You may be one of those people  who seems to be constantly struggling with your weight. It is now normal for women to feel dissatisfied with their bodies. Even women of normal weight feel their bodies need improvement.
 
Dieting is not easy to sustain. Denying yourself food you enjoy makes you feel deprived which makes you crave the forbidden food. This is one of the reasons most of the commercial slimming clubs let you eat chocolate and other treats. It is also hard to eat differently from your friends and family for more than a relatively short period. So most of us have to work hard to control our urges to eat, but with persistence we can drop a dress size. Why can't we sustain it? Nearly all dieters regain their lost weight.

So what is going on here? Some of us eat to feel better and to cope with the stress in our lives. Going on a diet is not going to help here. There are better ways to manage stress. Most of us eat significantly more than our grandparents. There is more food on offer, it is (relatively) cheap and we can buy it almost anywhere. Lots is ready to eat, we don't need to cook it. So this accessibility makes it more likely that we will eat more. Dieting will help where it identifies a new healthy routine for eating that you find comfortable. But if dieting for you is deprivation, then you might throw it all over if you make one tiny mistake.

And if you want immediate results, then every day that the weight has not gone down, you will feel frustrated and annoyed. To lose weight, the first goal is to stop gaining weight. So every week that the scale does not go up is a success. This is better than beating yourself up when you only lose one pound a week.

Have a look at your eating habits. Is there any habit you have got into that you know is going to end up on the hips?  Do you buy a chocolate bar every time you get petrol?  Choose not to. For others it might be 2 slices of toast in the morning. Maybe thinking it is wasteful not to use the second slot. So to meet your green credentials and help to manage weight, cut the one slice in two. For most of us, we are eating the equivalent of a whole extra meal in the form of sweets, biscuits, takeaways, crisps and drinks. Things are grandparents considered to be very special treats rather than everyday items.

Researchers have studied the explanations we give for gaining weight, and it shows that men and women give different causes.

The most frequent explanation for men is life‐course transitions, such as starting work, changing job, getting married, becoming a father. These changes in routine put obstacles in the way of physical activity. Where men ate for comfort this was related to work, unemployment or money worries.

For women, 4 themes presented.

1. Overeating related to intimate social relationships (e.g. I did not receive adequate love in my childhood, I feel insecure in this relationship etc.).
2. Psychological transitions such as puberty, pregnancy, menopause
3. Changes in social relationships (e.g. when I met my husband, when we moved in together, etc.).
4. Psychological drugs, such as anti‐depressants.

Women are more likely to relate the beginning of their weight problems to their biology (which is more complex than men's with more transitions) and to problems in their intimate and personal relationships.

In contrast, men see both changes in their work and financial situation and the associated stresses as the reasons for eating more. And they blame injury or other external circumstances for reduced activity levels.

When it comes to overeating, women typically invoke family obligations, whereas men allude to obligations outside the family.

The authors suggest that the fact that the use of drugs came up as a distinct theme in women but not in men, may be related to the fact that these drugs are far more commonly used by women than men.

Where your emotions are involved, hypnotherapy will help. Contact me and give it a try

Yes, dieting is drastic. Better to relearn how to feel good, deal with stress and make healthy eating automatic so you lose weight. Hypnosis will help.

Many people use food for comfort and to help combat stress. In particular, snack foods are used in this way. Learning to manage your stress will help you stop comfort eating. Hypnotherapy is one of the best ways to control stress.

Dr Daryl O'Connor and pals from University of Leeds, found that ego-threatening, interpersonal and work-related hassles lead people to snack more. In contrast, physical stressors lead people to snack less. The people most at risk of snacking as a result of the hurly burly of life were found to be:

• dieters
• people who tend to eat in response to their mood and feelings rather than in response to physical hunger signals
• people who can't resist food if they see it. Just the sight of it makes them feel hungry so they eat it
• people who can't control their impulses, don't get feelings of shame or embarrassment, or are drunk
• the obese and women

In other words, people with higher levels of vulnerability are significantly more likely to consume increased snacks in response to life's daily stresses. In particular, people who eat in response to their mood are prone to the effects of stress on eating.