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If you Google the term "divorce diet," more than five million results turn up. It's a pop culture-type of term, not found in any medical textbook. "Divorce diet" refers to a phenomenon known to many people who are facing or going through a divorce — it's the rather quick loss of body weight due to a number of factors, depending on the individual who is losing the weight:
A Not-Deliberate Weight Loss
For many individuals, having a spouse reveal an affair, ask for (or demand) a divorce, or simply serve them with divorce papers triggers a level of stress that throws their whole world-view into chaos. The pounds may fall away without the individual making any effort to lose weight — thus, the "divorce diet." The term is something of a misnomer, since the individual is not deliberately trying to go on a diet to lose weight.
The Death of a Relationship
As Dr. Daniela Schreier, a professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology explains, "Divorce is toward the top of the list of the most stressful life events…it's second only to death; in many ways, divorce is a death — the death of a dream, of a relationship, of the person you thought you knew."
Both Women and Men
In addition, it's not only women who may unwillingly "go on the divorce diet." Dr. Schreir stated that "I see weight loss during a divorce in both men and women…in fact, I see it in breakups of same-sex relationships — maybe more frequently with gay people, because body image is so strong."
Other healthcare professionals have noted that some patients report an increase in their calorie intake during or after a divorce — the "comfort food" factor. Still other individuals simply fall back into old (pre-marriage eating patterns, whether the patterns were good or bad.
(Source: dallasnews)
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