Ending the Cycle of Overeating
January is almost over and most of us are facing the reality that we are loosing steam on our New Year’s Resolutions to eat healthier.
One of the main reasons we overeat or break our commitments to eat healthy is because we have a habit of calming ourselves by eating. After a stressful day, many of us go home or to happy hour to empty our minds by filling our bellies.
Our constant contact with our blackberries, laptops, and televisions sends the message to our subconscious and conscious minds that we need to be constantly on the alert. Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night after hearing the buzzing noise your phone makes when you receive a text or call in a dream? I certainly have.
If there is nothing in place in your life that is as calming and gives you as much sensory pleasure as eating, then it is going to make it very difficult (and no fun!) to stop the cycle of reaching for food for comfort despite your intense desire to attain a specific health goal or achieve your optimal weight.
I recommend two things to ending the cycle of overeating or comfort eating: Meditation and/or something called TAT (Tapas Acupressure Technique). I will not be going into TAT in this post beyond saying it can uproot deep-seated food cravings when meditation does not seem to be strong enough medicine. If you would like to experience TAT for yourself, please go to my friend Kara Sorensen’s web site.
One of my biggest breakthroughs in my quest to overcome overeating came after I returned from my first 10 day silent meditation retreat. All of a sudden I could not binge eat anymore. Before the retreat I had been overeating to the point of feeling very uncomfortable physically once a week no matter what I tried to do to stop. One day I realized I had not binge eaten in 6 months. The only thing I was doing different was daily meditation.
I’d come to crave the deep calm and inner quiet that the meditation gave me MORE than I craved the numbed out sensation overeating gave me. I could even eat ‘just one’ cookie, whereas before I had to finish the whole box.
And as a fabulous plus I had to buy new pants because mine were way too big.
To reap the benefits of meditation you do not have to sit cross legged like Buddha for long periods. Nor do you have to go on a silent meditation retreat for 10 days.
What is important is to find a form of meditation that you will do consistently and enjoy to the point you actually look forward to doing it. I promise you once you find the right type of meditation for you, you will fall in love with it and it will not feel like a chore. You too will come to crave calm and peace more than being numbed out and over-stuffed.
A great way for beginner’s to get into meditation is to find a guided meditation they love. There are many free guided meditations on itunes, youtube, and for free at the library if you look in the audiobook section.
The below website has a few guided meditations to get your started. All of them are FREE. As a side-note they are Buddhist-inspired and require one to sit upright.
If these aren’t your style, find something that is and JUST DO IT!
Everyone in your life will benefit from having a calmer, happier spouse, friend, parent, or employee. And after some time practicing, your pants might fit better.
