You Love Food, But It Doesn't Love You

Welcome to the first “Mindful Weighs Wednesday Weigh In”. Here I will take the time each Wednesday to “weigh in” on some aspect of weight loss in order to bring you more “Mindful Weighs” to lose the pounds you desire.

So many people tell me they love food and believe it solves a problem in their life. Food makes them feel better, and more at ease - but I want to let you know that food doesn’t care one ounce for you - so what do we do about this relationship disconnect? Why is it, that we put so much pressure on food to make us happy, provide us with comfort, and supply us with happiness? All the reasons we hear sound so good - and sometimes they may serve a purpose, but for the most part its all a mind scam, and now, over the past 30 years, we have created tremendous overhunger and overdesire for food. Let’s begin by looking at how culture and psychology sabotage this relationship.

Everything in our culture revolves around food. We want to see old friends - and we plan to meet at the local restaurant. We want to bribe a child - and we go for ice cream. We want to celebrate an anniversary - and we call for reservations. But what happens when we go out? We are served crazy portion sizes, and growing up we were taught to eat everything on our plate, so now here we are a society of overweight individuals.

How does psychology play a part in the process of access weight? As children we are not truly taught to manage our emotions. Most of us still live in a state of emotional childhood, and do not take full responsibility for our feelings, therefore not knowing how to cope. So instead, we turn to food as a buffer. Think about it - your high school boyfriend broke up with you - and you went to the freezer for the container of ice cream. It’s a rainy gloomy day - and you opt for the comfort bowl of macaroni and cheese. We think food makes us feel better - and we “love” food — but my friends - food does not love us, and therefore we need to figure out how to balance this relationship better.

So what do we do? First, take full responsibility for the body you currently live in. When you accept something and own it, you have all the power to change it. Actively accepting your body does not mean giving up. Actively accepting is the complete opposite - it allows you to become empowered by observing and purposefully deciding to make the necessary changes. Start being more mindful in watching how you relate to food. Start paying attention to the power you give food over your emotions. Taking time to become aware is such an important step in losing weight. But remember - do not beat yourself up as you start to notice patterns - this is simply an exercise in watching your relationship with food, and deciding if you want to continue down the same path, or make the changes to bring your life to the next level.

This week I encourage you to take the time to deliberately decide to have your own back. Own where you are, and start dreaming about where you want to be.

Good luck finding more #mindfulweighs to become amazed at what you can accomplish!