10 life-changing decisions that will help you stop struggling with dieting, food, and your body image – Part 2
How did you go with last week’s 5 decisions? Did you give yourself time to go through these points and figure out how they apply to you? Here’s the link again if you want a refresher.
Without further delay, let’s dive into the next 5 decisions:
6. FIGURE OUT THE FOODS YOUR BODY LOVES
You will need to figure out what foods you truly enjoy, which are the foods your body loves and which are the foods you might love, but your body not so much.
You will also need to decide whether you are prepared to give your body nourishing, nutrient dense foods on a regular basis. These are the foods that don’t always come from a packet and that your body really loves and wants.
Remember, the dose often makes the poison. For example, I know that I love coffee and I could drink it all day, BUT my body tells me that 2 cups are my max as any more leave me feeling strung out, anxious and jumpy.
What have you noticed when it comes to different types of foods and how your body responds?
7. MAKE YOURSELF A PRIORITY
Oooh, this can be super challenging!
We’re just not used to doing this.
Lots of thoughts and stories can come up about how selfish this might be.
But, you will have to make yourself a priority. Not all the time but at least quite often.
What do I mean by this?
If you want to change your relationship with food and make it less of a big deal, you will have to start getting organised and planning. Meals, prep, grocery shopping, etc.
You will have to make the time for yourself to get this sorted out so that you have food you enjoy available to you rather than having to try and find something from the takeaway joint down the road from work.
How are you going in this area right now?
8. MAKE PEACE WITH YOUR BODY NOW
You will have to make peace with your body, as it is RIGHT NOW.
I know it’s a tough one.
Clients have said to me ‘but how can I love this?
I’ll love my body once I’ve lost the weight.’
I’m here to tell you that it’s a deal breaker.
To get your body where you want it to go, you have to love it the way it is right now. Very few people change when they’re treated badly and spoken to in an insulting way so why would your body be any different?
Reflect on how you speak to yourself about your body.
9. FIGURE OUT WHY YOU EMOTIONALLY EAT
You will have to learn what causes you to emotionally eat.
What triggers you to reach for food when you’re not hungry?
What feelings are so challenging to manage that you’ve learnt to reach for food when they show up?
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of mindful comfort eating. We all do it in some shape or form. I’m talking about regular emotional eating where you’re checked out or lose track of time and don’t realise how much you’re eating. I’m talking about healing the pain that causes you to comfort eat.
Spend a bit of quiet time with a notebook and pen journaling around your personal triggers for comfort eating.
10. FIGURE OUT ENJOYABLE MOVEMENT THAT SUITS YOU
You will need to figure out what movement you enjoy and do it on a regular basis. This is not for weight loss purposes but for all the other reasons.
Our bodies and minds need us to move.
We are wired for movement and when we move regularly and often, we feel more energised. Enjoyable movement also has a profound effect on our emotional and mental health.
I kid you not.
Can you see how this might help with emotional eating?
This also allows us to be respectful, loving custodians of our body. What movement have you truly loved in the past? Think back to when you were younger. What did you love doing? Maybe it was riding your bike or going for hikes with your family or dancing.
There you have it.
Once again, I want to encourage you to sit down with a notebook and start going through these 5 points with a sense of curiosity.
How do they apply to you?
What’s happening for you in each of these areas?
Take one each day and just write. Remember this is about you making yourself a priority.
Body acceptance might literally feel like the most challenging thing you could ever imagine doing. AND yet, these are the vessels that contain the essence of who we are. All our love, hope, dreams, and desires are contained within this vital human suit. Without it we wouldn’t exist.