Are you tired of always obsessing about food?

IsMollyReallyHungry

Are you tired of always obsessing about food? :yawn:

by Katie Jay, MSW, Certified Wellness Coach
Director, National Association for Weight Loss Surgery
www.nawls.com

I am working with a coaching client who had put on
about 30 extra pounds since reaching her weight-loss-
surgery goal. One of the actions she chose to take
to begin to work on her problem was recording what
she was eating.

After two weeks of setting that goal and not meeting
it, I suggested she explore what else might work for
her.

"But I want to record what I eat!" she said. "I'm
just too embarrassed to write it down and share it
with you."

I assured her she was going to be sharing this
information with someone who well understood her
problem, someone who had been battling the food
demon her whole life, as well.

"Okay, so if I take my embarrassment out of the
equation," she reasoned, "I'm still left with not
wanting to admit what I'm eating. I don't want to
give up the foods I love. I want to eat them anytime
I want!"

In the next breath she blurted out, "Why is it so
hard to stop eating? I want to be thin. I don't want
to go back to not being able to get out of a chair!"

Eating anything you want, whenever you want, is
not freedom.

If you really think about it, eating with free
abandon does not feel like freedom for people who
struggle with compulsive eating. In fact, being a
prisoner to food thoughts and mindless eating 24/7
can be miserable.

Trapped by cravings and food thoughts, a person
will conduct their daily business and make their
daily decisions based on the eating they want to do.

"I can't go to the play tonight," you might say.
"I am not feeling well. I think I'm coming down with
something."

But, what you are thinking may be, "I want to eat
the rest of the bread I bought today. With butter!
But, I'll have to pace myself. It will take me all
evening to eat it."

Does this scenario paint a picture of a person who
is experiencing freedom? Or does the bread have then
trapped?

After weight loss surgery, many people get into the
habit of grazing, or eating small amounts frequently.
That's what my client was doing.

She mistakenly believed grazing was a way to be free
from the shackles of dieting and food plans. And she
hated diets and food plans!

Unstructured eating, however, can quickly lead to
eating unhealthy foods in unhealthy portions. (Yes,
even if you tell yourself you'll never go back to the
unhealthy foods you used to eat.)

A rebelliousness exists inside most overeaters, and
they don't want to give up their freedom to choose
what to eat and when. Step back, though and give
yourself the "Dr. Phil" treatment. Ask yourself,
"And how well is my rebellious attitude working for
me?"

It's time to live in the solution.

Many people who struggle with their weight never
lose obsessive thoughts about food, but that's partly
because they are not living in the solution.

The people who are the most successful at breaking
free from the burden of unhealthy eating, have
transitioned from being rebellious (reactive) to
responsible (proactive).

They spend some time planning. They establish a
routine with boundaries around their eating, so that
they don't get carried away.

Ironically, when you add some structure to your
eating by making a food plan for the day, an amazing
sense of freedom can set in - freedom FROM compulsive
eating.

So, if you're struggling with obsessive food thoughts
and overeating, make a food plan today. Write it down
and refer to it often. Give yourself the gift of one
day of freedom from overeating.

Oh, and the "rebellious" client I've been working
with has lost 6 pounds already.

She told me, "I'm amazed at how much less I obsess
about food now that I make my plan every morning. I
just write down what I'm going to eat for the day,
and then I go live my life."

*********************************************************

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National Association for Weight Loss Surgery

AnnieeR

Thanks for posting that! That's a great article!! I was actually just thinking the other day that since I've become used to logging my food and exercise every day it's become much less a point of obsession. You would think it might be the opposite, but it hasn't been!

lilmissy2

Thanks for posting It is a great article. Different things work for different people and planning/logging food intake is one of the good ones. For binge eaters in particular though, they often have a plan of what they are going to eat and if you ask them to report their diet they will tell you this perfect plan and to an extent they do actually believe they are eating that because they don't realise how much their binges contribute (especially if they are only weekly or so). It's such a hard thing to beat, always good to hear success stories!

jalara

bump!

sgsnow79

Great article -thanks!

Bump!

FabulousFifty

Wow! I want that freedom! Thanks for this post.

fitgirljudy

That is a great article & some of the best information I've ever heard. It's such a reversal of what we think - in food addiction. Thanks for sharing it !!:bigsmile: