Many of us are in this situation because we so desperately want to be able to control our weight but find it so exhausting that we either can’t get ourselves to start or can only manage it for a certain amount of time. Maybe it’s your body trying to save itself.
What happens when you restrict
On a cellular level your body thinks it is starving. It has no idea you are restricting your food intake voluntarily and shifts into survival mode, slowing down your metabolism and increasing your food cravings. This usually comes in the form of cravings for foods with high calorie, sugar and fat content as it looks for a way toprotect itself and get the quickest calorie consumption available. This is why many dieters find themselves weighing more than when they started the diet.
When we use restriction to try to control the number on the scale, we find ourselves even more out of control and beating ourselves up thinking, I have no will power, no discipline. Why can’t I get this right? When you break your food rules, what thoughts run through your head and how do thoughts those make you feel?
Unconditional Permission Challenge:
Might I suggest that the reason you overeat certain foods is that you are trying to control yourself around them? The #1 objection I get to this exercise is that my clients think that they will overeat the item(s) if they have them in their possession.
Chew on this: If you have access to whatever you want to eat whenever you want it AND you have unconditional permission to eat it, how long do you think you will choose chocolate before your mind and body beg you to feed it something more nutritious? What items have you been avoiding at the grocery store? Write a list of the foods that you don’t think you have control over.