Focusing on “Why” Not “What” is the Key to Weight Release

Posted by Freeman Michaels on August 5th, 2010 at 10:23am

“I don’t care what you eat,” I explain.  “You’re focusing on the wrong thing.” I continue, “We need to figure out why you eat what you eat.”  This recent conversation with a new client represents countless similar conversations that I have had with serial dieters who come to me for guidance.  They expect shakes and supplements, strict guidelines and forbidden foods.  But I don’t give them what they expect – “you’ve done all that before,” I tell the new client, “and it didn’t work, now it is time to try something different.”  I look at the familiar combination of confusion and hope in my new clients eyes.  Weight Release is a dramatic shift in focus with the power to make change lasting.

My Weight Release Program utilizes a general personal growth process to address weight related issues.  What makes the program effective is that it comprehensively examines all aspects of a person’s life.  The reality is that there are a multitude of factors that one may not associate with their weight but which profoundly influence a person’s patterns of behavior, mood, and sense of well-being – which, in turn, affects their weight.  Examining why a person overeats or eats the wrong foods is paramount to changing behavior.  We must address weight-related issues at the level of true cause rather than simply effect.

Most people believe that poor eating habits, and a lack of exercise in their daily routine, are the cause of their weight issues – THEY”RE NOT.  Poor eating habits and lack of exercise are effects not causes.  Attempts to deal with weight issues at the level of habit and behavior, without looking at the causes of the habits and behaviors, doesn’t work over an extended period of time.

The fundamental flaw with addressing the issue on the level of “what you eat” and “how much you exercise” is that it does not address the “why”.  Why do you eat what you eat, and why don’t you exercise?

No external adjustment to your eating and exercise routine will last if you don’t do the internal work to figure out WHY?!!!

Think about any of the weight loss diets and programs you have tried in the past.  I’m sure on many of the diets you experienced weight loss only to gain it all back once the program was over. At some point you returned to the eating habits that caused physical weight gain.   You are not alone, an estimated 95% of people who lose weight on a diet end up gaining all of the weight back.  Programs that include a behavior modification component and utilize hypnotherapy are slightly more effective, but still the vast majority of people who lose weight end up putting the pounds back on.

The diet industry is a $70 billion dollar a year business.  There will always be another diet, another “quick fix”, another “easy” solution.  But trying to deal with weight related issues on the surface, without addressing the underlying cause of the issues, will always fail.

It is important to note that all human behavior makes sense – if you are willing to look deep enough into your background, history, and circumstances you will ultimately discover the root cause of the behavior.  However, I don’t believe that it is necessary to know the entire story, simply to recognize that there is a reason for behavior.  Fundamentally, behaviors are about needs – since the mid-1940s psychologists, lead by Abraham Maslow, have accepted that behavior can be tracked to primary human needs.   People who overeat or eat the wrong foods are usually using food to try and meet emotional needs.  To be effective we must track the behavior patterns, uncover the needs that the person is attempting to meet with food, and replace the unhealthy behavior with a healthier way of getting the needs met (which usually does not involve food).

Additionally, for weight release to be lasting there must be a fundamental shift in thinking – a different way of viewing food, yourself, and the world around you.  As stated earlier, the focus should not be on what you eat, but why you eat what you eat.  How you look at the issue profoundly changes how effectively you can deal with the issue.  Negative thinking and self-judgment are road blocks to releasing weight.  Compassion and a learning perspective open the doors to lasting weight release.

Using a general personal growth and life coaching approach to weight related issues allows us to get to the “why you do…” that lies behind the “what you do”.  Lasting weight release has more to do with needs and unhealthy thinking than food or exercise.  Once the “why” becomes clear making the changes to the “what” becomes fairly simple and the “effects” tend to be lasting because the issues have been addressed at the level of “cause”.

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Freeman Michaels is America’s #1 weight release expert and coach. He is the author of Weight Release: A Liberating Journey. His groundbreaking program uses personal development principles to end the “diet cycle” and help people release weight forever.

Tags: Diet Advice, food, Health, healthy eating, weight loss, weight loss tips

Under healthy eating Tags: Diet Advice, food, Health, healthy eating, weight loss, weight loss tips