Dr. Phil's Ultimate Weight Loss Solution
Step 7: Cope Without Food
 

I strongly advise building simple relaxation into your daily life. If you're upset and treat yourself to a bag of candy because you "deserve it," get real. There are better ways to take care of yourself and restore calm. The alternatives include, but are not limited to, exercise (including yoga), meditation, deep breathing and listening to music. By most research accounts, these natural and inexpensive activities work directly on your nervous system by releasing endorphins, your brain's natural tranquilizers, to reduce anxiety.

Now you may be thinking: "Relaxation, breathing exercises, are you kidding? Give me something to eat!" My message to you right now is simply this: Guard against being close-minded. Your challenge is to consider all the possible coping skills available to you, other than eating, that will bring you the payoffs of peace and balance. Be willing to plunge into the unknown. Leave behind the safe, unchallenging, and familiar existence in order to have more.

As you incorporate tension-reducing activities in your life, you'll see that something as simple as breathing deeply can help you calm down so that you can avoid medicating yourself with food. As you learn to better manage your negative emotions, their frequency and intensity will fade, and you'll be less and less likely to slide back into self-destructive patterns. Your life will become much more orderly, peaceful and fulfilling. You'll push your emotional life to the best levels of who you are in your mind and heart. You'll have a newfound sense of freedom. You'll feel good about yourself and your body. You'll feel good about life, and you will live it to the fullest and best of your ability.

Rethink Weight Loss
Regaining control of your feelings is not only the key to losing weight, but also to your overall well-being. These seven steps will show you how to do it!

From the October 2003 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine