NOT LOSING WEIGHT? BETTER CHECK YOUR FEELINGS

In January 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid made a landmark move to offer insurance coverage for obesity intensive behavioral counseling. Many private insurance companies like United Health Care, Aetna, and Blue Cross Blue Shield quickly followed suit. Since then, coverage for obesity behavioral counseling has expanded even further. Why? Because it has been researched and recognized that treating the emotional aspects of overweight and obesity is the critical key to a long-term healthy weight.

But it seems there is a major disconnect between what we know to be fact and what most people believe to be the deciding factors in successful weight loss. If you ask anyone today who is trying to shed pounds, you’ll probably hear them groan that they are hitting the gym more often and eating diet food like salad. Rarely do you hear, I’m examining my emotions to determine what is driving the unhealthy behaviors that contribute to my weight loss challenges. In fact a recent survey confirmed as much. Researchers asked 1,000 people what they thought was the biggest barrier to weight loss. Thirty-six percent thought lack of exercise, 26 percent answered the foods they eat, 17 percent said cost of a healthy lifestyle, and 12 percent responded with time commitment issues. Only about one in ten people surveyed thought psychological wellness was a factor.

While the results of the survey are unsurprising, they are concerning. With 70% of adults struggling with weight issues today, most will continue to not receive proper treatment unless the public adopts emotional wellness and behavioral counseling as key elements of change.

So what can be done to drive more awareness about the importance of emotions in fighting overweight and obesity? We have some ideas, but we need your help in making it happen.

Eliminate shame from the equation. For one reason or another, many people feel ashamed when talking about their feelings or emotions and wind up repressing them instead. When this happens, they can manifest in other physical ways, which includes using comfort foods to treat the emotional pain. If we can all make a global agreement that there is no shame in verbalizing feelings, we might just be able to prevent the food abuse that contributes to the development of obesity.

Practice. Once we can get past the stigma of expressing our emotions, it’s important to practice it. This may sound easy, but in reality emotions are complex, and it might be difficult to find the words to most accurately describe them. This is where an expert can be of most assistance. Where food is involved, one-on-one behavioral counseling sessions with a trained medical provider is one of the best ways to apply communications skills about feelings and emotions. And, remember, it is probably covered by your insurance!

Spread the word. We are doing our best to scream it from the mountain tops everyday, but it’s only when the message gets picked up in your local circles will the news start to get some traction. Please talk to your family, friends, and anyone who will listen. Tell them that the best-kept secret to fighting obesity is first understanding your feelings and then sharing them with others.

We are not by any means discounting the importance of food, exercise, appropriate use of medication or any other physical aspect of weight management. Quite the contrary. We are only emphasizing that everything in your life, including the choices you make about weight loss, starts in your heart. If you are trying to lose weight, be sure to listen to it, and it won’t lead you astray.