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The 'E' Word- EXERCISE! and how our thoughts impact our behaviors.

9/16/2020

1 Comment

 

Author-Dr. Jordyn Varga

Dr. Varga is a post-doctoral fellow specializing in bariatrics. She worked with Dr. Z in a previous training year and now she joins our team!

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Hi folks!
 
Thank you for stopping by!
 Let’s start off by talking about some of the thoughts we may have about the ‘E’ word – it takes a lot of time, it’s really difficult, I don’t know what I am doing, I will hurt myself, I am no good at exercising.
 
Do you experience any of these thoughts? If so, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
 
But, what do our thoughts have to do with exercising? Well, our thoughts and beliefs (which are often unconscious and automatic) influence our feelings and behaviors, which in turn, reinforce our thoughts.
 
Let’s talk more about this - these negative thoughts we have are called cognitive distortions. What are cognitive distortions? They are ways that our mind convinces us of something that isn’t really true. They sound rational and accurate, but they end up keeping us feeling bad about ourselves, feeling poorly overall, and keeping us engaging in behaviors that are unhelpful or unhealthy.
 
Here are a few examples:
 
Disqualifying the good: I did a yoga class, but yoga is so easy.
 
Catastrophizing: If I do not exercise X amount of time each week, it will never work!
 
All-or-Nothing Thinking:  I have NO time to exercise.
 
What can we do about our cognitive distortions? First, let’s start by identifying your cognitive distortions! Then, we can start to challenge or change them:
  • Do I really have NO time?
  • Does going to a yoga class really not count?
  • Do I really have to exercise for exactly 30 minutes?
  • Does working out always have to feel good?
 
Write down your cognitive distortions and note how they impact your behavior. Challenge those distortions or make your thoughts and self-talk more flexible. 
Let’s start moving!

  • Dr. Varga
 

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Red light, Yellow light, Green light-FOODS!

7/27/2020

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Author

Dr. Z is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in bariatric psychology, binge eating and overeating, and has worked with many local hospitals supporting their bariatric programs through education and counseling. 


Hi folks! Thanks for visiting us at Healing Path Counseling, LLC. We pride ourselves on bringing you content tailored to bariatric patients and/or folks struggling with overeating or binge eating. This blog will focus on a tool that can be helpful in shifting our behaviors with food. Take a look!
 
Do you ever buy a food and notice it doesn’t stay in the cabinet for more than a day? Or, you notice that there are specific foods you know you will overeat? Maybe its potato chips, or chocolates; Whatever foods it may be, you may find yourself reliably binge eating or overeating that food, while other foods remain in the cabinet much longer. 

At Healing Path Counseling, LLC, we work to help clients address behaviors, thoughts, and emotions that contribute to one’s struggle with food/overeating/binge eating.
​
One of the many tools we introduce includes the traffic light categorization. This is adopted from the Overeaters Anonymous folks. Some folks find it helpful to categorize some foods as “red light,” “yellow light,” and “green light” foods. Red indicates a highly dangerous trigger or binge food (food we WILL overeat or binge on), and green indicates a food that can be eaten with no problem. Creating categories for food is highly individualized. A food that is "safe" for one person could be a "red light" food for another. 

The purpose of this classification is NOT to judge, shame, or restrict. The purpose is to look at the data, gather knowledge about your behaviors, and plan accordingly. This is highly personalized. One person may be able to have chocolate in their cabinet without bingeing, (and it may even gather dust in the cabinet), while another person may eat all of the chocolate in one sitting or in one day, reliably and consistently. This is not a judgement. This is solid data that we can identify and use to help folks create a more flexible relationship with food, while also knowing areas they may continue to struggle.

While this is a helpful tool, it is only a small piece of the whole picture of treatment.
I challenge you to take a look at your cabinet and classify some of the foods in the cabinet. Are there foods missing that could be labeled as red? What’s been in there for a long time? Which foods seem in the middle of trigger food or benign food?
What does this information do for you? Make sure not to judge!

(Also, you may find that some of these behaviors occur in other places aside from home. For example, parties, in the car on the way home from work, etc.)

Feel free to reach out to us if you are looking for specialized support with bariatrics, overeating, binge eating, or struggling with exercise or movement.

