Let Go of Those Emotional Patterns behind Your Weight
by/margit cathrine moller

Among other things, weight, especially being overweight, can be a mental and emotional issue. Perhaps this is something that a lot of people tend to ignore or overlook as they focus on the physical aspect, oftentimes with minimal or no result.

Researchers have found out that one of the most difficult challenges of people trying to lose weight is emotional eating – a habit that is characterized by eating a lot and eating repeatedly because of one’s feelings rather than because of physical hunger.

Food becomes a substitute for a lot of emotional needs – comfort, love, belonging among others. Binge eating is a coping mechanism for feeling empty. Some people think that by stuffing their stomach, they fill the empty voids inside them. That is why weight loss diets and exercises fail to work.

So, how can we let go of these patterns?

Start by naming your triggers. You cannot let go of something you are not aware of. Go back to your history, analyze your situation and identify the patterns. What emotions trigger binge eating? Sometimes a different feeling triggers a different food. Chocolate is triggered by loneliness or ice cream is triggered by anger, for example.

It might help if you have a food and feelings diary or a journal where you keep a record of the food you ate and the feelings that triggered the eating habit. Stress is also another important trigger so it might be better if you have a different stress management technique.

But the essential thing is that once you have named your trigger then you know that the alarms are raised.
Going through counseling or hypnotherapy is an effective way to help you let go of these patterns if you are unable to do it on your own.