Managing Weight in Sterling, VA—Counselors and Therapists
In the dressing room, Micah’s breathing increased. He wanted to be there for his best friend’s wedding, but he did not want to have to go through a tux fitting. Micah does not like trying on clothes. He has never really liked his body or felt comfortable with his weight. Micah has tried though. He has tried every fad diet. He works out when he can. A few times, Micah lost a substantial amount of weight, but he then gained it all back. This yo-yo relationship with his body has left Micah exhausted. He does not want to be a model or a body builder. Micah just wants to like his own body. Many people are just like him. A lot of men and women know what it is like to struggle with managing their weight. More and more, people are overcoming that struggle by taking care of their body and their mind. Counseling for weight management takes a different approach. Instead of focusing upon strict diet or exercise rules, therapy’s goal is establishing emotional and physical health.
“I personally battled with my own body image for years. I used to tell myself, ‘You can’t wear anything sleeveless or strapless.’ And all of a sudden I was like, ‘What if I just didn’t send such negative messages to my brain’ and said, ‘wear it and enjoy it?’ And now I’m more comfortable in clothes than ever.”
—Drew Barrymore
Because people’s minds and bodies are interconnected, many people are working to become more emotionally healthy as well as physically healthy. People’s emotions can impede their weight loss just as much as their eating habits can. Counseling for weight management focuses upon the emotional skills it takes to sustain a healthy body image and manage one’s weight.
The counselors at Thriveworks Sterling are seeing more and more clients who are learning to take care of their emotions as they take care of their bodies. Long-term, successful weight management is often built upon the foundation of holistic health—in mind and body.
Body Weight: The American Struggle
The Centers for Disease Control has studied the struggle and found that…
- Twenty percent of adults are obese.
- Twenty percent of adults, age 20 and older, are overweight.
- Twenty percent of children ages 12-19 are obese.
- Seventeen percent of children ages 6-11 are obese.
- Nine percent of children ages 2-5 are obese.
Behind these numbers are people who are unique and who have particular stories. All too often, weight management is about the numbers—blood sugar and cholesterol levels, weight, waist size, and more. However, there is another way to see things. Weight management can also be told in the emotional lives of those who are struggling. An individual’s emotional state may not be as visible, but it is just as important.
Weight Management Therapy
When people go to a counselor as well as a nutritionist or a trainer, their time in therapy will not focus upon the strict rules of a diet or a particular exercise technique. Instead, therapy is focused upon being emotionally healthy. This can mean several things, including…
Finding a diagnosis and/or treatment for underlying mental illnesses. Certain mental illnesses can affect people both mentally and physically. Eating disorders can develop in anyone of any shape or size. Depression and anxiety can also affect an individual’s appetite—either increasing or decreasing it. If a mental illness is present in an individual’s life, then finding a diagnosis and treatment may be the top priority for weight management.
Cultivating Self-Awareness. There are emotional skills that can help people manage their weight and set themselves up for long-term success. For example, self-awareness is a term that is important for mental health, but it is also important for physical health. People can be telling themselves things that are not true and that undermine their efforts—without evening know it. When people are self-aware, they can often become aware of those thoughts and change their mindset.
When people are struggling with their weight, they may start to think things like…
- Food is a reward for achievement.
- Overeating should be punished.
- Feeling good about one’s body is impossible.
Experienced therapists can work with people so that they become aware of these thoughts. Over time, people can focus upon more positive, true thoughts or habits, such as…
- How to set motivating goals instead of using rewards and punishments.
- Coping skills for managing life’s challenges and difficult emotions instead of using food to regulate oneself.
- Establishing tolerable expectations about weight management and one’s body.
Thriveworks Sterling Offers Weight Management Counseling
Are you read to add therapy to your weight management routine? If so, know that Thriveworks Sterling is ready to meet with you. We offer weight management counseling, and we have appointments available. We have done out best to make taking that step and scheduling an appointment as easy as possible. When you contact our office, you will not reach a voicemail. Instead, one of our scheduling specialists will answer and help you make an appointment. New clients often meet with their therapist the day following their first call. We also offer evening and weekend appointments. However, we do not keep a waitlist, so our clients are never put on one. We also accept many different forms of insurance and work with many different insurance companies. Let’s work on a healthier you—emotionally and physically. Call today.
