Do you ever wonder: why can’t I stop overeating?
Many of us tell ourselves today is the day we’re going to only eat so much, add in more veggies and skip the evening snacks. Maybe go for a walk or do that Zumba or yoga class we’ve been meaning to do for ages.
But then we find ourselves again giving in.
For most women I work with, this happens around the time we log off from work (or come back home), or when the kids go to bed. As the sun set’s in, the snacks come out. Can you relate?
If you find yourself trapped in the cycle, I want to shed some light on some of the most common underlying reasons why you may be having trouble controlling yourself around food. For now, I want to start with the top 3:
1. Having some kind of physical and/or mental restrictions around food: This tends to backfire and show up as what I call “revenge eating”. This typically happens in the evenings or during the weekends. Whether is a specific diet you may be following or certain foods or food groups you may be trying to avoid or you’re telling yourself you can’t have, these forms of restrictions typically then result in us wanting those foods even more and not being able to take our minds of them until we have them. Add in a tough day into the equation and you have the perfect conditions for an “I deserve this” moment.
2. Cravings due to blood sugar and other hormonal imbalances. This is a big one. I find most women need to do some work around balancing blood sugar levels in order to then address emotional overeating. Is difficult to be mindful with food when you’re feeling strong physical urges and desires for certain foods.
3. Lack of tools to manage strong emotions. Once we balance our blood sugar levels and remove dieting and restricting from our lives, why do some of us continue to overeat & binge? This is when we need to look deeper into our relationship with food and our lives in general. For many of us, food is a way (sometimes the only way) we know to numb sensations we don’t want to feel. The problem with this is that no matter how much icecream, pizza, chips or pie we eat, those uncomfortable feelings come back. Wouldn’t it serve us better to acquire tools beyond food to learn to cope?
In order to feel more peaceful and “in control” around food, is important to look deeper into our relationship with food and heal our bodies from the side and long term effects of chronic dieting. If you need help getting started, if you feel overwhelmed like I used to feel, check out my program The ObsessLess With Food Method and book your complimentary call with me to find out if TOLWFM is right for you!