Who are you as an eater? Chances are this isn’t a question you have ever asked yourself and may sound like a strange concept. However, in the world of mind body nutrition, this is an important element in our journey to sustainable weight management, food freedom, and true nourishment.
There is a plethora of nutritional literature available now, much of which offers conflicting theories and advice. We often are looking for quick fixes, looking outside of ourselves for something to ‘fix‘ us and get us to our goal as quickly as possible. However, in our effort to find a quick fix; the latest diet that promises to shed the most kilos, we are ignoring the underlying cause of what got us to this point in the first place. When we live in the belief that something is wrong with us, that we need fixing, we feel un-whole, often unlovable, and incomplete. Needing to be fixed implies that we are broken and disempowers us. In focusing on the external needing fixing, we fail to look inside ourselves which is generally where the root cause lies.
Who are you as an eater? What compels you to eat? How do you eat? Do you eat on the run, do you eat standing up, do you chew our food, do you sit down with family to eat, do you eat in private, do you skip meals, do you eat to destress, do you eat for comfort and reassurance, do you overeat and then beat yourself up afterwards, do you fear eating, do you deprive yourself of certain food groups, do you enjoy food, do you binge eat because you have emotions you don’t want to face so seek comfort in eating?
When we are able to shift our focus from external factors that need fixing, and look at who we really are as eaters, we are able to shine light on the reasons why we aren’t at the weight we desire to be at. This gives us insight into the areas of our life that need focus, that need us to pay attention to. When we listen and pay attention, we can learn, grow and ultimately heal our relationship with food.
For example, you may eat balanced meals throughout the day but come night time you turn into a sugar craving monster who opens a packet of biscuits and doesn’t stop until they’re all gone, then you find the next sugary substance to demolish. You eat without thinking, without real consciousness. Now, whilst there are nutritional factors that may be at play here such as not enough protein consumed during the day, and breakfast may have been skipped altogether wreaking havoc with your blood sugar levels, there are also psychological and physiological reasons. These night time binges may be the result of something that is going on in your life that you don’t know how to deal with, eg a relationship breakdown, stress in the workplace, family issues, to name a few, which result in you binge eating on a nightly basis. This is no reflection on you as a person, this is your body telling you that there is something going on that needs to be addressed. It’s a good thing, it’s our bodies way of bringing attention to an area of your life that needs focus.
When you can acknowledge who you are as an eater, you are taking the first step to reclaiming your power. When you remove challenge going on in your world that is showing up in the way you are eating, the power food has over you diminishes, and that’s when the magic really starts to happen.
If this is something you need help working through, book a FREE 15 minute consult with me to talk through the best plan of action for you. Simply click on the work with me tab to book.