In Session With Marc David: Unresolved Grief and Weight Gain - Is There a Connection?
Unresolved Grief and Weight Gain - Is There a Connection?
Are you ready to transform your relationship with food in a lasting and meaningful way? What if you could help others find the path to greater freedom and joy with food as well?
Primary teacher at the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, Marc David speaks with 45-year old Tracy, originally from New Zealand and newly living in Australia. Tracy seeks to lose about 15 kilos, while finding equanimity in her relationship with food and body. Quarantined in her apartment during Covid, Tracy feels alone and isolated, and reflects on a series of losses that have defined her life including the loss of her father when she was just four years old. As Marc helps her recognize, Tracy has never really integrated the losses she’s endured … something that is true for so many of us. When emotions aren’t metabolized, whether grief, anger, or other emotions, they can show up in other ways — often as symptoms in the body. Listen in as Tracy discovers a new path not just for losing weight, but finding a beautiful and healing path through the grief that so deeply colors her life.
Key Insights:
Of the numerous psychological contributors to weight gain or weight loss resistance, grief is often one of the overlooked causal factors. Unacknowledged or unresolved grief can be a key factory underlying our eating challenges.
Losing a parent early in life can mean so much more than just the loss of that parent. Children who have lost a parent early in life often find their other parent struggling to cope with their grief, resulting in the child having to do a lot of self-parenting. This is yet another form of loss — that of an innocent childhood, and can ultimately lead to unresolved grief as an adult.
Sometimes the grieving we need to do in life is that of letting go of who we used to be. Whether it’s a role we used to inhabit, a certain time of life, or having a certain athleticism or healthy body, it can be hard to move on from aspects of ourselves that we took a lot of pleasure or pride in.
Speaking to a therapist or a counselor, particularly a grief counselor, can be a vital first step towards resolving one's past and moving on.
Journaling is another effective way to acknowledge and give expression to grief. Figuratively writing a letter to a deceased parent is another. Writing, in whatever form, can be a powerful way to express, transform, and release emotions that are calling out for our attention.
With his dual training in clinical nutrition and psychology, Marc David has spent the last 40 years helping people around the world heal their relationship with food. As the founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, he reaches millions each year through his books, speaking engagements, celebrated podcast series, and his internationally-acclaimed Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training.
Are you experiencing unwanted food and body challenges? We invite you to post your questions and comments in the comment box below or get in touch with us directly.