​We are here to help!

-Dr. Z
 
 


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Feelings and Food

4/27/2020

3 Comments

 
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Hi Folks!

Thanks for coming by! 

Let’s start by talking about feelings and food. As we all have likely experienced, food has the power to influence how we feel, and our feelings have the power to influence how we eat. 

While food is connected to times of joy and celebration, it is also tied to sorrow and stress. This becomes a challenge for our eating behaviors when we struggle with mood intolerance. What is mood intolerance? Well, it’s a fancy way of saying we have difficulty experiencing negative emotions, such as disappointment, hurt, fear, and anger, among many. 

Instead of experiencing these negative feelings directly, we attempt to avoid them through binge eating, oversnacking, or excessive exercising. However, coping in this way only provides us with short-term relief and reinforces our unhealthy eating habits. 

So, what can we do? We can learn to become more aware of what we are doing so that we can change our behaviors – after all, we cannot change something that we aren’t aware of! 

Here’s five mindfulness skills to help you become more aware of your eating habits. Try choosing a particular day, time, and meal to practice these mindful eating skills. Remember that as with all new things, it will take time and practice to learn these skills. Be patient and kind to yourself as you approach this task!


  • Observing: Notice what you are experiencing while eating without becoming caught up in your experience. Just observe your feelings and any physical sensations.
  • Describing: Put words to what you are experiencing. For example, “I notice my stomach grumbling.” Describe your thoughts.
  • Participating: We often do things on ‘auto pilot’ without fully engaging in what we are doing. Aim to fully participate in the task of eating. Notice if your attention strays and then gently bring it back to the task at hand. 
  • Being non-judgmental: This means accepting each moment without judging how we think it should be and without saying something is ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ If you find yourself judging, try not to judge yourself for it - instead, gently remind yourself to approach your eating in a non-judgmental way. 
  • Focusing on one thing at a time: Try to do one thing at a time! Most often, we are constantly multitasking. Try giving all of your attention to eating and only eating. If you notice your mind starts to wander, gently bring your focus back to your eating. 

What did you notice? What are your thoughts, questions, or concerns? Share them here and let’s help each other become more aware of our feelings so we can improve our habits!

​

3 Comments

Overeating during social distancing

3/25/2020

0 Comments

 
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Greetings, Folks!

Thanks for dropping by.

Let’s start off by saying what we’re all likely thinking – this stay-at-home order is tough, and it is scary! Phew, that felt good.

​While we definitely recognize how important and needed the order is, it is changing every aspect of our lives – our routine, our sense of freedom, our connectedness with others, and maybe even our eating habits…

Making health promoting choices is difficult on any given day; and now we have a whole new way of living, perhaps contributing to some difficulty with eating habits.

So, here’s the big question, how do we continue to make healthy choices despite all this change? Here’s a few tips:
  • Continue to meal prep. Plan your meals and think ahead. Set aside your snacks for the day and make your choices ahead of time.
  • Become aware of what you are feeling. There are so many feelings to be had right now and chances are, those feelings are your eating triggers. Try journaling, reaching out to your therapist, going for a walk, or meditating.
  • Take it moment by moment. If you had a rough moment or day and are not pleased with the way you felt or what you ate, start again. You can always start eating differently at.this. exact. moment.
  • Create a guideline for yourself. Identify your biggest overeating trigger and create a guideline around that. Maybe its “I will not eat in front of the TV 5 days of the week,” maybe its “I will take 2 minutes to be present before I begin eating” maybe its “I will sit down each time I eat, not matter what.” You get to choose. Identify those triggers and develop a doable guideline to follow.
  • Keep in contact. We are social beings and connecting with others is a core way we cope with stress. Lean on your support team!
  • Continue to move. Go for a walk. Lift some weights. Dance. Pick something you enjoy and keep your body moving. And remember, 5 minutes is more than 0!
  • Do NOT discount your efforts. The minute you say “well I only exercised for 5 minutes” is the moment you have decided you will stop exercising! FIVE IS GREATER THAN ZERO!
What are your thoughts, questions, or concerns? Share them here and let’s help each other get through this ever-changing and difficult time in our lives! We are not alone!

Dr. Varga

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