Can Attitude Affect Your Weight?
By Genevieve Cunningham
Our moods affect everything. We've all been guilty of allowing a poor mood to take over. We snap at others, sleep too much, skip important tasks, and are generally irritable. When this happens on occasion, it's not really a big deal. But when it happens a lot, it starts to affect our lives in a big way. But beyond our relationships and attitude, can it actually affect our health? If you're trying to lose weight or get healthy, take a look at how your attitude might affect the outcome and your long-term success.
Moodiness Has Been Linked to Binge Eating
Binge eating is bad for us. While a cheat meal is OK, a true binge has us consuming hundreds (or thousands!) of calories in a short span of time. It throws us completely off of our healthy eating game, and it can make it really difficult to get back on track. Research suggests that mood swings contribute to binge eating. We reach for the food to fill the emotional void that we feel during a mood swing. If you want to avoid the binge, avoid the swing. Is this always easy? No. But finding a stable and positive mood can affect your world view as well as your waistline.
A Negative Attitude Affects Perception
A negative attitude affects the way you see everything. If you're negative in nature, you'll always find fault in your efforts. You may find yourself saying things such as: this diet is useless, or it doesn't matter what I try, it doesn't work. This kind of self-talk absolutely affects what we put into our bodies, how much we move, and our overall condition. If you want to lose weight and feel good in your body, you have to turn your attitude around and feel more positive about everyday life.
You'll Never Be Happy
If you have a bad attitude, it doesn't really matter how much you weigh. It doesn't matter if you've lost or gained five pounds. It doesn't matter if you have the perfect body or far from it. If you have a bad attitude, you're never going to be happy with the result. You'll always think you need to do more, lose more, be more. Why not skip this phase altogether? Why not set tiny goals and celebrate success? The more you celebrate your own tiny successful moments, the more motivated you'll be to keep working toward your best health yet.
Getting your moods under control may make you feel so much better. You may feel happier and more carefree. But as it turns out, controlling your moods may help improve your physical health too! Work on emotional and mental strength, and you may find your physical health improving right along with it.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Allen, Tex.