I have a great respect for Dr.Phil and his "tell it like it is" philosophy. However yesterday I think he was a little out of his league. Now saying that, I do realize that there are people out there that are overweight strickly because of emtional eating. BUT so many of us...including some of those women on the show yesterday, suffer from insulin resistance and no matter how much therapy we are in we wont get a ahndle on our weight and gain control of our eating until we deal with the "carb demons" I dont think Dr. Phil realizes that many people over eat because of an actual physical craving-caused by an imbalance in our systems. Any thoughts on this?

I started to watch this program but switched the channel...I find Dr. Phil a little out of his league on many issues including the one yesterday...I understand he is primarily a motivator and does possibly help some folks but I personally am a little tired of his know all attitude... just my thoughts

Bonnie

But he would say there is no such thing and stopp making excuses for yourself. I do eat for emotional resons so what he says does hit home. These are repeats but they are great timing for the summer months.

Take what he says and apply it to your low carb and you'll have total success!

I stopped watching Oprah many years ago. I would agree that I have eaten for emotional reasons but I also agree that my body does indeed crave carbohydrates and that I need to change my eating habits (as I've done) which in turn helps with the hormones/emotions.

I think Oprah likes to try to fix everyone else so she won't have to take a good look at herself.

Have a great low carb day,
Maureen (Who finally let go of Pork Rinds, one day at a time!)

I saw this and thought that while some of the things he said were good, he was WAY out of line thinking he could just sit there and tell everyone who is overweight that it is because of an emotional issue. Good grief... who does he think he is? I found myself yelling at the tv. *lol*

I do believe that he thinks he has the solution to everyone's problems, regardless of what they are. I wonder what "pay off" he is getting from that himself.

What I got from Dr. Phil is it comes down to choices. We have to take personal responsibility for being over weight and stop blaming our emotions, hormones, genetics, or what ever else you want to blame it on. Everyone knows that it comes down to eating the right food and exercise.

I happen to think Dr. Phil is right on target!

It has taken me about 2 years of off and on low-carbing to get to a point where I can say that. What I mean is that I have finally started figuring out why I'm over-weight and why I have allowed myself to fail.
I had an excuse for everything. There were women who ate for more than just emotional reasons and his deal is that you need to find out why your eating - what's the pay off. He never said it would be easy but that we as human beings have to ability to change our habits. It is hard to do. You have to have a strategy and just changing you mental state isn't going to be enough but that is where you have to start.
When you allow yourself to be open to the truth, albiet - the truth can hurt sometimes.....You can begin to heal and overcome these obstacles.

So, here's to you Dr. Phil from one true-blue fan

We have to first remember that Dr. Phil started out as a general practice medical doctor. We all know that MDs don't get much training in nutrition.

I really like Dr. Phil, and I think he's right on alot of counts. He hit the nail on the head that many of us DO have underlying reasons why we eat. I think that many overweight people have low self esteem and we all know the predjudices that fat people endure.

However, what really bothered me is that he kept saying that metabolism plays no part in this equation. Even when the older woman said that menopause slowed her metabolism and he agreed, he only said that that may account for 5-10 lbs but not 50-100.

What he may not realize is that yo yo dieting DOES slow down the metabolism and that if you really work hard at it, you can speed it back up. Once your body is so efficient that you don't need much to sustain it, it will be very difficult to lose weight even if you do solve your emotional problems associated with it. I, for one have really been trying hard to lose weight, but seem to be at a standstill. According to Dr. Phil, I should be losing tons of weight.

I really like Dr. Phil, but we must learn to apply his approach to ourselves and then also apply what we have learned here. I like his get real approach, I like when he says that we make the choice and we must accept the consequences (good or bad). I like when he says we must first acknowlege our problems if we are to solve them.

Dr. Phil can get almost nasty to some folks, but sometimes it takes that to shock people into reality. I know once my mother-in-law made a nasty comment about my weight and I proceded to lose quite a lot of weight. I did it for the wrong reasons, though. I lost the weight to "show" her. He wants us to do it for ourselves.

Sorry I wrote so much. I really am a fan of Dr. Phil

Carol

Ah, but he didn't say that. He said "tough, you have to deal with the cards you're dealt."

To me, this simply means that a slow metabolism should not give you an excuse to give up trying.

Many of us who lose slowly due to various reasons and conditions and/or drugs, get demotivated. We know that we lose really slow. We know that if we keep at it, at least we won't gain back or gain more weight.

We know these things, but we still give up and indulge. We just say "oh, my XYZ condition is slowing my metabolism". Well, there are two options available: 1) Give up and and use that as an excuse, or 2) Deal with it, and keep at it, slow or fast.

I haven't read any of his books, but I'm familiar with his cognetive techniques, and I find them based on Dyer's "Erroneous Zones".

The erroneous zone in this case is that we start enjoying our excuse. Telling ourselves (and maybe others) "I have a slow metabolism because I have XYZ, and use ABC medication" is a way to justify giving up. What are the rewards of this behaviour? 1) Makes us feel better avoiding the hard work needed to be done, 2) Getting sympathy from others.

The work needed to be done is often known to us, it's just hard work. Excuses are much easier. We often don't requie more knowledge to start, we tend to wait until we hit the bottom.

This does not mean the person doesn't really have a slow metabolism, due to real physical reasons. It simply means that you have to deal with it. Slow metabolism is not zero metabolism, and you if you follow a healthy plan and exercise for life you will get a lot of benefit, if you do the work and have patience..

Wa'il

Are you a psychologist? You really know where Dr. Phil is coming from. I agree that you must keep trying, no matter what situation you are in. I really do like his approach, even if sometimes he seems a little too harsh. He makes people realize where they are and what they must do to get to where they want to be.

But even though he said tough, you have to deal with it, he did say that metabolism couldn't be used as an excuse because it really wasn't that big a factor that is could be used in the equation. (not his words, just my interpretation)

Carol

LOL, yes, I have one single patient that I'm working on for life

You know what, the usage of "but" is another one of those erroneous zones

And yes, he's still right, metabolism shouldn't be used as an excuse.

In the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal. If we decide to make the lifestyle changes, a slower metabolism shouldn't stop that plan. Taking 3 or 5 years to reach goal instead of 3 or 5 months is not a big deal, if the change is for life. Looking back at it after 20 or 30 years, we'd be happy we didn't quite for any excuse.

His "tone" is a bit harsher than Dyer, but it is a useful technique to wake someone up. Many people nowdays use psychological mumbo jumbo they memorized from self-help books, and rely on that instead of (not with) basic common sense.

Wa'il

I agree with Wa'il. You can either use excuses - oh, poor me! - or search for a way to deal with, heal or speed up your metabolism. Or anything else.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. It applies to the thoughts that make our realities as well as actions.

Karen

For both my wieght gain and depression it was my hormones (child birth). It took me 2 years to get over the depression now I'm working on the weight.

Great idea DuPont!

Here was one of mine:

"I'm just fine with being fat. I'll accept myself the way I am!"

In other words, I'm not ready to let go of my food addiction.

Karen

Not neccesarily.

It could go like this: "I'll accept myself the way I am, and deal with the issues."

I think it's another "erroneous zone" when we set milestones in order to come to self acceptance. i.e. "when I lose weight, I'll be happy".

The best way to lose the fat, is to love yourself as fat as you are. This self-love and acceptance can motivate you to do things for yourself and your body, that otherwise are hard to do. Hating our bodies is not as motivational as loving them.

Wa'il