Can you have your cake and lose weight too? ... experts believe you can. Photo: Tom Merton
It's all in our heads. That's the consensus among a growing number of experts about our relationship with food.
Whilst many think junk food is the cause of an unhealthy lifestyle, it is the way people think about food and dieting that makes it so hard for them to manage their weight, says psychologist, Dr Louisa Hoey. Australians looking to successfully lose weight, and keep it off, need to address their way of thinking, and change their relationship with food.
This does not diminish the importance of healthy eating or exercise. But, in an industry that's growing as fast as our waist bands - $790 million dollars in Australia alone, according to IBIS World - there's a missing link.
Experts are increasingly aware that emotional reactivity and thoughts impact our food choices and often override knowledge of what we should be eating. "Many of the people I see are very educated about nutrition," says Dr Hoey. "What they are not realising is the impact of their mind."
According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition negative thoughts breed negative outcomes. "As in the case of an individual who overeats thinks, 'I've blown my diet,' and then proceeds to eat even more secondary to feelings of failure and hopelessness."
This idea resonates with Mark*, a member of Overeaters Annonymous, who has struggled with his weight since childhood.
"It's about the food you eat of course, but it's not about the food," he says. "It's about shame, guilt, pain, fear, resentment and jealousy. All of those experiences bring up a 'hunger' and food takes the edge off.
"Being told to eat less, eat better or exercise more is great for [some], but [I've found it] completely useless."
Instead, positive body image and sustainable weight loss starts with addressing negative spirals of thought and becoming aware of your relationship with food, Hoey says. Having a dysfunctional relationship is not uncommon.
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Weight loss: the missing link
