CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH GUILT ON TOP?: Was That Chocolate Cake You Ate Just a Piece of Cake or Did It Come With a Huge Serving of Guilt on Top?
For those of us wanting to lose weight, the general belief is that first and foremost we must stick to a restrictive diet, and that, along with a rigorous exercise program is the way to be successful.
The fallacy behind this approach is that it is outside of us, meaning that this belief is all about doing something to us – restricting our calorie intake, depriving ourselves of foods we enjoy, pushing our bodies faster and harder to burn more calories than we consume. What is overlooked is the impact our thoughts and emotions have on our ability to lose the weight we want to lose. What is going on inside the body – the internal environment – is so powerful it actually counteracts the external efforts we make. Our thoughts lead to our emotions and together they are responsible for releasing chemicals into our body that create either a positive or negative internal environment. When we are thinking and feeling positively, the chemicals our bodies produce create a calm, internal environment that allows us to quickly and easily metabolize the foods we eat and burn fat. On the other hand, when we are thinking and feeling negatively, our bodies release chemicals that establish internal stress, inhibit our ability to metabolize food and burn fat, and actually produce and store fat.
How we think and feel about the things we eat is important and will impact our ability or inability to lose weight. Upbeat thoughts such as “I really enjoyed that meal!”, “How delicious that cake tastes!” or “What a special treat that ice cream is for me!” and emotions such as enjoyment, pleasure, and feeling special create a positive, supportive internal environment. Thoughts such as “I shouldn’t have eaten so much!”, “Why did I eat that!”, or “I failed again!” and emotions such as disappointment, guilt, or regret support a negative, stressful internal environment.
Our relationship to the foods we eat matters. Here are three steps you can take immediately towards establishing a healthy relationship to the food you eat.
- Become aware of your thoughts and feelings after eating. Are they negative or positive? Becoming aware of how you think and feel, empowers you to adjust and ensures you are creating a positive, supportive internal state.
- Before eating, take 3 deep slow breaths to calm your internal state and check in with yourself to see how hungry you are or whether you really want that treat. Then choose to eat accordingly.
- Enjoy the foods you do choose to eat and be sure to allow yourself to think about how much you did enjoy them. Enjoying your food without regrets afterward avoids creating a stressful, counter productive internal environment, which sabotages weight loss goals.
So the next time you have a piece of chocolate cake (or any other desired food for that matter!) be sure yours comes without that huge serving of guilt on top!
In Health,
Pamela & Brad Thompson
WellnessWithin