Can't fight the desire? Don't blame yourself instead.
Losing weight can be difficult when high-calorie snacks and junk food are readily available and affordable, making it easy to overeat or go off your diet.
A new study published in the journal Appetite shows that people who feel more compassion for themselves when faced with setbacks are more successful in controlling their eating and exercise behaviors in the hours following the setback. I understand.
Researchers at the Center for Weight, Eating, and Lifestyle Science (WELL Center) at Drexel University's College of Arts and Sciences have found that having self-compassion (treating yourself with the same consideration and kindness you would treat someone you love) I wanted to determine whether or not it helps people. It will be easier to recover from the setback of overeating.
“Many people worry that self-compassion leads to complacency and complacency, but this study shows that self-compassion can help people achieve their goals. This is a great example of how we can help people become more successful,” said Assistant Professor Charlotte Hagerman, Ph.D. said the university research professor and lead author of the study in a press release.
Data were collected from 140 participants who were attempting to lose weight through a group-based lifestyle modification program.
Respondents completed a questionnaire multiple times a day that asked about their mood, whether they had experienced eating mistakes, how much self-control they had over those mistakes, and how much self-control they practiced when it came to eating. Exercise habits since the last survey you completed.
Eating failure was defined as eating more than intended, eating something you did not intend to eat, or eating at a time you did not intend to eat.
“The road to achieving a difficult goal, especially weight loss, is paved with setbacks. Practicing self-compassion helps you deal with self-defeating thoughts and emotions in response to setbacks, and helps you avoid feeling debilitated by setbacks.” As a result, they can resume pursuing their goals sooner,” Hagerman said.
Hagerman also pointed out that although losing weight and keeping it off is a challenge, people tend to blame themselves or their lack of determination and self-control.
“The reality is that we live in a food environment where everyone fails,” Hagerman stressed.
“Practicing self-compassion rather than self-criticism is an important strategy for building resilience during the difficult process of weight loss,” Hagerman says. “Next time you feel like criticizing yourself for your eating behavior, try talking to yourself as kindly as you would talk to a friend or loved one instead.”
An example of how to say to yourself gracefully is, instead of condescendingly saying, “You don't have the willpower,” say to yourself, “You're trying in a world where it's very difficult to lose weight.” can be mentioned.
By doing so, Hagerman explained, you're not “freeing” yourself, but giving yourself the courtesy to continue a difficult process.
“Messages of self-compassion can easily become vague and cause people to fully practice self-forgiveness and ignore the goals they set for themselves,” she says. “But we have shown that self-compassion and responsibility work together.”
The researchers hope this finding will lead to more effective interventions in teaching and practicing self-care in moments of disappointment.
They also researched the best strategies to do so, teaching people “how to practice true self-compassion and reduce self-blame and criticism while being accountable to personal standards and goals.” I hope to become
