It would seem that when it comes to food, common sense goes right out the window, as we all search for the instant fix, lose weight quick diet, magic pills, potions or lotions. The key to losing weight and feeling great is simple, we have to learn to change bad habits and develop a healthy lifestyle.
The truth is diets do not work long term and the constant bulimic yo yo binging and starving ourselves leaves us with nothing but bad moods, stress and anxiety, not to mention constantly feeling like a failure, obviously terrible for personal confidence and self esteem.
People can be addicted to food just like drugs and alcohol. A battle with compulsive over eating, food addiction, can last for years, so how do we begin to win the battle of the bulge?
It is all our hearts' desire to be healthy yet we are unable to find the discipline needed to avoid high fat, sugary foods, even though we know we are at risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease from permanent grazing and comfort eating. We have to recognize that gastric band surgery or gastric sleeve surgery are just a band aid/plaster for our emotional problems and that no amount of cream cakes will ever fill the empty void, the hole in the soul causing us to over eat. Less than 5% of weight loss surgery patients actually master their unhealthy eating habits long term because the compulsive behaviour of over eating is a symptom not the cause.
Our feelings of self worth and misery lead us straight to the fridge and the more out of control our feelings get, the more compulsive our addictions become. Facing the fact we are miserable, unhappy and empty is not easy for any of us but we are not alone, so admitting you have a problem is where you start because until you do that, nothing is going to work. Many times our compulsion or urge to eat is sub conscious. Ask yourself how many times have you found yourself finishing a packet of biscuits or bar of chocolate without even realising it?
Getting into the present through mindfulness practise is the way we learn to watch our own behaviour and catch the trigger to eat before it happens. This does take practise. We have to learn, before reaching for the food we are addicted to, to think about how bad we will feel having eaten it and over indulged then conscious diversion is the tactic, find something to do to take your mind off it, like going for a walk in the fresh air.
It is a fact most of those people who overeat use this as a distraction, eating for emotional reasons, for comfort and not because they are hungry. So over eating and obsessing about food allow the strong over powering feelings we have connected to our emotions, that keep us stuck in misery, to take over. Cravings can come suddenly and find you stuffing your face without really enjoying or taking responsibility for what you are doing in the moment. Resisting these sudden cravings that get you eating a whole packet of chocolate biscuits before you realize it, is about understanding your emotional needs, so you have to develop tools, like moving cookies to a different cupboard if you cannot stop buying them altogether, that will help you recognize this pattern in the moment, then trigger something in your brain to stop you and change direction, before you over indulge. You have to get to to the root cause of the craving. What is driving you to eat. The thing causing you pain you are subconsciously looking to alleviate.
People who have a balanced emotional state, stick to a balanced diet.
The brutal truth is simple. Food we love works for us, lifting our mood in the short term, the instant fix and becomes a way of coping to help us ease the pressure of unwanted emotions, like anger, sadness, disappointment, fear and self-hatred. So we have to learn to give up the short term fix in favour of our happiness because in the long term it will not help us with our personal development or a healthy body weight. It is hard to imagine a life with long term goals and plans, requiring a determined spirit, discipline and will power to get you there but it is the only way to help set your free from your food addiction, which is not really about loving food at all but about feeling bad inside.
Consciously visualizing eating, i.e. chewing and swallowing your favourite bad for you foods, combined with something unpleasant like something moldy, or hair off the floor over time will re train your subconscious making those foods way less desirable. If you are looking to give up eating meat, imagining killing the animal yourself and then butchering it before cooking will make it a lot less appealing next time you are tempted by the smell of a juicy sizzling steak.
Once you manage to resist over eating once, the next time will be so much easier. Self esteem comes from self discipline. When the right foods do in the inside, health, beauty and vitality is radiated on the outside. When you are radiating health and vitality, you become more attractive and people respond differently to you. The reason you actually are what you eat. Keeping a journal of your journey, with each small success learning to believe in yourself, is the key. Once you start eating the right foods, you will be amazed at the lift in your moods.
Photo by Chance Agrella, courtesy of FreeRange