Owning Overeating

Growing up, my mom would make this amazing Taco Platter that became pretty famous in my family. It was made on many special occasions and had layers and layers of yummy goodness. As a kid, I asked for this Taco Platter numerous times on birthday celebrations. Because this food became something that was only made every now and then, I always overate when it was offered. Unknowingly, at the time, I had a lot of fear that I didn't know when I was going to get to eat that Taco Platter again so I needed to eat as much as I could in the moment.

Over the years, this underlying belief stuck with me that there were some foods or meals that were so special that if I didn't eat as much as I could there was a fear I was never going to get to eat that food ever again. Sound familiar? It wasn't until I started Owning Overeating that this pattern started to shift and change.

We cannot change what we don't own. Often what I see around a pattern of overeating is that it is done from a disembodied place, to numb out, and to stuff down how we are feeling. By pushing away what is happening, we disown ourselves and the habit of overeating will actually continue as we deny ourselves the experience of learning what this pattern is here to teach us. Owning Overeating is a game changer. While it may feel counter-intuitive to own something you want to change that is a crucial step to transforming overeating.

First, let's change the goal here that it is not to never overeat ever again. That is going to happen sometimes and that is alright. By making overeating a part of your life and that it is not a problem to be fixed, you put the power back in you and less in the food. We also detach your self worth as a human being from your food behaviors. Overeating is not a sign that you're weak or worthless or less than. You deserve the same amount of love and understanding and appreciation no matter how much food you eat. This can give you a lot more space to be an imperfect eater and learn more about yourself at each and every meal.

Next, when you notice you feel physically satisfied at your next meal and want to keep eating, do not disembody! What does this look like? First, acknowledge the urge to continue eating beyond the point of physical satiety. I know this can be hard in the moment. I've been there too. The pattern of continuing to overeat is protecting you from potentially addressing emotions that feel difficult to navigate. If your attention is drawn to how full you feel, that distracts from attending to the emotions that were needing your attention to begin with. By taking that pause though to acknowledge a natural human impulse, judgment, shame, and guilt can decrease where curiosity can come in to explore what that urge is here to teach you.

In that pause, that means the emotions that were perhaps trying to be avoided will have space to come up to be felt and heard and expressed. Taking this pause means we might need to cry or scream. And, when we embrace what is without trying to change our human experience we step out of fighting ourselves and into a deeper self connection so that no matter what you decide to do you can choose from a place of embodied empowerment.

This process is not about convincing yourself not to eat. Owning Overeating means owning your decisions. So after you own the urge to overeat, list out your choices. If you decide to eat, wonderful! Own it! Have fun with your food. Enjoy the pleasure you receive from eating. What your mind tells you is going to happen is that you will never stop eating and that actually the opposite tends to occur. When we own overeating we receive the connection, embodiment, and inner peace we're looking for from food so that you may discover you start eating less during your overeating urge moments.

You're not alone on this journey and you're not alone in navigating your relationship with food. No matter where you're at in exploring what role food is playing in your life you can trust you're exactly where you're meant to be learning what you're meant to be learning.