Codependency and Weight with Dr. Susan Peirce Thompson, PhD

The Codependummy Podcast

-How might codependency in our relationships relate to the weight of our bodies?

-What impact does self-neglect have on our relationship with food, body, body image, and weight?

-How can codependents prioritize personal rituals in their daily routine to prioritize their physical health?

Welcome to Episode 153! This week we are joined by Dr. Susan Peirce Thompson, PhD, to investigate the connection between codependency and weight. Dr. Thompson explains how codependency and weight can relate, including how codependents may cope with their lives through food. We look at topics like self-neglect, self-sacrifice, and caregiving and how those contribute to weight loss or weight gain. Dr. Thompson shares about her work with clients and how she helps them create personal rituals to improve their relationship with food and ultimately themselves. We conclude with specific suggestions from Dr. Thompson on ways to improve our daily routine with food. It’s a must-listen!

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More on this week’s guest:

Dr. SUSAN PEIRCE THOMPSON, PH.D., is the New York Times bestselling author of Bright Line Eating, The Official Bright Line Eating Cookbook, and Rezoom. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester and an expert in the psychology of eating. She is president of the Institute for Sustainable Weight Loss and the founder of Bright Line Eating, a worldwide movement on a mission to help one million people have their Bright Transformations—the full physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional transformation that accompanies healthy, sustainable weight loss—by 2030.

https://brightlineeating.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BrightLineEating

https://www.instagram.com//brightlineeating/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKNuQvVX_3SzNALJlvieH-Q

More deets on the episode:

We begin with Dr. Thompson’s definition of codependency: when someone is doing for another what they could do for themselves. This may be for love, approval, to feel safe in themselves, or trying to prevent being hurt. She discusses the caregiver part related to IFS (Internal Family Systems) and how we often are wounded and trying to prevent further wounding.

Dr. Thompson opens up about codependency in her own life and how her mother was codependent on her while she was an addict.

We shift focus to Dr. Thompson’s specialty of our relationship to our weight. According to Dr. Thompson, our weight and codependency connect through 1) the addiction pathway; or 2) the consolation pathway. With addiction, codependents may be vulnerable to this pathway since we may rely on substances to cope with life, however, we unconsciously select substances, like food, that help us maintain all of our responsibilities. With the consolation pathway, codependents may reward themselves or view food as a “prize” for all their hard work or when things don’t go their way.

Dr. Thompson details how codependency may directly impact our weight loss or weight gain. If we use food to help us “keep it together,” then we are likely to gain weight as a consequence. In contrast, if we are so over-focused on others and fulfilling their needs, we may neglect ourselves and lose weight due to self-neglect. She shares about her program, Bright Line Eating, and how she helps people get in touch with the underlying reasons that contribute to their problems with weight. She discusses the connection between weight and food addiction and how addicts and codependents are vulnerable to cross-addictions if they do not address the core issues contributing to their addiction.

Dr. Thompson encourages us all to take her quiz at www.foodfreedomquiz.com to discover how susceptible we are to to food addiction. In order to create a healthier relationship with our weight and food, she suggests needing a more structured approach to eating, boundaries around meal time, establishing food rituals, incorporating meditation, inspirational readings, and journaling (ever heard of the 5-year journal?).

Thanks for coming on Dr. Thompson!! And thank you for being here, dear listener!

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See you next week!