mindset

Has Your Relationship with Food Defined You?

Here is a question for you… 

Who do you get to be when you’re not struggling with food and your weight? 

Your mind may search for the time in your life when food and weight wasn’t a struggle. Were you in high school and filling up (and fueling up) on Doritos, Diet Coke and Ding Dongs without a second thought? Were you in middle school, happily eating from your Scooby Doo lunch box? 

This question may be a complete mind-bend for you, and I get why. You may not recall a time in your life when food wasn’t a struggle. 

Sitting with this may open the door just a crack to new possibilities. Imagine moving through your day when you're not worried about what you’re eating. Imagine not tracking calories eaten or burned on your phone or ever stepping on the scale again. Imagine how present you are with your loved ones when your mind isn’t so busy thinking about food. 

If you can, sit in the feeling for a few moments. Notice how your body responds to this different way of being. 

You may not know what it’s like to not struggle with food because of your past. But you can start to change how you think about yourself around food today so you can open up a new future.

Trying to Think Positive Thoughts When You’re Calling Yourself Fat Doesn’t Work. Try This Instead.

“Think Lovely Thoughts”. This sweet little plaque hangs in my kitchen. Right next to the coffee maker.

I bought it at the gift shop at Kripalu, a yoga retreat center in Western Massachusetts. I remember thinking, I want lovely thoughts. Maybe this small plaque would serve as the reminder I needed.

Early in my transformational journey, I “worked” on my thoughts. Thanks to Dr. Wayne Dyer, I embraced the notion that if I changed my thoughts, I would change my life. And when it came to emotional eating and overeating, I wanted change. Lots of change.

Why I Don't Think You Need to STOP Eating Emotionally

Google “emotional eating” and you’ll immediately see articles like “Stop Eating Over Your Emotions” and “Emotional Eating: 9 Ways to Stop It”.

Typical thinking has us believing that if we are engaging in unwanted or destructive behavior that we need to STOP ourselves.

I understand the urgency. After all, smoking, drinking alcohol and overspending could have some devastating impact on our health, relationships, bank accounts and careers. “Stopping” seems to be the right course of action.