The first step towards navigating this journey to food freedom, body confidence and feeling incredible in your own skin is to understand where you’re at and raise your level of awareness so you can get clear on what is really going on.
If you feel like you’re stuck in a big cloud of confusion, get ready to get very clear!
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Clarity brings a lot of peace. It shows us what we got going on which then allows us to begin navigating it.
Let’s first talk about labels; overeater, binge eater, alcohol, addict, etc.
I highly recommend you get rid of the labels. When we label we undoubtedly manifest more of that thing in our life. This isn’t some woo-woo theory, it is actually based in the laws of behavior change.
We typically look at 2 things when we want to change:
- What is our goal
- What do we need to do to achieve that goal.
When we do this we miss out on the most crucial aspect.. Our identity and belief system. Our identity is hands down the most powerful driver in our behaviors which then produces in the outcomes that we achieve in our lives.
When we attach ourselves to a label and believe “I am a binge eater” or I am xyz. That belief that is part of your identity then becomes a driving force that influences your behaviors which then influences your outcomes.
Outer layer: outcomes
Middle: behaviors
Core: Identity
We put too much of an emphasis on the outcome that we miss out on the most effective aspect of behavior change. So let’s focus on the core, the identity work which is the thing that is actually driving your behaviors + producing long term success. Sound good?
Now, instead of focusing on the destructive label I’d like you to answer the following questions:
- Do you ever feel guilt for eating?
- Do you ever feel anxious around food?
- Do you ever feel a sense of loss of control or impulsivity around food?
- Do you ever judge yourself for what you eat?
- Do you use food to copy, distract, or numb out?
- Do you fear eating certain foods?
- Do you label certain foods as good or bad?
- Do you ever feel like you’re on a roller coaster ride with food?
- Do you feel like there is no way you could trust your body/intuition to guide you?
- Do you feel like sometimes you can’t even tell your body’s hunger, fullness, + satiety cues?
If you answered yes to any of those questions..
Here’s what I know.. something is off in your relationship with food because that is not how we were designed to function. Something is out of balance and that may be causing you stress, anxiety, and overwhelm when it comes to food + your body.
If you want to access this place of bliss + what I refer to as your “Mountain Top”… where you’re off the all or nothing rollercoaster, where you’re no longer experiencing HIGH HIGHS met with these extreme lows but you’re actually climbing to a place that’s stable at the top where the view is beautiful and you feel confident in our skin and you have any easy effortless relationship with food you have to start investing your focus + intention into healing your relationship with food.
The harsh reality is that things don’t just magically heal or go away. It takes our focus and intention to rewire outdated thought cycles + habit patterns. And unfortunately once we have these habits pathways wired into our brain that send us these impulses to binge or overeat white knuckling it isn’t very effective.
When I was struggling with the binge impulse one part of my brain felt like a child throwing a tantrum to give it what it wanted while the other part was trying to be logical.. It was a mental tug of war that left me feeling crazy.
When I started to understand how the brain works and what was really going on it started to make sense.
Have you ever liked binge eating in the moment? Totally normal.
Your brain’s reward center lights up when we binge on highly palatable foods; the carbs, sugar, rich processed foods. Then our body and brain remembers that “euphoric like” feeling. And since our brain wants to move us towards pleasure and away from pain, it wants that feeling again as we encounter stress or eustress.
The prefrontal cortex is our executive functioning center; it’s responsible for reasoning and rational thoughts.. But when you’re feeling that impulse it’s coming from a different area of the brain. Hence the literal back and forth tug of war. The more we repeat this the more it gets deeply ingrained in the brain.
I share this with you to empower you with the science of what is actually happening.
Learn what Eating Style you have here.