This month I have had interactions with two people who were coming to terms with their current situation regarding food and their bodies. The first person told me that “she knew that she would always be overweight.” The second informed me that “She’s always going to be bulimic and she’s just going to have to find ways to control it.”
One of the main reasons both people were in these situations is because they truly believed there was no way out. This is completely understandable when we continually have experiences in our lives that corroborate this type of thinking. Or we’ve been told by others that we can’t change, so we don’t.
However, if we continue to think like this, we will be absolutely stuck where we are because we will not be open to an alternative, as we feel it is useless.
The first person is now working with me through my natural eating course and is starting to change his mindset as he is now starting to have positive experiences that show change is possible. You know it won’t happen overnight, but now you build on the successes and just reflect on the challenges and keep moving forward. She no longer focuses on the weight, but instead listens to his body and tunes into his natural instincts.
Another way we sometimes settle for food is to eat something we really don’t want. This could be because:
We are trying to be “nice” and end up eating something healthy when we really wanted something unhealthy.
Someone has offered us something and we don’t want to be rude and decline.
What we really want is not available and it is too much trouble to get it.
What usually happens with all of these scenarios is that we end up overeating. This is because we have settled for what we did not want, so we are not emotionally satisfied. That’s why we keep thinking about food and keep eating looking for that magical feeling.
However, it will never come unless you eat exactly what you want. When you do, you feel full very quickly and can often be happy with a very small serving. This is because you wanted something, allowed yourself to have it, and focused while eating it. This allows you to stop when your body has had enough.
Therefore, I encourage you to reflect on your food choices and see if you are accommodating in some circumstances. If so, keep in mind that you can eat exactly what you want and feel satisfied every time you eat. You will probably find that you eat significantly less.
