Dr. Jeanne King

Battered Women - 7 Secrets of Successful Weight Loss for Abuse Survivors

Weight management is an issue for many women. However, when you're a battered woman, it gets even more complex because you are dealing with inner and outer control. Read on to learn 7 eating tips to help you manage your weight.

Domestic violence survivors hear it all the time: "You're too fat." "Your hair is too short, too long, you're a dummy, you're too fat, you can't, you won't, you shouldn't, you're too fat!" Sound familiar.

It's no wonder that domestic abuse survivors develop dysfunctional relationships with their bodies and unhealthy eating habits. Far be it for him to see me enjoying a candy bar...so I'll sneak it in and have it while alone in my car.

As one survivor shared, pulling out that snickers in the privacy of her car was her way of both satisfying her chocolate craving and doing so without reprimand or guilt over indulging in a personal pleasure.

Or how about this one: When I pull up to the table to have dinner with you, I'll serve you and nibble on what's on my plate. Then shortly after "our meal," I'll treat myself to the leftovers or a second helping of what I really wanted to eat during dinner.

Domestic violence survivors who are inundated with the commentary that their bodies are unappealing, or too large, gradually cultivate an unhealthy relationship with their body and with themselves.

Here are some important habits to acquire to insure that you maintain a healthy relationship with food, eating and with your body.

1) Have your entire meal in one sitting and don't start another until that meal is completely digested.

2) Introduce variety into your diet and into your meals, satisfying all five tastes during your main meal.

3) Enjoy the foods you love in public and the entitlement you feel from the permission you give yourself.

4) If the table is met with hostility, stress or anger, hold off on having your meal.

5) Know the feeling of your body being satisfied and the signs of your body being hungry...never to be confused with "time eating" or "emotional eating."

6) Eat only when you are hungry and stop when you are 75% full.

7) Do not eat in a hurry. If time doesn't permit for eating in a pleasantly comfortable evenly paced un-rushed fashion, then the time is not right to eat. Wait until it is.

If you follow these guidelines regularly, you will be pleasantly surprised to see: how you reach for what's good for you; how good you feel and how good you look, no matter what your partner says about your weight. You will come to know your body as your temple. You will own it, manage it and it will serve your highest good.

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