Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Take It Easy - on yourself

Researchers are taking a closer look at the concept of self-compassion and its role in helping people stay on course with their weight loss and fitness goals.

From Tara Parker-Pope's health column in the New York Times:
The research suggests that giving ourselves a break and accepting our imperfections may be the first step toward better health. People who score high on tests of self-compassion have less depression and anxiety, and tend to be happier and more optimistic. Preliminary data suggest that self-compassion can even influence how much we eat and may help some people lose weight.

4 comments:

Roxie said...

It's been a life-changing experience for me, to be sure.

Christy said...

You gotta love yourself!

Jenners said...

My problem is that I am too compassionate to myself. I need to be a little harder on myself, if anything.

dkuroiwa said...

i feel very comfortable with myself, usually....but i live in a society where the people are smaller and in a culture that comes across as being all nice and all? they can be just as mean and biting in their comments as the rest of the world.
the japanese are becoming a larger group of people...western food has changed the way that most people eat and you can tell. what i have found, with people who don't really know me, they may make comments on the lines of "oh sure, i'm heavy, but...i'm not as heavy as the foreigner over there".
it's hard to keep that self-confidence going when faced with that kind of attitude....i try. but i'ts hard.