Are you overweight and struggling with food addictions that are making your life miserable?
I know what it’s like to feel enslaved by your cravings.
The ‘grownup’ conscious mind part of you wants to go cold turkey and give up the sugar, fat, or any other food that is making you unhealthy and sick, but when that next wave of stress hits, the subconscious kid in you, begs you to get that food and eat as much as you can until you feel satisfied enough to make it all go away. Before the food is digested, you’re filled with feelings of regret, guilt and shame.
Before you know it, decades go by with each day folding into the next, the cycle continues and you make a promise that this day will be different, but…
nothing ever really changes.
It’s never easy to change old habits, but it’s especially difficult to do, when you’re under stress. And you just want to eat to feel better.
After a tough day, sitting down to eat a big plate of fast food and loafing on the sofa is so much easier and more tempting than spending time preparing a healthy meal and working out. You’re a busy gal with so much to do. And who has time for that anyway?
As the author of the book, “Lovin’ the Skin You’re In,” I’m passionate about empowering women to love their bodies, no matter what, so I’m often asked the question, “What is the difference between self-acceptance and giving up?
People often make the mistake and think that the only way to get healthy is to lose weight and the only way to lose weight is to eat less. They just don’t get it and it makes me crazy to see how it’s all so oversimplified.
In reality, if you’re unhappy with your body and the state of your health, your weight is not the problem. It’s a symptom. It’s true if you consume less calories than you burn, your body is primed to lose weight, but there’s so much more to it than that.
I’ve struggled with dieting for nearly 34 years and when I decided to stop cold turkey, the weight piled on. For the past several years I’ve been under unimaginable stress so I was eating excess amounts of sugar and fat.
Because I had gotten so good at being more self-compassionate, I had no issues with forgiving myself for overeating, but that didn’t change the fact that the chemical load that I was consuming on a daily basis was harmful to my health.
In October 2013, curiosity led me to take a class and learn more about nutrition.
On the first day we were told that we would be keeping a food journal. The idea of tracking my food intake was so horrifying that as soon as class ended, I ran across the street to Pathmark and bought a package of six candy bars and ate them as soon as I got home. I got so sleepy I had to take a nap.
I sludged through the rest of the 6 week class making half- hearted attempts to change my eating, but I just couldn’t seem to make those commitments. Every week we were encouraged to set goals and I made sure that mine were nearly effortless. While most people decided to give up sugar and stop eating chips, I just said that I would eat more vegetables. I watched a lot of people lose a lot of weight and then get frustrated and put it back on.
In December, I sold my home and moved with my family. That was when I started having chest pains and other health-related issues. That was the wake-up call that I needed to change my eating habits.
When I took stock and realized all the emotional reasons why I was holding onto my excess weight, I knew that my overeating was coming from feeling unsafe.
I was uncertain of the future of my marriage. I was grieving the loss of my home. I was feeling sad that my daughter, Cara is headed for The Culinary Institute of America next month. I was worried about my business. Every time I thought about any of these situations, I wanted to run to eat, even if I had already eaten.
I decided to use a stress relief method called EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique to gradually address my fears and emotional conflicts that kept me in patterns of overeating. I didn’t get really serious about making changes until I dealt with the fears and insecurites I was feeling.
Now I’ve changed the way that I think about overeating. I don’t like the way it feels in my body. I used to equate having a lot of food in my stomach with feelings of comfort, not so much anymore.
It feels good to know that I’m not helpless and that I can take action to change what I want.
I know that I deserve so much more than the food coma that I used to serve up for dinner each night. Now I know that loving myself means doing whatever I need to live a long and happy life.
I’ve made radical changes since then that include losing weight, joining the gym, doing Tae Bo, working out just for fun and mostly for stress relief. I’m also still keeping a food journal, eating on a budget and banking calories, and joyfully working with a nutritionist. And this all started with the tiniest of baby steps.
My little goal: I just decided to start eating more vegetables and I did. And that was easy, so I felt okay enough to keep pushing myself further.
How ‘bout you? Do you want to get healthier and break the cycle of crazy that comes with trying to give up cold turkey? What tiny goal can you set to move a baby step forward? Leave a comment on my Facebook page and share your story.
Are you overweight and struggling with food addictions that are making your life miserable? Big changes require the smallest of steps. Let me share with you what’s been working for me.