Is Intermittent Fasting For You?
In recent statistics, approximately 73% of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese. Weight and our discontentment with our weight is something many of us struggle with, and it can be hard to disseminate between social pressures, cultural factors, psychological factors, the environment, and biological factors as well.
The relationship between mental health and weight is complex and there is no ‘one answer’ to create the balance we need. To break this down a bit, let’s first talk about stress. Our stress level and how we manage our stress affects how we eat. Many individuals respond to stress with emotional eating, which usually includes foods high in sugar or fatty foods with little nutritional value. Poor body image and low-esteem can contribute to our weight challenges as well. We can overeat when we are feeling depressed or can under-eat as well, depending on how we react to situations that are hard to process. There is also the possibility of developing eating disorders, as anorexia nervosa and bulimia are a way for us to control our life, when we’re feeling out of control.
There are also physiological factors like hormonal balance. As we age, we go through key hormonal changes. Our stress and mental health can also lead to hormonal changes that elevate our cortisol levels, leading to weight gain. Quality sleep is important for weight balance, so if you have trouble sleeping, or have sleep disturbances throughout the night, your weight can be affected negatively.
Socially, we deal with a society that views weight in a certain way, with magazine covers, social media posts, the media and so much more externally that depict images of people who are considered to be beautiful and fit, and can be unrealistic to achieve. We might experience peer pressure to look a certain way, be a certain weight. It can feel isolating and start to wear at the core of who we are, making it difficult to accept ourselves in our own skin.
It can be overwhelming just reading all of this and wondering where to start. The way we process what we see and how we respond can be a vicious cycle that can only be broken by understanding what triggers what. It’s important to talk to those you trust and possibly talk with professionals as well. A primary care doctor can speak with you about your overall health and if there is any reason for concern, and if there is, what sort of tools or actions can help you. A mental health professional can talk with you about what’s going on in your life and begin to connect the dots between your mental state and how it might be affecting your weight. We develop patterns from a very young age and it’s important to understand where our patterns are coming from, what patterns are healthy ones and which ones are not serving us well, so we can learn to create new patterns in our daily life that are healthier and lead to a more balanced you.
The term weight management in itself can be discouraging. Do small steps each day, talk with those you trust, know that you’re not alone in your struggles and believe in yourself and what you can do.
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