Overeating, or eating in a way that isn’t helping you achieve your goals isn’t about food. And yet, when you decide it’s time to lose weight, it’s tempting to start the process by focusing on what, when, and how much you are going to eat. Unfortunately, this leaves out the most essential issue.
Before you focus on what or how much to eat, ask yourself WHY you are overeating.
You can study food, nutrition, and diets all day long, but unless you take care of the reason food has power over you, making the right choices will always be a struggle. If you are having a hard time following through on all the rules, wisdom, and plans you’ve heard over the years, you are definitely not alone.
Before you get frustrated with yourself (again), listen up:
You are a smart, resourceful woman. And your choices with food, (including overeating) happen for a reason.
- Maybe you are too busy to do the things you think you “should.”
- Or you’re too tired to even think about them – let alone take action.
- Maybe food is an easy way to take care of stress or worry or to comfort yourself after a hard day.
- For busy women, food often becomes the fastest way to “take care of YOU” when you feel like all your time and energy are getting sucked up by responsibilities and to-do lists.
As the season starts to change and the kids go back to school, many people start thinking about tackling a project or getting back on track with their eating and their weight loss goal. If you’re thinking about this too, I suggest you do it differently this time.
The familiar ways probably aren’t working anyway.
This time, instead of starting with what to eat, start with asking yourself:
What’s driving your overeating?
Why does food hold the power it does?
What hidden hungers or needs is overeating helping you tend?
What problem or area of your life could you address to make food less interesting?
Tackling these issues makes all the difference.
Take good care,
