Huh?
Please let me explain! An all to familiar phrase is "comfort foods." You know...those foods one eats that are associated with making them feel better or intertwined with emotions. They are the "go-to" foods and EASY to eat when one decides to choose comfort instead of something that requires a harder decision such as eating the apple instead of the ice cream!
Well, I just made about 4 of my points with that last little paragraph when you shift to thinking of "comfort weight loss." Yes, this is a phrase I came up with because I have seen it 1,000 times...maybe more!
Someone decides they are going to try to start losing weight again...could be their 2nd, 10th or 20th time! Throwing all logic and reason out the window, they make an EMOTIONAL decision to go on another diet...likely the same or similar one they tried the last time and time before that! They remember how it made them FEEL initially...the "honeymoon" phase of weight loss! Vivid thoughts of how that scale went down so fast and it made them excited because after-all, it doesn't matter what kind of weight you are losing as long as you are losing right?
They think of how nice it was to be wearing smaller sizes, the attention they got, the perceived success of a number of pounds SEEMINGLY gone...forever! It's as if reality is suspended and plum sugar fairies are dancing in their heads (which could also be from the thought of another no carb crash diet because the body will crave sugar if you starve it of carbs but that is another story).
Somehow, they think the 10th time will be magical and the weight will stay off this time! It is a comfortable and EASY decision because THEY KNOW short term weight loss is inevitable and they will get those feel good feelings seeing the scale go down fast. They know it "worked" last time (at least for 12 weeks) so here it is...
THE SAME SWITCH IN THE BRAIN THAT GETS FLIPPED FOR CAVING IN TO COMFORT FOOD IS THE SAME SWITCH THAT FLIPS WHEN ONE CHOOSES TO GO BACK ON ANOTHER CRASH DIET!
The same with comfort food...you get all giddy when you know you are going to be eating it, then when you are eating it you have all sorts of feel good receptors going off in the brain; then comes post-comfort food when reality sets in...you are stuffed, lethargic, feeling guilty, vowing you will not do that again, etc.
Think of the diets and rapid weight loss...you start getting excited at the thought of weighing less, then when you are dieting and seeing the scale go down, your brain is activated with all these good emotions of getting lighter; then the post-diet reality sets in (could be 12 weeks or even more) where you realize the diet wasn't maintainable, nor was the weight loss. You lost 30, 40 or 50 pounds but didn't realize that your bodyfat % didn't go down as it should have to correspond with the weight lost.
I hate to break it to you, but the comfort weight loss feels good temporarily, but in reality, it is mainly muscle and water you are flushing down the toilet which is not sustainable.
Anytime the word "comfort" is being used, you can be assured that it will likely not benefit you long-term! IF you want to lose REAL and SUSTAINABLE weight, you have to get OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!
www.defeatthefat.com
Your Health & Fitness Coach,
Clayton
