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Present
Finding reasons for weight issues will help
accomplish the resolution
By Paul Gordon
Dropping
the Pounds!
N
ew Year’s resolutions: It
is a safe bet that all of us
have made them at one
or many times in our lives.
There are probably few adults
who have never, at one time or
another, made losing weight
a New Year’s resolution. The
experts say that is because weight
is one of the most emotional
personal issues a person has.
But it means nothing if the
person making the resolution
isn’t prepared for the effort and
suffering required to lose a few
pounds, let alone a whole bunch
of them.
Equally as important, those
experts say, is to know why there
is a weight problem to begin with
because resolving issues will go a
long way toward succeeding with
whatever diet plan you choose.
“People have to focus on the
choices they are making with
food and intake, figure out
where the excess is coming from
and why,” said Amy Melton, a
registered dietician at Methodist
Medical Center who works with
outpatient clients and pediatrics
at the hospital.
“A good way to do that is to
write it down. Make notes on
everything you do during a day
because that helps to identify
behaviors, which will then help
you to know what it is you have
to change if you want to lose
weight and keep it off,” Melton
said.
Much of what causes a weight
problem is psychological, said
Deborah McKenna, a counselor in
Peoria who works with patients
who have also have issues with
smoking or stress.
“A person has to discern
what is getting in the way of
losing weight and keeping it
off before they know how to
correct it. Eating habits cause
problems, but those are easiest
to correct — things like how fast
a person eats, portions, whether
they eat on the fly because of a
busy lifestyle. But if obesity is
something they’ve struggled with
most of their life, there is usually
something emotional going on,
as well. It doesn’t even have to
be something sinister or deep-
seated. But you need to find out
what it is so you can resolve it
and move forward,” McKenna
said.
Not only can McKenna help
find underlying causes of weight
problems, she offers something
to help with weight loss that
isn’t very common in this region:
Hypnotherapy.
A licensed hypnotherapist for
16 years, McKenna has learned
what will and won’t work with
different people. She determines
this through counseling before
trying hypnosis. “Counseling
always come first. Hypnosis is
“Much of what
causes a weight
problem is
psychological...”
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thePeorian.com