Is Your Mouth Really Lonely, Or Is It Something Else?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this…”I don’t know why I overeat, I just do. It makes me happy in the moment, and I can’t help it.” The best quote I’ve heard is, “My mouth gets lonely.” As chuckle-worthy as that is, it’s also problematic. When we continue to dismiss our overeating habits as “I can’t help it,” or “It’s the only thing that soothes my stress,” we’re avoiding things that maybe we don’t *want* to take a closer look at. But I’m here to tell you, beauties and cuties, that if you don’t look at it up close then you won’t permanently lose the weight you want to lose.
I know, I know…right now your brain is screaming, “You’ll have to rip the sleeve of Oreos out of my cold, dead hands, you bitch!” And yeah, I GET IT. It feels terrible to think about a life without our favorite source of comfort. It’s our stability, right? Our routine. But let me ask you this…is that really your best idea of a good time? Sitting on your couch eating cookies straight out of the bag, binge-watching episodes of The Sopranos?
All right, yeah. That can be relaxing. So instead of eating the entire container, start with putting a handful of cookies into a bowl instead of bringing the bag with you to the couch. That right there is a step forward in progress. And that’s how it’s done. Small steps. Gradual steps. And if you can’t do something consistently and/or with ease, you’re probably trying to change too much at one time. Back up and reset.
DON’T FLIP A TABLE, though. We want to avoid being that pianist muppet from Sesame Street crying, “I’ll never get it, NEVER!” and banging his head into the piano keys. There is no “starting over” anymore. You’re pivoting. You’re learning, experimenting, figuring out what works to get you to the next small change that will help get the extra weight to get lost for good.
We can learn to soothe ourselves with things other than food by learning how to rewire our brain slowly and deliberately. Being aware of it is the first step. Try this for your next step…when you find yourself itching to hit the pantry, pick up your phone and set a timer for ten minutes first. Sit with the restlessness for that ten minutes. Be willing to write down the thoughts that are racing through your mind while you sit in that unease and discomfort. And after the ten minutes is up, then you can give yourself permission to go to the pantry. Rinse and repeat this week. And please tell me what you discover, either in the comments or send me an email: dana@revolution-within.com
Why write down your thoughts? Because that’s where you’ll find your answer to the question, “Why do I need soothing every night?” I can’t answer that for you; we can only answer that one for ourselves. And it may take several times over to get to the root of why you’re doing this. But I promise that when you start uncovering these thoughts and actually feeling the feelings you’re soothing with food, you will see a difference in your approach to weight loss. That’s the magic right there.
And I’m here to help you navigate it all. Email me at dana@revolution-within.com and we’ll get started today.
Love and hugs,
Dana