Obesity And Feelings Of Guilt: Is It Really Your Own Fault?

Obesity and guilt go hand in hand. Do these statements sound familiar to you? “I’ll start a diet tomorrow”, “This is the last bit”, “Never again”, “I can’t go on like this”, “I’m getting fatter”, “I have to change my eating habits”, “I’ve gained weight ”And“ Why do I keep putting on weight? ”.

Possibly these are exactly the sentences you say to yourself every day because our culture tells you that you are solely responsible for your excess weight. You are convinced that only you are responsible for your body and therefore your self-esteem only depends on what your body looks like. At the same time, you are sad and frustrated because nobody notices your wonderful character traits or at least they are not appreciated enough.

You may also feel bad because your body differs from the ideals that the media constantly tells us. You know you need to lose weight because your weight is already causing you health problems. There are many reasons that can cause you to change your body.

Obesity and Guilt – Pressure and Despair

There’s always that one day when you’re so desperate that you decide to make a change right now. Many reasons come to your mind at the same time and at that moment you feel really bad and ugly.

You also ask yourself how you could have allowed all of this to happen and point at yourself with an accusing index finger. You firmly believe that it is very easy to change the situation. You just have to have enough willpower and you will surely succeed.

This desperation leads to the fact that you can no longer accept yourself and your body and therefore you decide that you have to change something about yourself immediately. The pressure that you have to please other people is extremely high. Therefore, you develop a method for yourself that consists of two aspects:

• You are punishing yourself for not doing something beforehand.
• You are also driven by the thought of being able to achieve tremendous results in a very short time.

The worst part is that these methods really exist, especially those dealing with the first aspect.

There are weight loss programs based on this philosophy that some people market as healthy options. These people are very often paid celebrities who will tell you that in order to be “beautiful” you have to make sacrifices. Therefore, you have to eat hypocaloric, complete intensive training routines and strengthen your self-discipline, etc. You are sure to know such diet recommendations too.

Limitations aren’t really helpful

Because you feel so uncomfortable in your body and can hardly stand it, in your desperation you begin to undergo a tough process that does not really satisfy you.

It can’t even satisfy you because it’s unsustainable. It is impossible for you to stick to this strict diet plan for long. This only makes the despair that befell you worse. The pressure increases and it becomes even harder for you to make changes.

Also, your guilty feelings about being obese keep getting worse. Ultimately, your discomfort becomes so strong that you increasingly suffer from it psychologically.

In addition, you gradually lose your self-esteem without even realizing it. At some point you look at yourself in the mirror and despise the image you see. Now not only do you feel uncomfortable and bad about your body, but you are also angry with your thoughts and mind. But do you know why all of this is happening? All of this happens for the following reasons:

• Every day, you judge yourself based on just the shape of your body and figure, like that is all that defines you.
• That’s why you tell yourself every day that you have an ugly and unattractive body.
• And every time you make a new attempt to change something, you try in the same unbearable and pointless way. Hence, you feel terrible because each new attempt at dieting becomes an exercise in self-destruction.

… you blame yourself and feel bad

• Obviously, you are unable to discipline yourself in this strict way. However, you don’t even recognize it yourself. All of your thoughts revolve around the fact that you can’t do it because you are not strong enough and because you are just not good enough for who you are.

• In addition, you feel guilty every day for just not being able to achieve the goals you have set for yourself. You just believed the misleading statement that said: “You can do whatever you want to do”.
• Every day you find that your cravings win the battle, even when you try to eat little or nothing. You don’t even notice that you need this food to alleviate your dissatisfaction and anxiety a little. And of course you are dissatisfied again afterwards, because the relief that the food gives you is short-lived.
• That’s why you say to yourself every day that you will lose this fight anyway. And you think that you are the only reason for it. Because you just can’t do it. You are just not good enough. You also believe that you are too weak, that you just can’t make it, and that you are therefore worthless. You are not capable of it and never will be. In short, you consider yourself a loser.

… so you keep eating

Since your discomfort is almost unbearable, you have to do something to feel better again. Therefore, you throw all your good intentions overboard and eat everything that you have denied yourself in the past few days. However, you eat out of fear and with a very bad feeling, you do not feel any joy. This is exactly what constitutes a food cravings attack. Although it is very unhealthy physically, it will give you some mental relief, at least while you are eating.

This binge eating alleviates the fear that results from the process of change that is almost unbearable for you. Then the cycle begins again. At first you feel great pressure and despair, then you control yourself very extremely, which leads to great dissatisfaction. You then have another binge eating and new guilty feelings about your obesity.

Feelings of Guilt and Obesity: Is It Really Your Fault?

Unfortunately, the relief that binge eating doesn’t last long. As a result, you end up feeling really bad and guilty about being obese.

Why weren’t you able to “do what it takes” to finally get your dream figure again? This would also have freed yourself from all the pressure and dissatisfaction that you feel about your figure. As if your body is responsible for all of this …

And this vicious cycle begins again, you feel under pressure and at the same time you are very motivated to change something. Again you will start a diet that you cannot keep up and once again a binge eating will eventually give you the relief you so desperately need in this unbearable situation.

New feelings of guilt will set in and you will fall into this trap again. However, the more you go through this cycle, the more your dissatisfaction will grow.

The influence of society

All of this happens because your culture and environment make you believe that you are solely to blame for your obesity. Therefore you feel responsible for it and an almost unbearable pressure weighs on you. And that’s exactly why you will keep trying unsuitable methods that will ultimately only make your situation worse.

If you can break this vicious cycle, then this is the first step towards a solution. Take some time and try to be fair, thoughtful, and realistic. You should also come up with an approach where one setback doesn’t automatically mean you have to start all over again. Your approach should allow you to make mistakes without losing everything you have achieved.

You should also have a critical mind that allows you to be in control of your life and your decisions. An independent stance different from mass cognitive dissonance.

How to break the cycle of obesity and guilt

If you want to break this cycle, the point is to relieve the pressure. It is therefore important that you get a realistic idea of ​​yourself and the responsibility you have for your body and its shape.

You should also be aware of how relevant this is to your life. At the same time, you should take a critical stance towards society. This will make it easier for you to ignore toxic ideas that may interfere with your internal dialogue.

In addition, you need to learn to love and appreciate yourself. You shouldn’t limit yourself to your body or what you don’t like about it. It is very important that you understand that you are good enough for who you are. That way, your plan won’t have a negative impact on your self-esteem either, even if you can’t carry it out.

Change your inner attitude and make peace with yourself

When you have achieved this peace in your mind, you will be able to make healthy, beneficial, and sustainable changes. This approach should be comprehensive and not only help you eat properly, but also help you feel better in other areas of your life.

This is because you remove the pressure, despair, and dissatisfaction that you may have previously had. Then food will no longer be your only source of wellbeing. Plus, you will no longer feel guilty about it, knowing that food is protective and useful. The food cravings will go away and with that the guilt will go away.

Society makes you feel guilty about being obese. Don’t fall for it!