What’s Standing in Your Way?
So much of our overeating comes from what I like to call scarcity thinking.
Scarcity thinking looks like fear-based thoughts that food might be in short supply. That you won’t be able to get it again, or that you won’t let yourself have it again because you think it’s something you “shouldn’t” be eating while you’re trying to lose weight.
These thoughts often sound like:
“Diet starts Monday, so I might as well finish this now”
“I might get hungry later”
“I won’t get to eat this again”
“I’m going to eat this just to get it out of the house”
“What if I don’t get enough?”
Thoughts like these encourage us to overeat.
They justify eating way more than our body needs because we fear the restriction that we’ll put on ourselves as soon as we get “back on track."
And they lead us down the road of fearing that, once we start eating these “bad” foods, we won’t be able to stop.
It’s part of the reason restrictive diets DON’T work. They set us up to fail by creating the mentality that we’re either on the wagon or off. We’re either being “good” or we’re being “bad”.
And so, when we’re being “bad” (meaning FINALLY giving ourselves the permission to eat the foods we really love and crave) we REALLY go off the rails, because we know more restriction is coming soon enough.
The antidote is creating SAFETY rather than scarcity around food. And step one is to allow yourself to eat and enjoy ALL foods, even when you’re trying to lose weight.
Growing up in diet culture has taught us that we need to eat boring foods to lose weight, but that’s totally not true! And, in fact, when we’re eating moderate amounts of all the foods we love, we can create weight loss that is actually sustainable, not punishing.
I lost weight eating burgers and pizza AND salads and salmon. I ate foods I actually wanted AND foods that felt good in my body.
It’s all about finding the balance that works for you and learning to listen to your body so that you’re not OVEReating…the french fries OR the carrots.
Giving yourself permission to enjoy the foods you love, even when you’re working on weight loss creates ABUNDANT thoughts about food.
Abundant thoughts sound like:
“There’s always more delicious food coming”
“I can totally eat more of this….as soon as I get hungry”
“I can always have more tomorrow”
“All foods are allowed”
“I can trust myself to stop when I’m satisfied because I know I can always have this again later”
Abundant thoughts eliminate scarcity around food. They help you create a sense of safety and self-trust, AND they make it so much easier to stop eating when your body signals to you that it’s had enough.
So, this week, practice thinking those thoughts that create abundance and safety around food for you.
The more you practice thinking these thoughts on purpose, the easier it will be to listen to your body AND to end the cycle of scarcity thinking.
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This is the work we do in my Weight Loss for Women Who Love Food program, and it makes ALL the difference in weight loss.
Coaching helps us see what we just can't see on our own so that we can FINALLY get the results we want in life.
Restrictive diets aren't the answer. You've tried them all at this point anyway, right? If any of them worked long-term, you wouldn’t be here right now.
You deserve to lose weight in a way that builds you up rather than makes you miserable. And you deserve to lose weight for the LAST time.
I can help.
Step one is clicking the button below and hopping on a totally free Discovery Call, to learn more about how coaching will change your life.
Are you ready to FINALLY get off the diet rollercoaster for good? Click below and let's get started 👇
