ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The Elimination Weight Loss Diet - Stress, Smoking and Weight Loss (Chapter 18)

Updated on December 11, 2012
The Elimination Weight Loss Diet - Chapter18
The Elimination Weight Loss Diet - Chapter18

====================

Chapter 18 – Stress, Smoking and Weight Loss

====================

Over the years, whenever I was in a high stress situation, I tended to gain weight and I was only able to diet successfully when I was in a low stress situation. For example, I weighed about 285 pounds when I graduated from high school and during my first year in college I ballooned up to 325 pounds.

--------------------------------

I attended a local extension center of the University of Wisconsin in a nearby city. I was taking six subjects and some of the classes were in the evening. I would leave early in the day, spend the entire day there and come back in the evening. Class work was more difficult than high school, and by the time I got home I was exhausted.

-------------------------------

To relieve the stress and reward myself, I would frequently make a large bowl of buttered popcorn and washed it down with a can of soda. Needless to say I gained 40 ponds in nine months and I wasn’t even pregnant.

------------------------------

The next episode of stress induced weight gain occurred after I quit Dupont and started working for Ford Motor Company in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. My initial job there was as a shift engineer, which involved working seven days a week, rotating shifts and sometimes working 12-hour shifts.

------------------------------

My stress level was high and all I seemed to do was work, sleep and eat. I gradually gained more weight until I peaked at 345 pounds. Fortunately, how I finally got motivated and lost 125 pounds is explained in the Introduction to the Elimination Weight Loss Diet.

-----------------------------

Finally, more than three years ago, I gained back 40 pounds when I quit smoking cigars after 50 years of smoking. I am still struggling to recover from that setback and this will be the topic of a special section at the end of this book.

----------------------------

The point that I am trying to make from all of these examples is that stress causes most people to gain weight and if you want to lose weight and keep it off, you may first have to work on reducing the stress in your life. The following is a list of suggestions based on years of experience trying to lose weight and finally succeeding:

=================================== 

1. Never start a diet when you are in a high stress situation.

Based on my personal experience, if you start a diet when you are in a high stress situation, you will inevitably fail. It is better to put off the diet until you can eliminate the source of the stress or at least defuse it.

---------------------------------

2. Never try to stop smoking and lose weight at the same time.

Either one is extremely difficult and stressful by itself, and if you try to do them both together, you are destined to fail. Pick one and complete it before you attempt the other one. I cover this topic in more detail in Appendix II.

--------------------------------

3. If you are trying to lose weight and you encounter a high stress situation, suspend your diet until you can eliminate or reduce the source of the stress.

Suppose you are dieting and you lose a loved one or you lose your job. It is best to suspend dieting, which is also very stressful, until you have recovered. Remember that the intent of your diet should be long term behavior modification and not short term weight loss.

----------------------------------

In summary, losing weight is stressful enough without combining it with any other stressful situation. The intent of the Elimination Weight Loss Diet is to reach your ultimate goal and it is not crucial how fast you get there.

=============================================

How to Reduce Stress In Your Life

Relaxing Anti-Stress Music

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)