One Mom's Personal Journey...Back To Herself!

R1 P3 D19: Psychology and Emotions of Weight Loss
Current Weight: 157.2
+/- LIW: (+1.6)
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I just ordered my second round of hCG and I am about 3 weeks away from loading. Right now I am coming to terms with having lost over 40 lbs and I am trying to adjust to my new self image. The psychology and emotions involved during weight loss have surprised me. Maybe following such a structured diet has brought this to the surface??? Anyway, from reading other blogs I see that I am not alone in dealing with these issues.

The first thing I noticed was the need to address emotional eating. It surfaced in phase 2 when I had to deal with anxiety and stress from my family, husband and life in general. Relational stress is definitely more of a trigger for me. My slips usually occur as a result.

I also know that my weight gain came in a time where I was under a tremendous amount of emotional stress. Not from the pregnancy but when my husband returned to work. Much conflict from unmet expectations crept into our marriage. Those issues eventually erupted like a scalding hot geyser and are still unresolved.

The overall Psychology of weight loss is something I have been learning about. I don't want to re-gain my weight. I have some serious fears regarding that. This last year I have been changing me, my behaviors and thought process. I don't want to be lumped into the statistic: 85-90 percent of people regain their weight within 3-5 years. Did you know blogging is one of the best ways to prevent that??? Yea us!!

I am now a size 10 again and my mind hasn't caught up with my body. Some days I still beat myself up with the negative "fat" talk. I read an article on Phantom Fat and came across a book "The Body Has a Mind of It's Own". I'm going to see if I can pick up a used copy. I think it would be a good read....and re-read.

In summary. Life never ceases to amaze me and I have found that weight loss slowly bubbles up issues to the surface, emotional and psychological, like an effervescent glass of champagne (which I will consume in another 2 days 18 hrs and 30 min.).

So glad you are all here with me!
4 Responses
  1. lavenderdiva Says:

    I love your post today! It really resonated with me- Its so true that this weight loss protocol brings all the emotional crap to the surface. Which is a good thing, I think. It makes us deal with them, and move forward. I've done other diets before where I lost weight, but never really dealt with a lot of the underlying issues that made me overweight in the first place. I'm still working on it, and don't know if I'll ever really complete the process, but the good thing is that at least I'm aware of there being issues, and can try to address them as they come up.

    I know you'll enjoy that glass of champagne! You've earned it this round!!


  2. indigosfir3 Says:

    Yes, emotional disturbance was just the tip of the iceberg for me. My mind is telling me I don't want to lose the weight. I look in the mirror and see a new me. I've found the cure for my weight gain and I KNOW it works so of course we(body and psyche) have decided to have a fit. LOL! I completely understand this and I completely will overcome this block and continue to lose. There's no turning back, right?! Thanks for the great blog!


  3. K Says:

    We can all so relate to this. I'm kind of scaring myself right now with my reactions towards things - not having eating to dull the pain and frustration makes you face the issues head on.

    Not sure what sort of job you had or if you liked it before you stopped work but maybe you miss it? I went back to work last May 16 months after I thought I would take 5 years off but I had no choice because my husband got laid off and he stayed home with the baby who is now 2. In retrospect it was a good decision for me to get my financial independence back and I don't have the most solid marriage for many reasons so if we end up parting ways, I'll be okay.

    Looking forward to your comments about the books you're thinking of reading.


  4. I will be returning to work soon. Lauren will be 3 soon and that was our goal when I put my career on hold. I'm not going to rush it at this point, I want to enjoy the last few months I have of summer before going back to work. I also know the expectations will only increase when I do.