This is the section I feel benefits people the most. The mind controls all of your actions, including overeating. Have you ever heard the quote about changing your thoughts and you will change your life? Well, that is what this section is all about. If you are able to acknowledge that you need to work on a certain area in your life, but you remain unhappy, frustrated, and are behaving in ways that yield the opposite results; in most cases, you need to work on what's going on inside of your head.
The first step in this process is recognizing what your thoughts are. Just like the last section, Christie gives us a few questions to answer. There are 7 in her e-book, so I will answer 3 for you today.
- Do you believe that food, weight, and your body image has to be a struggle? Not at all. In short, if I felt like it had to be a struggle, I would just accept it and not attempt to work on making it better.
- Do you "fight" against cravings and wanting to eat "forbidden" food? Why? Yes. Yes. Yes. I fight with myself because I know that I do not need to have certain foods in my life. It is not necessary and I know I eat certain foods because they feel good, not for their nutritious value. For instance, when I crave salt my mood changes when I do not have it. I get cranky and irritable. Once I indulge in a salty snack (usually chips), a calmness comes over me. I know that I should not get calm from eating a chip. That is ridiculous and probably borderline crazy... but it's the truth.
- What do you believe it says about you that you struggle with food and your body image? It tells me that I have a lack of self control in that area. This is a constant discussion I have with my friends. I feel that I have been able to overcome obstacles in many other areas of my life, but weight loss and food is the area that I struggle with most. It is mind boggling to think that I was able to do so many other things that I would have thought were far more difficult, but I can't lose weight. And since I can't lose weight, I don't have a very positive body image. I covered this a little bit in the last post in question # 1& 2.
Reading the answers back to myself really makes me think. In my counseling classes, they talk about replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. OR developing a mantra to state whenever you have feelings like this. Just by reading my own responses, I can see my own cognitive distortions. Now, I just have to work on replacing them with positive thoughts.
If you are looking for the book, just go to Christie's site and download it. There should be a link on the right hand panel. The next section we will cover looks at your spirit (not in reference to religion).
I workout just to eat! I recently lost 13 pds, vacation being the motivator. Its a struggle to pass up things I really like to eat, especially now during BBQ season. I haven't been as good as I was prior to my trip . I added spin classes to my workout regimen and that's helping to burn more calories.
ReplyDeleteWhy does everything that's bad taste so good? Lol
I agree with replacing the negative thoughts with GOOD thoughts. I also know we have to learn to love and accept our bodies regardless of what they look like. I think we are all seeking some form of happiness and food often bridges that gap. This is why we eat emotionaly. I think we have to find out what are we really trying to heal through the emotional eating. Just a thought! Something that I have been dealing with as well. :)
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