Breaking The Pattern Of Overeating And Belly Stuffing
Have you ever found yourself stuck in a repetitive cycle of overeating and belly stuffing? Grabbing for the food items whenever and wherever you can? Sneaking off to fast food chains as many times a day as you can? Hiding food wrappers and eating behind closed doors? And filling yourself stupid until you feel like you can’t move but still find yourself wanting to eat more food?
All the while what you really want to do is control yourself feel healthy and lose weight. You really want to break the overeating pattern. But you find yourself trapped in this cycle and despite your best efforts you end up feeling defeated every time you try. Then you berate yourself and you’re back to the overeating and belly stuffing once again!
If this sounds familiar to you, I can relate because I’ve been there myself in the past and it’s really no fun at all. In fact I’ve been there several times, then clawed my way out of it, only to end up right back there once again.
One of the main reasons this happens is due to emotions, and more importantly, not knowing how to manage them. So we manage them by eating. Of course then it becomes an addiction, not only to the process but to the foods as well, usually sugar.
The emotions that drive us to compulsive eating range from stress, anxiety, anger, sadness, loneliness, boredom, overwhelm, and many others too. Sometimes we aren’t even aware that it is our emotional triggers driving the behavior and that’s why it can be so difficult to change.
The first step to changing it is to start being the observer. Start trying to take a step back in your thoughts and just observe. Observe what you are doing and when you are doing it. Don’t judge yourself, just simply become aware of the pattern. Is there a certain time you do it? Can you identify a particular emotion that triggers the overeating? Make a mental note of your behaviors, or better still start writing it down to get it out of your head. It will make you become clearer about the issues.
Once you become aware of the emotions and the pattern behind it, then you can begin the process of change. It’s not going to happen overnight, that’s true, but there comes a time when you’ve had enough of going round in circles so you have to make the commitment to changing it.
What you need to do is set a bit of a plan, a strategy on how you are going to deal with the behavior and emotion next time it comes around. Will you have a safety food you reach for instead? Will you use affirmations and visualizations? Will you have an activity you will use as a distraction?
The steps will be small at first and sometimes you will fail at adhering to them. That’s okay. Know that you are moving forward, working toward change. Pat yourself on the back when you get it right. And when you get it wrong, go back to observing what happened, what made you fail this time round. Keep working on perfecting the process until you make the change a permanent one.
Jedha D is a weight loss and wellness coach who is passionate about helping people get off the merry go round and change their life from the inside out. If you need help with achieving better weight loss results and a lifestyle you love, click here to visit her website for more info.
Thanks Jedha for a great guest blog post. This is definitely something a lot of people, including myself need help with. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us again on the blog.
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