All you problems don’t disappear by managing weight

Nutrition and eating speak volumes. In my work, a large part of the questions concern eating and weight management. A typical story is this: with the hustle and bustle of life, the pounds have piled on and every year it has become more and more difficult to shed them. My body doesn’t feel like my own, movement is more challenging and various pains and intestinal symptoms bother me.

There is no shortcut to permanent weight control. It is a strong decision that healthy lifestyles should be followed for the rest of life. Everyone understands and is aware that cures don’t work, but they still buy  them. Promises sell and the temptation to get to the result faster is great. The problem often becomes that the weight starts to fluctuate because permanent lifestyles have not been adopted as part of daily life. If it was easy, there would be no weight problems.

Credit: Shvets production

In my work as a coach, it is of primary importance to start with motives. Why do I want to lose weight? What added value does it bring to me? Am I ready to permanently change my lifestyle? Being in a difficult place and lacking motivation, what words do I use to motivate myself to continue a healthy lifestyle? Everyone should ask themselves these questions and think about whether the motivation and reasons behind weight control have an enough strong foundation. Weight management is extremely challenging precisely because there is no shortcut. It is a lifelong commitment to healthy lifestyles. There will be ups and downs, but how you are ready to overcome them is what matters. It can often happen during the interview phase that the customer realizes that the cause of the problem is something else than the weight. Weight is just a symptom of something. Maybe emotional eating has been a way to manage a difficult life situation and the weight has increased drastically. For this reason, the coach should be able to see the broader view and help the client find solutions to these more comprehensive challenges. When we start to solve problems one thing at a time, this way we are able to influence life more holistically, where actually weight is just a by-product.

Even if we would like to separate certain things into separate areas, life is a whole, where things all affect each other. We are good at avoiding facing difficult emotions and facts. It is easier to think of separating weight management into its own area without having to deal with the relationship with oneself and the challenges with our emotional life. It is delusional to think that problems will disappear, just by losing weight. We cannot avoid the fact that at some point in life we must get to know ourselves more closely.

If you are struggling with your weight or feel that you need to get some help to your questions, don’t hesitate to contact me!