Brandt Bhanu Passalacqua, author of Peaceful Weight Loss Through Yoga, says that he knew weight loss had gone too far when he ‘watched Jillian Michaels waterboard a woman on The Biggest Loser.’ Though he admits that might be an overstatement, and it’s all medically supervised, as a weight loss professional this technique did not sit well with him in terms of weight loss wellness or success.
According to Passalacqua, your weight loss and your wellbeing is far better off when you reduce stress, rather than using it as a motivation, as stress hormones make it difficult to lose weight. He says it is scientifically sound and ‘logical that learning to enjoy movement and healthy eating is probably a good idea if you intend to keep weight off in the long term’ and so he found himself gasping as Jillian dumped water on her client who was down for the count, and asking, when the client admitted she was afraid of Jillian, ‘Who wouldn’t be?’
Passalacqua admits that he was ‘as affected as the next couch potato watching these brave souls going up against their darkest fears and overcoming them. Don’t think there weren’t tears in my eyes as I watched the stories of adults and children wanting to turn their lives around’ and he doesn’t blame anyone for watching the show. However, he argues ‘living on a compound being yelled at by high-end personal trainers for an extended period of time is not really a good way to work through your issues with body image and food. Not to mention having cameras in your face.’
If you try to replicate this path on your own, you are only setting yourself up for failure, says Passalacqua. ‘The zero-to-60 approach generally leads to burnout. Hiring someone to scream out your faults in front of others might send most of us running back to the Chinese buffet. Intense, drastic changes can cause more stress, which will lead to more frustration about weight management.’
He adds that ‘If you’re in a bad place physically and mentally, chances are it took you some time to get there. It will take some time to shift away from the bad habits and mindsets that got you to that state.’ Therefore, though it may be less dramatic, Passalacqua recommends relaxation exercises and slowly, steadily shifting your diet based on your individual needs.
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