Earlier this week, I shared a free training with you where I talked about why sometimes the best approach is to ignore the obvious. I gave you a new model for how to take the power back from food – that has much less to do with food than you might think.
In the case of overeating, ignoring the obvious not attacking the problem by focusing on food (which is what most people do).
Ignoring the obvious means digging deeper and paying attention to WHY food and overeating are showing up for you the way they are and taking a longer-range view so that you can create long-term success.
A few days ago I was working with a client who had had a very bad week. Unexpected emergencies, a crazy week in her business, back-to-school stress, and the usual surprises had done a number on her. She was in a funk, overeating and mindlessly stress eating, and feeling like she had lost all the progress she had made. Food had the upper hand again and she couldn’t seem to shift the pattern.
When we started our coaching session, she said, “I feel like I’ve thrown out all the habits I’ve been developing and I’m back on autopilot again” and she wasn’t sure what to do to get back on track.
When she talked about what she needed to change about the food to be eating the way that she wanted, her voice was tight, and she sounded stressed and exhausted just thinking about it.
She felt it too and in that moment, she did one of the things we’ve been working on. She ignored the obvious.
Even though her overeating was one of her primary concerns, she knew that if she focused on the food, not only was she going to feel more burdened, stressed, and tired – she would also not succeed.
“I need to get my life back in balance. I need to rest. I need to create some order. I know that when this happens, the food is going to follow.”
Just like that, she created a targeted agenda that she believed in.
And the next steps we outlined had nothing to do with food – but they had everything to do with overeating.
We tackled a plan for easing her to-do list and for carving time out for herself (both to rest and to have fun). We identified the boredom that was causing her to decide to snack to try to soothe herself and came up with a different strategy that she is going to try. We came up with a few simple things that she can do now to start feeling more effective in her life.
Overeating takes place in the context of your life. If you ignore all the complications that life throws at you, managing the food piece quickly gets stressful and impossible. And it’s no fun at all.
Take a moment to take your own inventory. Where is life contributing to your overeating? What can you do to begin to take the power back?
Choose something small and absolutely do-able. It doesn’t have to be the complete solution, it just has to be the first step.
Take good care,
