14 DAY TRIAL // When we’re striving to lose weight, we come across countless obstacles on a daily basis. Known as derailers, they act in such a way as to prevent us from achieving our slimming goal, and they can be represented by virtually anything, from the routines we have around the house or at work, to our relationships with others and, ultimately, our anger, as That’s Fit points out.
Anger is a powerful derailer, countless studies have shown in the past. It can work against us (and the diet we’re on) not only in that it prevents us from losing weight, but, what’s more important, in the sense that it will actually make us gain even more pounds. Teenagers and women are particularly more prone to experience this firsthand, since the former tend to suppress their feelings of frustration and anger, which, in turn, leads to more weight gain.
For women, though, it translates into the urge of indulging in so-called comfort food, like ice cream and sweet treats. What we see in the movies about ladies eating buckets of ice cream when they’re depressed is not a myth, researchers share.
These said, the idea is simple: in order to lose weight, we must either stop feeling angry or, if this is not possible, learn to channel this powerful emotion towards something constructive, by making it our motivation. In order to achieve this, we must first learn to see the first signs of anger as a possibility to protect ourselves by making a stand, experts add. Anger can often be rooted in frustration in our relationship with others, which is why we should learn to be more assertive, therefore eliminate the cause of anger almost altogether.
Reacting on impulse is also a good way of ensuring that we pent up frustrations and harsh feelings. So, instead of just giving in to anger, it is recommended we first take a few moments to try to calm down and, once that achieved, to analyze the situation. We must learn how to react properly, both when provoked and when not, and to channel our feelings in the right direction. Taking it all on and blaming ourselves is neither healthy, nor helping our weight-loss cause, so we should use the energy that comes with a bout of anger and use it for something constructive, experts advise us.
The basic idea is that we can’t have a healthy, balanced diet without balance in our own lives. Powerful, impulsive emotions such as anger will always work against us if we don’t learn to control them, or, at least, make the most of them in a positive way.