You Have the Super-Power to Stop Overeating: Awareness

As a human, you have the super-power to think about what you’re thinking about.

Overeating is an action driven by a feeling which is caused by a thought.

Thought → Feeling → Action → Result

Most of us are completely unaware of our thoughts that cause us to overeat.

We are also completely unaware of the feeling driving our action to overeat.

To make matters worse is we don’t know we’ve overeaten until it’s too late, and our first reaction is to shame ourselves for it.

Gaining awareness of the thought(s) that happen before you overeat is key to learning how to stop overeating.

Some of the thoughts that generate desire and the urge to eat can be as simple as:

• “I want that.”

• “That will taste so good.”

• “I deserve that.”

• “One bite will be okay.”

• “Why do I have to worry about what I eat?”

• “Who cares?”

• “I can’t waste food.”

• “I’ve been good today—I can have bread with dinner.”

• “I’ve had a stressful day—I need this to feel better.”

These thoughts create the feeling of desire, and the desire drives the action to overeat.

Thought - “I want that” → Feeling – Desire (Urge) → Action – Overeat → Result – Weight gain, self-loathing, self-judgement (usually as some flavor of weak and unworthy), self-bullying → LOOP REPEATS

How do you uncover and become aware of these thoughts?

Awareness happens in stages.

There are 3 Stages of Awareness:

1. You gain the intellectual understanding that your thoughts create your feelings, actions and results. You catch your thoughts after you have overeaten. No changes happen here.

2. You catch your thoughts while overeating (Action). You start to see change in your life in this stage.

3. You notice your thoughts before you take Action. You are not only aware of your thoughts, but you also are aware of the foods or life events (Circumstances) that create your thoughts. Through your awareness, you deliberately create your results by thinking on purpose.

When you first begin this process, during the 1st phase of awareness, you will not notice your thoughts until after you have overeaten.

After you have overeaten, with curiosity and without judgement, think back to the moment before you felt the urge to eat.

What were you thinking in that moment?

Watch yourself think…shift from merely thinking… to thinking about your thinking.

From this perspective, write down all of the sentences you see in your mind from an objective, curious place.

Write down the thoughts that created the urge to overeat.

You shift to observing your thoughts, and then writing them down.

You are making your automatic, unconscious thinking conscious.

In this first stage, you may sometimes feel worse before you feel better.

In the 2nd phase to awareness, you will notice your thoughts that created desire in the moment while you are overeating.

With this newfound awareness, you may make the choice to stop eating in that moment.

Take responsibility for your feelings and actions.

State to yourself, “I am feeling the urge to eat this package of chocolate chip cookies because of the way I’m thinking.”

In the 3rd phase of awareness, you will notice your thoughts that create desire before you take action to overeat.

It’s in the 3rd phase where we can prevent and control overeating.

In the 3rd phase, you will see the package of chocolate chip cookies in the pantry, and instead of thinking your old, unconscious desire-producing thought—some form of, “I want that,” you will now think consciously and deliberately.

Your new thought will support your true desire to not overeat cookies.

Thoughts that support your desire to stop overeating include:

• “I want the pleasure of being free of the desire to overeat.”

• “I want to be proud of myself for keeping my commitments.”

• “I want the satisfaction of knowing I can do hard things.”

• “I want to show myself what I am made of.”

• “I’m going to learn how to manage my desire/urges and stop overeating.”

• “I’m choosing not to eat it for my long-term well-being.”

• “It is possible for me to learn to control my urge to overeat.”

• “I will figure this out.”

• “Taking care of myself is my #1 priority.”

• “I’m becoming a person who takes extremely good care of herself.”

• “I’m willing to allow the emotions my thoughts cause so I can see that my emotional care is entirely in my own hands.”

• “I want to commit to believing in myself so I can create whatever future I want.”

• “I can do this. This is for me.”

When we give ourselves more attention by paying attention to our thoughts and seeing what those thoughts are creating for us, we are taking care of ourselves and creating a loving relationship with ourselves.

Do you want to continue the unconscious rhythm in your mind and the results that thinking ultimately creates, or do you want to take control by gaining awareness of your thinking and create the life you want?

The power to change is in your mind...gain awareness and take control of your life.