Let me just put that out there.
I’ve struggled with weight all my post-puberty life. So, when I talk about how all the little things we have been, are, and will become contribute to being fat… well I’ve been there, and really I’m still there.
To say that obesity or the condition of “fat” is complex is an understatement, and here’s some proof:
There are so many factors that can contribute to how much a person weighs. I think though the most underrated and least thought about mechanism is our identities.
Now, I’m not a brain doctor but I do know that when we are little our brains make all these connections big and small and as we grow and age we keep making connections and that becomes the foundation for how we understand new information or inputs we get from the world. Well, if some of those connections are wired funny, our reactions might be a little funny.
Here’s an example. If, when you were little you’re grandma comforted you by giving you a chocolate bar – then your brain might make a connection that chocolate = comfort or ‘not sad.’ Now all grown up, there are a million reasons to be ‘sad’ or discomforted and so our adult selves seek to be comforted from those feelings and what do you know? Our brain says, “hey! you know what would be great for that distress you’re feeling right now? Chocolate!”
That would have been fine if we didn’t live in an abundant world where we couldn’t reach in our cabinets or hop in our cars and go get some chocolate. We’d find another way to deal. But… we do have chocolate. So… why find another way?
Now, if we have a hundred or even a thousand little connections that are wired this way well we become a ‘fat person’ who does ‘fat person’ things and lives a ‘fat person’ life.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “I’ve tried everything! Nothing works!” It’s okay, I have too. But you can’t really start to fight the fight if you don’t know who your opponent is.
Assignment #1: know thyself… or at least learn a little bit about who you are.
Just like buying running shoes doesn’t make you a runner, trying out different diet plans won’t make you a skinny person. You have to slowly become that person and step one is doing a first pass at finding all the connections you can to food and every other aspect of your life.
What memories do you feel when you smell bread baking, when you eat cookies who or what do you think of? What’s the first thing you want to do after a stressful day, if. you have a strong desire to eat what do you want to eat? And then just continue in that vein on and on. For now, though just try to find ONE of those little weird wires and try to work on that.
The more often you try to figure out how your brain does its ‘fat person’ things, the more of those little things you’ll find, and don’t be discouraged if you find a lot there because the more you know the better off you are, and this is only the first step.
Until next time,
Alizza