examples I have found did not only change the way they eat and exercise. They changed their lives. They overcame their isolation and reached out to others. They told themselves that they would no longer let feelings of inadequacy dominate their life.
Eating so-called healthy stuff is great. I like salads and vegetables and home-cooked meals. I love chefs who know how to use spices and fresh ingredients. But I also know that obsessing about what you should or should not eat opens a dangerous road. I have walked down that road for one year and it brought me nothing but misery, loneliness, and despair. I would stop seeing friends so I could go home after work and cook something. Now, if I have the choice between a) seeing my friends but having to eat some fast food and b) being alone but having something home-cooked I will choose a). (Of course, cooking for my friends is the optimum solution but it does not always work that way.)
I guess the lesson would be: be easy on yourself. Stop focusing on nutrition and exercise. Start focusing on the feelings which you hide from yourself with your weight problems and feelings of inadequacy. (Remind yourself that your weight is not a problem, it is a cover-up.) And most of all, learn how to give yourself pleasure (that includes food but if you can only find pleasure in food that is a strong indicator that you should look for conflict in your subconscious, not on your plate).
Don't exercise. Play. Don't diet. Nourish yourself.
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2012 : 13:06:30
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| I am so fat that both of my ass cheeks have separate zip codes with a connecting bridge in between. |
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jaya
USA
175 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2012 : 15:27:34
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| I was real heavy at one point.....kerp in mind avoiding food can also be a distraction..I lost 110 pounds in two and a half .....not good ...ive maintained 175 lbs for two years now...its not so much what you feed your body...its what you feed your head that you have to worry about |
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Ace1
USA
1040 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2012 : 16:26:07
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| Jaya, you are the first person to confirm what I thought. Could you please explain to us what exactly you did to loose te weight and did you avoid food or diet in any way in addition? Thanks in advance. |
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jaya
USA
175 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2012 : 11:27:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Ace1
Jaya, you are the first person to confirm what I thought. Could you please explain to us what exactly you did to loose te weight and did you avoid food or diet in any way in addition? Thanks in advance.
my food needs to be a meat, fruit, vegetable...other wise i dont eat it....quantity wise i eat as much as i want and never gain a pound, following that rule, gluten products and anything with more than 4 ingredients isnt fit for human consumption, thats processed garbage.... |
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
Posted - 11/16/2012 : 08:05:49
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There was a man on this message board a few years ago -- he recovered and went on with his life within a few months -- who discovered he had body image issues. He was very dissatisfied with the look of his body which fed into his low self esteem. He felt it was a major contributor to his symptoms. If this is an issue for you please google the term: "Body Image & Self-Esteem."
Pay close attention to how your refer to yourself. |
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Obesity as a Tms equivalent?
