What Are the Roots of Your Food Obsessions?

Recently Dr. Phil was on Rachael Ray discussing the importance of not dieting in order to lose weight permanently. His words were, “One and done.” Let me ask you. Are you still dieting? If you are, do you find that you’re spending most of your day thinking about what you just ate or what you're going to eat next, Dr. Phil says that the possible roots of your obsession may surprise you. Before you take that next mouthful of food when you know that you aren’t hungry, see if any of these 7 statements ring true for you.

•    Most of the time, people make the mistake thinking that their obsessive behavior and compulsive thinking means that they have no control around food. Your relationship to food only reflects how you feel about yourself, your self image, the things you tell yourself every day about what kind of person you are, what you deserve, what you are capable of achieving.

•    If you’re spending much of your day obsessing about food, you may be using food as a way of avoiding some part of your life that needs attention. Food often becomes the battlefield substitute when we have trouble setting boundaries and/or asserting our needs.

•    Studies show that between 92-98% of all people on diets will regain their weight within 5 years. Diets are not the answer. Self management of your stress is. You must be able to deal with the root of the problem. Food is not your problem. You have to relearn new ways of speaking to yourself.

•    Consider that in order to truly get control of your eating, you have to give up the control. By taking the focus off of food and putting it onto caring for yourself and expressing your feelings, your food issues will melt away along with the excess pounds and inches you carry.

•    Do you sometimes think that you’re a total screw up, a worthless human being simply by virtue of your pants size? What if you said, "My body image is independent of my self-image. If I am a good, caring and loving parent/spouse/child and an honest, responsible citizen, it doesn't matter how much I weigh"? You may want to weigh less and that's OK. Remember weight and self-image are not the same thing.

•  Realize that you can unlearn this compulsive eating behavior and lose weight without dieting. If your definition of weight control is to avoid foods you love, your cravings will get you every time. You need to make peace with food and friends with your body.

•  When discussing food obsession, Dr. Phil believes it's important to note that one of the biggest problems with weight loss programs today is that they are highly focused on food. Many popular programs incorporate a regimented diet in which people have to weigh food and count calories, etc. People go on diets because they don't want to eat less food but the structure of the diet requires them to spend their entire day focused on food, which only makes them want to eat all the time.

Take it from me. I’ve learned that if you want to make peace with food and friends with your body, it’s a process. Here's a quote from one of my mentors, Dr. Nancy Bonus, the creator of The Beyond Dieting Bonus Plan.

"Permanent change requires a climate of love and nurturing, not self hatred and resentment."

What no kick butt, bootcamp drill sargeant approach! No. It doesn't work and you already know that. Don't you? Join me on October 9 for my next teleclass, Tap Into Self Acceptance and Love the Skin You're In. Let me teach you what I know about making peace with food and friends with your body. Hurry and be one of the 20 eligible women to save $20 on the cost of the class by leaving a comment on this blog.

Comments

[JoAnn SkyWatcher]

Andrea,

Yes, I totally agree--experience is the best teacher (that is what I was trying to say with the birthing analogy).

To be able to be around foods without having to be counting calories or grams of fat is so freeing--ahh!!! I so love being able to trust myself around "forbidden foods". I love being able to eat foods that make me feel good.

EFT is great for stress; cravings; anxiety; hunger headaches; accepting our bodies. The list goes on and on.

Thank you so much for all that you do to promote this valuable work!

Gratefully yours,
JoAnn

[Andrea Amador]

Hi JoAnn,

You're right. It does almost seem impossible if you've never done it. It's the same as trying to explain to someone how to ride a bike or swim without ever putting them on the bike or in the water. Experience is the best teacher. Don't you agree?

In order to create a positive and empowering experience, as you mentioned it's so important to clear the clutter of old limiting beliefs and stories. That's why EFT is so effective in handling the stress that pops up and makes you think that you want to eat. It completely helps to disconnect that old circuit in the brain and then all of a sudden food, just becomes food, allowing your body to slowly melt away the excess pounds while eating foods you love. No more deprivation. Ah, how nice!

[JoAnn SkyWatcher]

Andrea,

What you propose may seem impossible--to let go of control and that can make it so you are able to gain control over eating. It almost seems like a catch 22. I know that what you are talking about works... And it isn't like a diet and you get to your goal (and then gain it back). It truly is a life style change (and that can be scarey, too).

It is about learning to trust oneself around food, and to clear all of the old beliefs, stories, events, etc. that have kept us trapped. Some women may not ever remember trusting themselves around food during this lifetime. So, it may be hard to imagine what you are talking about.

It is kind of like having a baby. You can imagine what it is like to have a baby, but you don't know until you have the experience. Women may be thinking about what you are offering, but not be exactly sure of what you are talking about.

It will mean that they will be trusting you to guide them...