What is "psychological weight" and how does it prevent us from losing weight

Modern nutritionists are sure that a healthy person does not have excess weight. The cause of troubles is always excess food, which is deposited on the sides and stomach. Overeating or unhealthy foods are the factors that cause us to lose lightness and attractiveness so quickly. But some calories are consumed quickly and without a trace, while others cannot move at all on the way to their ideal. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, and relatively recently scientists have named another one - psychological.

Psychologist, female coach, author of an exclusive method for healing psychotrauma from childhood and false beliefs in adults Irina Maslova-Semenova told the journalists of "AIF" about the most obvious reasons that do not allow us to lose weight, as well as about the surest way to deal with them.

Don't diets and fitness club workouts help? Is there a need to reward yourself with something delicious for another success? A bad day that two or three cakes can change? These are not causes, but a consequence of weight gain. Psychologists have long determined that overeating, like gambling or smoking, is not a need of the body, but a way of protection.

Perhaps you have already heard somewhere that with an irresistible urge to open the refrigerator and eat something, you need to stop for a moment and ask yourself the question: "What am I trying to eat now?". And it's even better to sit down and write down your emotions so that you can analyze them afterwards.

This is not the best way to know yourself, because not being a professional psychologist, you will surely make a mistake. A month later, after opening the records, you will see that there will be a lot of the same type of reasons, like "the husband is a slacker" or "the boss shouted," but the problem lies much deeper than these grievances.

Overeating, alcohol abuse or social media is an escape from reality. Simply put, a person does not want to see something or someone. But there is a category of women whose life is just fine, but the extra pounds arrive and it's hard to say why the body puts calories "in reserve".

At the moment when you are already eating something, it is too late to engage in introspection. You should be well oriented in your emotions within the foreseeable time intervals: day, week, month. Shame, irritation, resentment, guilt – all these feelings are very important. Remember the last time you didn't like something. It can be an unpleasant conversation with children or husband, a quarrel with the head, being late for a meeting.

Remember? Now try to determine as accurately as possible what it was – fear, resentment, disappointment, anger. There are a lot of such situations in life and, of course, you do not rush to eat them right away. You come home in the evening and splash out this negativity, snacking on junk food, drinking a few bottles of beer or diving into social networks. And from this there are already consequences, in the form of those extra pounds, wasted time at the computer, too much alcohol.

The scenario of how we behave in a particular stressful situation was formed in childhood. This is a well-established strategy, which we do not suspect, but which jumps out in particularly unpleasant situations for us. The feelings that take hold of you when you consume another plate of borscht or an extra croissant do not matter – you will definitely be gnawed by guilt, but that's not it.

What do I feel when I fail, I don't finish what I started, I find myself in an awkward situation? That's what really determines whether you overeat or not. Rewind your life mentally. To do this, psychologists have come up with a simple and effective way.

You draw a line of your life and divide it by divisions into years. Each period will have its own weight. You will see that at one moment it has grown and stopped, and at another it fluctuates either up or down, but does not move far from the average values.

Remember what negative events occurred during these periods. It can be financial instability, the death of a loved one or a divorce. Your psyche subconsciously does not allow you to fall below a certain weight, as it does not exclude the repetition of that negative situation.

After you find these stress points, you will definitely need to work them out with a psychologist. A specialist will help you get rid of fixed emotions and beliefs, after which you will see with satisfaction how your weight will begin to decrease. The psychosomatics of excess weight is something that you need to work with. The priority from "I want to lose weight" should be confidently shifted towards the desire to understand why there are extra centimeters around the waist and hips.

Without a doubt, proper nutrition and physical activity are an important part of working on yourself. But if these methods do not give results, then you need to do your thinking. Extra pounds are one of the ways your body demonstrates psychological trauma, which you definitely need to deal with right now, and not later.

"Psychological weight" is a more complex problem than just weight, but if you take it seriously, positive results will not take long to wait. But at the same time, plunging into the wilds of psychology, do not forget about the most banal reasons for an irrepressible appetite.