awesome article

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I know some of your receive the Nourishing Connections

newsletter from www.nourishingconnections.com

but I love this article and wanted to share with everyone.

So often when we find ourselves overeating, it’s about

something else we don’t want to face. I see this all the time with myself

and my clients. Sometimes it’s hard to believe, but if you really take

the time to figure out what is going on, you may find the real issue. It’s

almost never about the food or your body or the exercise. So here’s the

article, maybe we can get a conversation going about this topic.

“Why is it that when we eat broccoli, we feel

thin, virtuous, in control, and attractive? And when we eat cake, we feel

fat, bad, out of control, and unattractive?

Is there something inherent in broccoli that literally causes us to feel thin

or virtuous? The answer, of course, is no. We have to agree that these foods,

in and of themselves, do not create these feelings.

So then it must be us.

We must create these feelings. How does this work?

Maybe we're writing a report. Next thing we know, we're thinking about ice

cream. Then we want ice cream. But we are still full from the lunch we ate an

hour ago. We tell ourselves we can eat ice cream later, when we are hungry.

Nooooo, we want it NOW! And then we think, " Oh no, I'm so weak. All I

can think about is that ice cream. " We break down and go get ice cream

and are now convinced, " I'm a loser, I'm horrible. I have no

self-control. "

But the ice cream does not have the power to make us feel terrible; we created that feeling!

If we can explore the situation with compassion and without judgment, we can

discover why we feel so terrible.

So, we go back. What were we doing right before we craved ice cream?

Writing a report. What were we thinking about as we worked on the report?

That our boss was unclear about what she wanted in the report and that we

were too afraid to ask. And now we are concerned that we might get it wrong.

Hmmm, how do we feel? Inadequate. Terrible.

BUT, the ice cream rescued us! We were having disturbing thoughts and

feelings that we did not know how to acknowledge, let alone deal with. Our

minds distracted us with thoughts of ice cream. And now we feel bad for

wanting and eating ice cream. But, what happened to the original thoughts and

feelings? They're gone.

Unfortunately, when we focus on food when we feel bad, it is clear that

something is wrong, but a false cause distracts us from the real one. This

distraction also seems to simplify things. Now, all we need to do is make up

for the ice cream calories, and all will be fixed. Never mind dealing with

the original disturbing thoughts or feelings! The real cause of our

uncomfortable feelings is never addressed.

What would happen if we quit blaming food? Life would definitely be difficult

at first because we would have to begin facing the uncomfortable thoughts and

feelings we've been avoiding. But in doing so, we make a more peaceful

relationship with food and ourselves possible.”

Your

thoughts, feelings, etc.?

Thanks!

Gillian

Gillian Hood-son, MS, ACSM

Healthier Outcomes

Get your report, " The 6 Steps to Guilt-Free Eating "

by visiting http://www.HealthierOutcomes.com

Check out the upcoming Am I Hungry?

seminar beginning October 16th: http://www.BreakOutofDietPrison.com