Counseling for Managing Weight in Philadelphia, PA
Jove threw swimming trunks and a long-sleeve sheet into his bag. He was heading out to meet friends at the pool, and there was no way he was going shirtless. Jove took every opportunity to hide his body. He has never felt comfortable in his own skin, and so he hides. The hard part is that Jove has tried. He watches what he eats. He goes to the gym at his office a few times a week. Nothing Jove has tried works for the long-term. A few times, he has tried highly restrictive fad diets that worked for a while, but then, whatever weight Jove lost was regained once he went off the diet. For as long as he can remember, Jove has had a difficult relationship with his body. It is more than that he wants to drop a few pounds. Jove wants to like his body and be at peace with it. Many people can relate to Jove’s struggle. A lot of people are fighting their own bodies. They are going to the gym, working with a nutritionists, but more and more, they are also seeing a therapist. Counseling for weight management focuses upon holistic health, and many people are finding the help they need to manage their weight by working on their emotional health as well.
“One day, I had to sit down with myself and decide that I loved myself no matter what my body looked like and what other people thought about my body.”
—Gabourey Sidibe
People are whole beings. Their bodies matter. Their minds matter. When people are struggling physically, they are also often struggling emotionally. Weight management often needs a physical component and an emotional component. Counseling for weight management leaves the diet tips and exercise technique to the trainers and the nutritionists. Therapists focus upon the emotional aspect of health: treating mental illnesses that affect the body, confronting negative thoughts patterns, and cultivating an accepting relationship with one’s body.
Thriveworks Philadelphia offers counseling for managing weight, and we are seeing more and more clients who are ready to think more holistically about their weight, addressing their mind as well as their body.
Body Image and Weight in America
It is not a surprise that many Americans, both children and adults, are having difficulty with their body. The Centers for Disease Control outlined the extent of the problem…
- Nine percent of children ages 2-5 are considered obese.
- Seventeen percent of children ages 6-11 are considered obese.
- Twenty percent of children ages 12-19 are considered obese.
- Twenty percent of adults (ages 20 and older) in American are considered obese.
- Twenty percent of adults in the US are considered overweight.
These statistics are not just numbers. They are people who have unique struggles and unique stories. This personal element of weight management can get lost in the talk about cholesterol, waist size, blood sugar, and more, but counseling seeks to restore that personal element.
Counseling and Body Image
Therapy often gives people several benefits as they seek to manage their weight and establish a healthy relationship with their water. Just two of those advantages may be…
Dressing Psychological Wounds. When people are struggling with their weight, the numbers of the scale are very visible, but they are often not the root of the challenge. Often, the root cannot be seen because it is emotional. Eating disorders can develop in anybody of any size or any shape. If an eating disorder is present, people may struggle with their weight management, but treatment for the disorder should be the top priority. Similarly, anxiety disorders and depression disorders can alter people’s appetites. If an individual is struggling with a mental illness, that illness’s treatment should take priority. This often allows people to experience deep healing and build a foundation for long-term health.
Building Emotional Skills. Exercise programs and craze diets can emphasize narrow rules that are easily broken, but counseling for weight loss takes a different approach. Instead, it emphasizes healthy ways of handling setback, viewing food, and relating to oneself. These are some of the emotional skills needed to sustain change.
For example, people who are struggling with their weight may tell themselves things that undermine their success, and they may not even be aware of what they are doing. Often, people think…
- Food is a reward for when I am doing well.
- I cannot feel comfortable in my own body.
- Food is a punishment for when I mess up.
Through counseling, people often learn to identify these thoughts and change their mindset. A skilled therapist may be able to help people…
- Set motivating goals instead of using food as a punishment or reward.
- Develop coping skills for life’s challenges that are healthy and do not include food.
- Learn how to recover from a setback (because everyone has setbacks).
Scheduling a Session at Thriveworks Philadelphia for Weight Management Therapy
If you are ready to try a different approach to weight management, out counselors are ready to work with you. When you contact our office, a scheduling specialist will help you make an appointment (we do not have voicemail). We offer evening and weekend sessions, and new clients often see their therapist within 24 hours of their call (but we do not keep a waitlist). We also accept many different insurance plans. Your health matters. Let’s work together for holistic change. Call today.
