November 28th, 2018

How do you approach making changes to  overeating?

Find yourself wanting to make big changes right now because you feel like you’ve put your life on hold for emotional overeating long enough?

I hear you. I was the same. Like most of my most clients, I  just wanted the struggle with bingeing and weight to be over. Now. Or yesterday.

Either we want to lose 30 lbs by Christmas or we don’t want to even start. That’s the crazy diet mentality at work. We suddenly take on a complete overhaul of the way we eat and one small set back we give up altogether.

But if there’s any ‘secret’ to stopping binge and emotional overeating it’s being willing to make small changes that are long term.

 Most of us have been fighting so long we have battle fatigue and have given up altogether.
 But you can win the battle and get your life back if you change strategies to picking a small tactical skirmish you can win.

This is the exact opposite of a diet. Instead of trying to change everything now, pick one small change you can stick to forever and try adopting as ‘just something you do’.

I can trace the exact moment I finally started to have success with overcoming binge eating. I stopped years of bingeing and emotional overeating when I made the relatively small decision that I would never eat to being completely overfull again.
 This was actually pretty easy to stick to because it was such a small commitment, it seemed do-able. Once I started slowing down the binges I could increase my awareness. When I did this I could see that actually, eating to overfull isn’t comfortable. Then I thought if I can change that I could make another small commitment which was to eat regular meals of real food instead of just grabbing snacks throughout my busy day. So from that first tiny habit, I ended years of feeling powerless to stop overeating.
 Even though this small change seems too small to make a difference sticking to it was enough to prove to myself that I could change long-term after breaking so many diets. From this, I eventually added the ability to allow urges to binge without responding to them. This was a game-changer. (I will tell you more about this next week.)
 I find that if people get confidence with one small habit they have confidence that they can break the urge to binge or overeat when it arises.
 The good news is, this is something you can start now even with the holidays coming up. It doesn’t require a New Year’s Resolution and it’s something that you can keep for good when all of the dieters have quit in January.
 I invite you to try making one tiny small change today. Here are some ideas.
 

• Not eating to being stuffed ever again
• Committing to eating one ‘real meal’ a day if you are currently eating snacks and avoiding food
• Limiting takeout coffees to one a day, or switching to a smaller size
• Adding vegetables to meals, or starting a meal with a salad
• Not snacking between meals
• Replacing one drink a day with water
• Having one smaller, healthier meal a day if you are currently having many big meals
• Being willing to be conscious of when you binge

 Mastering just one of these small habits can be enough to convince yourself that it’s actually possible for you to break the binge and overeating habit long term. Because it really is. I have seen so many people finally overcome the desire to binge and overeat when they are just willing to make small changes and commit to them over time. 

 One of the biggest challenges binge and over eaters face is believing they can change with so many years of failed diets to prove them wrong. If there’s one thing I know for sure, is that if I can do it after more than 20 years of binge and overeating … you can too.
​
 It’s never too late to start. Pick one small change you can make today. 
 Have a great week,
 Lydia

Remember, if you need help applying these strategies I'm always here to help. I offer a 20-minute online mini-session where I am happy to coach you through an issue for free. It ’s zero obligation just so you can get to experience the power of coaching first hand. Zero sales pressure and as always I promise you will get value.