Oprah Winfrey is an admirable woman. She has done so much for many, and is an incredible role model for millions. She’s beautiful, successful, intelligent, caring, and an inspiration to all of us, which is why her ongoing struggle with her weight is so sad. She has access to the very best trainers, nutritionists, trainers and chefs. She has the time and resources to research the topic, plan healthy meals, and use the latest methods available. She has the support of dozens of people who really care about her, yet her weight has been up and down her entire adult life.
She definitely has some good insight into herself, and has spoken openly about her past hurts. Still, this awareness hasn’t helped her struggle with overeating. She’s gone on diets, fasting and exercise plans, but in her quest to lose the weight and keep it off, one thing hasn’t worked. I believe that there is a way for him to lose weight once and for all. Through the years I’ve worked with women who binge eat, it has become clear that dieting is an exercise that is doomed to fail because it is one of the three key aspects of a woman’s binge eating disorder. Doesn’t address either one of them. These are: obsession with food and weight; Compulsive eating behavior and psychological attachment to weight. let me explain:
Overeating is driven by unconscious psychological forces working towards a twofold goal; of achieving emotional healing and self-nurturing. Overeating, like all addictions, comes out of a drive to overcome past hurt or inadequacy. It is meant to replace the love and care that was lacking in childhood and to repair emotional wounds that have resulted from childhood trauma or neglect. Unfortunately, this is an ineffective way of achieving these goals.
The unconscious mind is rigid and inflexible and once it locks onto a particular solution to an emotional problem, it will not let go (unless the conscious mind learns a new technique). Because food was the first, and perhaps the only thing that brought her solace and relief, the woman deeply believes that food is the only way her problems will be resolved. A woman becomes obsessed with food due to inner confusion. Unconsciously, she is convinced that food is the solution to her emotional needs, but consciously, she does not perceive it as helpful.
No matter how much she eats, she doesn’t feel any more healed or full of love than she did before she started. , This. Women who overeat also tend to obsess about their weight. No one wants to get bulky, but of course, the more a woman eats, the more she gains. This creates an internal conflict between the unconscious part that is driven to overeat and the conscious part that does not want to put on more weight.
The woman is obsessed about the need to lose weight; About what she has just eaten, what she wants to eat and what should not be eaten. She feels helpless, which makes her obsessed even more. It’s tiring. These obsessions consume a lot of time and energy, and can make the overeater’s world seem too small. When a woman’s attention is focused on food and weight, she doesn’t pursue activities that can bring real happiness and that can actually be healing and nurturing for her.
Another component of overeating is the compulsive aspect. A woman is compelled to eat by a psychological survival mechanism that drives her to deal with her emotional issues. The need for love and healing is so high in the unconscious mind that the urge to eat can become overwhelming and irresistible. No matter how much she eats, the woman does not get any significant relief from her inner pain, nor does she get fulfillment of her unfulfilled longings. This failure leads to compulsive behavior, prompting him to eat even more, as the hardwired unconscious mind is convinced that eventually he will eat enough to achieve his goals.
The final aspect of the problem of overeating and weight is the psychological attachment of a woman to excess weight. Some women gain weight to feel “safer” in the world, believing that this physical barrier can prevent further emotional or physical injury. A woman may also fear that she is unattractive or incompetent and will scapegoat the extra weight for potential failures in her relationships or in the workplace. She thinks to herself, “It’s not me they don’t like, it’s the fat.”
Women with a history of physical or sexual abuse have a greater affinity for weight than anyone else. In these cases, the young child feels helpless in the face of the trauma. Today, as an adult, he is convinced that he needs a “buffer zone” of weight to stay safe from future attacks. She won’t be able to lose the weight until she finds another way to feel safe in the world.
Obviously, not every woman with a problem with overeating or weight is suffering from severe childhood trauma or neglect. However, what all overweight women have in common is that they lacked love, attention or security when they were growing up. Typically, the extent to which their eating is out of control is a reflection of the severity of problems they experienced at a young age. I wouldn’t dream of speculating about Oprah’s particular issues with eating and weight, but when I see such an otherwise intelligent, talented, and successful woman bogged down in this area of her life, one thing To be clear: It appears that he has not addressed at least one of the above aspects of the problem.
Only through the use of will power can a woman lose a significant amount of weight. Women are very strong and resourceful, organized and disciplined. They can often be successful in achieving the health and fitness goals they set for themselves. Nevertheless, if a woman has a psychological need to be heavy; If she hasn’t given up on her obsession with food or is forced to overeat, it is unlikely that she will be able to lose weight and keep it off permanently. If she does, she becomes obsessed with what she eats and her body shape, and she will transfer her compulsions into compulsive food restriction. I have seen these things happen too many times.
So what should Oprah do? Not to be pretentious, but I believe the answer is most likely the one I give to all the women I work with: deal with the three components of the problem in a meaningful way. I wrote my book “Never Diet Again” for intelligent, capable women like Oprah; Women who are successful in many areas of their life but who are still unable to overcome their eating and weight problems. If you’re one of these women, you’ve tried every diet imaginable, and I’ll bet that every one of them has failed.
If you’re like most of the overweight women I work with, you probably feel anguish at not being able to find the key that will unlock the door to your freedom. However, your frustration and disappointment can turn into relief and happiness, as the key to solving this problem is within your grasp. By working with women who binge eat, I’ve discovered a simple, reasonable way to conquer overeating once and for all. Instead of using food for emotional healing, you must face, grieve, and let go of past hurts and losses. Then, you need to learn how to give yourself the love, nurturing, and security that you were deprived of while growing up.
Oprah and women like her don’t need to go on diets that will never work. Instead of being trapped forever in a prison of obsession, compulsive eating, and psychological attachment to weight, you can grab the key that is being offered to you now, lock it, and walk through the door of freedom.
(c) Marcia Sirota MD
Source by Marcia Sirota
