Is Fear Holding You Back

Here’s an interesting article I read online at Weight Watchers. Cause for some introspection on my part.

Is Fear Holding You Back?
By Alice Lesch Kelly 3/10/2004

You know the usual weight-loss pitfalls: Eating on the run, skipping exercise, mindless snacking. But here’s a roadblock most people don’t think of that can seriously curtail their ability to lose weight: Fear. “You might think it’s a fear of failing, but if you look more deeply, you’ll find in most cases that it’s a fear of success,” says Dorie McCubbrey, PhD, a weight-loss counselor and author of the book How Much Does Your Soul Weigh? (HarperResource, 2002). What might you be afraid of? Here are some possibilities:

Attention. If you lose weight, you will probably be noticed more. “People who are overweight are sometimes invisible in the world,” says Linda Spangle, RN, a weight-loss coach and author of the book Life Is Hard, Food Is Easy (Lifeline Press, 2003). “They may feel uneasy and anxious getting attention.” If you’re married, you may fear that you will respond to people other than your spouse.

The unknown. If you’ve struggled with your weight for a long time, being overweight feels familiar, McCubbrey says. Even though you believe that you would love to leave the overweight world behind, you may fear leaving what you know well.

Expectations. Thinner people are often perceived as being more qualified and more professional, says Spangle, so you may subconsciously fear that if you lose weight, people will expect more of you and you won’t be able to live up to their expectations.

Rejection. You may worry that if you lose weight, you’ll lose friends, also. Will your dinner buddies reject you when you order salad instead of steak? Will they envy your weight loss and cut you out of their circle? These are very real fears, McCubbrey says.

Abuse. Women who have been abused may fear that if they slim down, they will be victimized. “There is a fear that they are vulnerable and may be harmed again,” Spangle says.
The best way to figure out if fear is sabotaging your weight-loss efforts is to question yourself about potential fears. Ask yourself: Will attention cause discomfort? Are you worried that people will expect more from you or reject you if you lose weight? Did anything happen to you when you were thinner that you fear may happen again if you lose weight? Visualize yourself socializing, working, and living everyday life at your goal weight. Does anything about these scenarios upset you?

If you conclude that fear is holding you back, work to face that fear. Discuss it with a caring friend, write about it in your journal, or talk to a professional therapist. “Once you face your fears head-on, you take the power from them,” says Spangle.