Fear of Weight Gain: What it is. Why you have it. How to rewire it.

We live in a culture that glorifies thinness. For people who attempt to suppress their bodyweight in order to achieve this culturally celebrated thinness, the behaviors they engage in (dietary restriction, exercise etc) serve to reinforce their belief that weight gain is a threat to them. With continual reinforcement, the brain increasingly views weight gain as a threat, and therefore something to be feared. When a person's brain fears weight gain, they experience a host of negative emotions whenever they engage in any activity that could potentially lead to weight gain — such as, eat more than usual, or exercise less. This fear response leads to the continuation of behaviours that are designed to suppress bodyweight — such as dietary restriction, purging, and excessive exercise regimes. It is fear of weight gain that is responsible for the feelings of negative body image that so many people in our culture experience. This book outlines the implicit biases and subsequent behaviors that lead to fear of weight gain developing, then goes on to explain the neural rewiring required to overcome it.