- Hey, everybody.
Today I'm gonna talk to you about obesity.
I've heard from many of you that
that is something you've been wanting me to discuss,
so stay tuned.
(slow piano music)
So like I said, today I want to talk about obesity.
And obviously, I know many of you are gonna have
specific questions about it, so you can let me know.
I just want to open the conversation,
because I hear from many of you
that you're struggling out there and it's really hard.
And so I want to start talking about it
and make people aware.
There are different reasons why we become obese.
The number one bucket that I want to talk about is
a medical condition.
This is something that is out of our control.
It can be a side effect from a medication.
It can be a thyroid issue, a pituitary issue.
It can be any number of things that your doctor
tells you are causing you to gain weight uncontrollably.
And if that is the case, I want to make sure
you're seeing your doctor regularly
and getting checkups and getting blood work done,
because we know obesity can lead to a bunch
of other complications.
So, please take care of that.
Now the second is due to poor nutrition
or lack of proper food in the house
or lack of just knowledge about what your body needs,
how much your body needs.
And then the third being as a result of an eating disorder.
We find ourselves really stressed out.
We've had a trauma possibly in our past or have been abused,
and we use food as a way to cope
the same way someone who doesn't eat
uses food to cope.
And I think a lot of people forget that they're the same.
The treatment is honestly the same.
People think they're so separate,
but we're still using food as a way
to manage our emotions.
And so, regardless of where you've come from
or what your issues are leading up, mental health-wise,
there is still the same resources that I think
everyone needs to know about.
Obviously seeing a therapist can be really helpful,
because talking to someone, getting some feedback,
having that honest conversation about
maybe the anxiety component that you're feeling now,
the depression, the isolation,
as well as the emotional component to maybe
gaining the weight or now being overweight.
It can really help to talk it out with someone
and get some honest feedback.
And the second, and I think even more important,
is seeing a dietician or a nutritionist.
Now, they're readily available
whether you find them at the hospital,
your doctor refers you someone,
your therapist refers you to someone.
But, it can be so helpful for all of us
to get knowledge on how much food our body needs,
what kind of food our body needs,
how often we should be eating,
what types of food should we be eating.
What do we do when we have the urges to eat
certain bad foods that we've labeled as junk food
and we shouldn't eat?
How do we incorporate that into our diet
so that it's healthy and it makes us happy, right?
Because we all want ice cream sometime.
We all want Fire Hot Cheetos.
And if we want them, we can't just keep saying,
"No, no, you can't have any of that,"
because chances are, we'll binge on them later.
And we need to get some advice
on how to better manage that.
So I would encourage all of you,
if this is something that you're struggling with,
reach out for support.
Get some help from a therapist or a dietician,
and it'll start you on that process
to a healthier mind and a healthier body, right?
And I also, if any of you find yourself
struggling with binge eating disorder,
and when I said that you think,
"Yeah, that's how I got here.
"That's what happened."
I have an eating disorder workbook on my website,
and the Task One is talking back to the negative voices,
eating disorder voice and the healthy voice,
that urge telling you to binge
and stop off at all these places to get that food.
And it can help you argue back
and feel a stronger sense of control
over your body and your health.
So, I would hop on my website katimorton.com
and download that 'cause it's free.
And why not, right?
And then for those of you who've reached out to me,
and you are close friends with someone who is obese,
or your loved one or your spouse has been
gaining a lot of weight and you wonder what you
can do to help them,
it's like I say for a lot of different things.
The number one thing we have to do
when someone in our life is struggling
is let them know we're there for them.
Now that doesn't mean we have to point out,
"Oh, I noticed you gained a lot of weight."
They know.
We don't need to remind them.
It's not about that.
It's letting people know we're there for them.
But the second, almost equally important,
is just being aware of your own experience,
your own prejudice, your own judgment,
the things that you think and maybe don't think they notice,
but trust me, body language and things that we do
can speak a lot louder than words sometimes.
And there's this great quote about everyone's
going through their own battles
that we don't know anything about,
so take that into consideration
when you interact with people.
And I know that I'm butchering that quote,
but the main gist is we don't know
what they're going through,
and we need to take that into consideration.
Be softer with people.
Be more understanding.
And take some time on self-discovery
for how you respond to people who are heavy.
So, I think the biggest thing that we need to remember
is taking time to explore where we are
and what we think and do, and letting those people
that are close to us know that we're there for them.
And we're here to seek to understand
and seek to help, right?
So I would just encourage you to take time
and to remind those that you love
that you're there for them.
And for those of you who are struggling with obesity
and you're worried about reaching out and
you don't know how to find a therapist and a dietician,
it is our job to make you feel comfortable,
understood, heard.
And trust me, there's no judgment
around looking for help and receiving help.
It's honestly harder, and I think shows stronger
sense of character, when we actually reach out for help.
It's harder to work to get better, right?
We all know that.
But keep working with me as we work together
towards a healthy mind and a healthy body.
So get your post-it notes.
Write some things down.
Put these on your mirrors
or on the door right before you open,
like in the morning you come out of your bedroom.
Put your post-it note there.
You see it.
It says, I'm beautiful
or I'm really good at art
or I'm amazing or whatever.
Then you go into the bathroom
and you go to brush your teeth...
So, do some self-exploration,
(helicopter whirring),
and I'm gonna wait for that helicopter
to find it's way to Malibu or wherever it's going.