Drexel research shows that self-compassion helps people cope with setbacks and speeds the process of getting back to their goals. Weight loss is a serious problem, primarily due to the availability of tempting high-calorie foods. Even if you have a strong determination, it’s easy to find yourself indulging more than you’d like. Such mistakes can lead to feelings of disappointment and discouragement, causing many people to give up on their goals.

A new study conducted by the Center for Weight, Nutrition, and Lifestyle Sciences (WELL Center) at Drexel University’s College of Arts and Sciences explored whether self-compassion should be practiced or whether people should treat themselves with the care and kindness they normally show. what they like – what they love – helps people become more resistant to overeating.

recently published AppetiteResearchers found that when study participants responded to their failures more compassionately, they reported better mood in the hours after the break and better self-control around eating and exercise. The findings suggest that self-compassion may help people initiate healthier weight-loss behaviors by helping them become less demoralized by failure.

“Many people worry that self-compassion will lead to complacency and make them settle for shortcomings, but this study is a great example of how self-compassion can help people be more successful in achieving their goals,” said Charlotte Hagerman. D. ., a university research assistant professor and lead author. “The road to achieving challenging goals, especially weight loss, is littered with setbacks. Practicing self-compassion helps people cope with degrading thoughts and emotions in response to failures so they become less debilitating. In return, they can quickly continue to achieve their goals.”

Research methodology and ideas

Hagerman and colleagues collected data from a group of 140 participants who were trying to lose weight through a group lifestyle modification program. Participants answered surveys on their smartphones several times a day to report whether and to what extent they engaged in disordered eating (eating more than planned, eating at times they did not intend or want to). and to what extent they responded to this mistake with self-compassion. The researchers also asked participants about their mood and how well they had practiced self-control around eating and exercise since the last survey they answered.

Hagerman noted that losing weight and keeping it off is extremely difficult, and people often blame themselves for their lack of willpower.

“We live in a food environment that actually sets everyone up for failure. Practicing self-compassion instead of self-criticism is an important strategy for building resilience during the difficult weight loss process,” Hagerman said. “The next time you feel the urge to criticize yourself for your eating behavior, try talking to yourself with the kind of kindness you would talk to a friend or loved one.”

For example, instead of telling yourself, “You don’t have willpower,” reframe it with a kinder, more accurate statement: “You’re doing the best you can in a world where it’s very difficult to lose weight.” Hagerman says that doesn’t mean “resigning,” it’s a very difficult time. It means giving yourself the opportunity to progress, he added.

moving forward with self-compassion

The research team hopes this will lead to more effective interventions that teach people to show self-compassion during times when they experience setbacks, such as overeating or gaining weight. They also hope to discover the best strategies for teaching people to practice true self-compassion, reduce self-blame and criticism, and hold themselves accountable to their own personal standards and goals.

“The self-compassion message can easily be confused so that people become completely self-forgiving and reject the goals they set for themselves,” Hagerman said. “But we have shown that self-compassion and responsibility can work together.”