Overcome Overeating and NEVER diet again!

Food control is difficult for most of us. We may feel possessed by urges to stuff ourselves full of excess calories. We are then listening to the voice of our “Chew”. We all have a “Chew”, also known as our “saboteur”. This is the part of each of us that says, “Go ahead, eat whatever you want. You deserve it! It is OK to dive right into that sugary, carbohydrate-laden snack. Life is tough! Enjoy it all! You can worry about your weight/health tomorrow, or Monday, or next week!” Do any of those messages sound familiar?

It is fine to indulge now and then. Life is to be enjoyed and so is food. For most of us, however, stopping eating can be tricky at times. We crave. We overeat. We feel bad about it. We admonish ourselves which leads to more craving and continued overeating and then, no matter how much we put into our mouths, we often don’t feel satiated.

This is because satisfying the “Chew” requires more than candy bars, sodas and pasta. Being truly satiated means attending to all of our needs, not simply our need for food. We have to fuel our bodies regularly to function and must make nutritious choices as often as we can. This does not mean eating perfectly at all times. We also require other things such as adequate rest, plenty of water, exercise, companionship and laughter.

We are not simple or one-dimensional. We are complex beings with multiple needs and we have to nurture our emotional, intellectual and spiritual selves as well as our bodies. We may be doing our best to fulfill our physical needs for nourishment, rest, sunshine and exercise but we may not be quite as tuned in to nourishing to our whole selves. We have many needs and these are often neglected. We try to look perfect and eat perfectly. This is not possible! We cannot do it. WE get frustrated and then emotional eating begins. Most of us would never expect others to behave perfectly at all times, nor would we punish them if they occasionally overindulged.

It is the human way to overeat sometimes and, at other times to eat less. It is striving for perfection that gets us into trouble. We are human and set ourselves up to fail if we strive to be perfect. We set this impossible goal, fail to meet it and then feel like failures. We punish ourselves, head for the nearest “fix” of chocolate, pasta or cookies to feel better.

Check in with yourself to decide what you really want and need at every moment. It often is not food. Live your life with zest and enjoy every minute. You deserve nothing less!