If
you had a dime for every time you thought you were too fat, would you
be rich?
If so, that's a very ineffective way to start a savings plan,
according to Brenda Crawford-Clark, who has spent 15 years working with people
dissatisfied with how they look.
Crawford-Clark, author of "Body
Sense Balancing Your Weight and Emotions," said most weight loss
products come with broken promises and can never work because they do not
address overlooked connections that ultimately will cause you to reach for
food.
"The sad thing is they have no potential,
yet when they fail they put the blame on the dieter," said
Crawford-Clark. "Even if you ignore the fact that many are unhealthy
or at the minimum are a drain on your pocketbook, you're usually just wasting
your time."
Crawford-Clark's said she has spent
years listening to men, women and children who are unhappy with their body
appearance. She's been director of hospital and outpatient programs that have
helped people with everything from stress eating to eating disorders. Her
book "Body Sense" grew
out of her frustration and concern that so many people were looking for answers
and being taken advantage of by a multi-million dollar diet industry.
"Losing weight has never just been about
willpower or finding that perfect pill," she said. "There's
many pieces to connect that have been neglected." She attacks other myths
in dieting by helping readers figure out why their eating and weight became
a problem, then gives them tools to do something about that today.
"There's many things that contribute to the
birth of a weight problem," she added. Among the most overlooked
is loss. Those include the more obvious losses related to trauma, emotional
and physical abuse and death, but also losses related to infertility, miscarriages,
relationship problems, career changes, illness, accidents, financial concerns
and adoption.
Crawford-Clark said even loss of a dream can lead
to using food to alter your feelings. Growing up with unusually
high expectations placed on you, or in a family where you were not allowed
to express your feelings can cause some people to use food as a way to temporarily
change feelings. Eventually it can become an unconscious action. "Body Sense" helps readers re-connect
to the source, determine how it has effected one's life and gives tools for
readers to take care of themselves with something else other than food.
That process she includes in "Body
Sense" is a personal one that the book's author compares to that
the reader would receive in her office. It combines compassionate stories
of others who have similar problems and backgrounds and have utilized the
step-by-step explanations of techniques
that the author says will make this a long-lasting change. She provides ongoing
support to readers through her website "forgetaboutdiets.com."
Our
online course is the perfect companion learning tool to Body Sense. Participate
in the online course as you read Body Sense and you'll benefit from a structured
program, developed by the Body Sense author.
Brenda Crawford-Clark, LMHC, LMFT, NCC
Author: Body Sense Balancing Your Weight and Emotions
©Copyright 2001 Brenda Crawford-Clark
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