You eat something.
– it may be pleasurable in the moment, but you are left feeling guilty, bloated, or worse.
You judge yourself:
– “Why did I eat that? I’m so weak, stupid, [fill in the blank] and lack the will power to eat ‘right.’ I can’t be trusted.”
You judge your food:
– “Sugar is evil!”
And then comes The Plan
– because you are wrong, the food is wrong, and you need a set of rules to keep you on the path of goodness and “health.”
And then you eat something….
This cycle is perpetuated by the pervasive messages in our culture around health and beauty and the diet industry that is making billions off people’s insecurities.
I am here to say: You are not wrong. You lack nothing. You are beautiful and strong and capable. What is wrong is the futility of the cycle.
The antidote is acceptance and non-judgement, which interrupt the cycle before it gets in motion. Here is how it works:
You eat something.
ACCEPT the fact you ate it and how you feel in your body after – then move on with life. There is nothing to do, to fix, there is nothing wrong. Whatever happened, happened; it just is. The cycle doesn’t even have the chance to get started!
Practicing acceptance and non-judgement is like gathering data, as if you are a scientist. Check in with your body what sensations are present? Stay with the sensation without engaging in a story about it. Be curious and patient and ask yourself gentle questions to reflect and learn.
A client recently said that not judging herself after eating something that upset her system was “revolutionary!” It completely shifted her relationship with food and created an opening for her to make choices based on loving kindness toward her body, not based on rules and rebelling against rules.
If this resonates with you, schedule your free 15-minute consultation to explore how we can work together to help you break The Cycle.