"In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety." — Abraham Maslow
During a recent coaching call for participants in my Empowered Eating Blueprint program, a client reflected on a significant mindset shift she noticed.
She had a challenging week with long hours, little sleep, and lots of stress,
Yet she DIDN'T turn to food to help her cope, like she did so often in the past.
That itself is a major win.
But an even bigger win was the thought process she used before deciding not to stress eat.
"Usually, when I had a bad day, I would go to the store and I'd buy myself a big thing of cupcakes and a half a gallon of ice cream. Then I'd go home and have dinner, and then afterwards I'd sit there and eat my cupcakes and ice cream...and I'd eat the whole damn thing. And now, when I'm driving home after I've had a bad day, I say, Well, I could do that. But, you know, it's not going to change the bad day, it'll only make it worse. Because, later on I'm going to wish I hadn't done it, and then tomorrow I'll be feeling it. So there's been days like that where I think you know, normally I'd go do that, but I'm not going to do that today."
Notice that she didn't tell herself that she COULDN'T or SHOULDN'T go buy the cupcakes and ice cream,
Quite the opposite, actually.
She told herself that she COULD,
But even though she could...she CHOSE not to.
And, she didn't feel deprived by that choice. Instead, she felt EMPOWERED by it.
How does a shift like this happen?
Inside my Empowered Eating Blueprint program, participants work on developing what I call the "Core 4 Stories"—new, empowered ways of thinking about food, yourself, and your life. Ways of thinking that support the changes you want to make.
And one of those Core 4 Stories is about CHOICE.
When you're stuck in the dieter's mindset, you tend to see "healthy" foods as things that you HAVE TO eat and "unhealthy" foods as things that you CAN'T/SHOULDN'T eat.
But when you write a new, empowering story around choice,
The healthy foods become things that you WANT to eat because those foods support your goals and make you feel good.
And treat foods become things that you CAN eat any time you want, but that you CHOOSE to set boundaries around because those boundaries support your goals and make you feel good.
Now, to write a new empowering story around your ability to CHOOSE (and for that new story to 'stick') you'll also need to develop a new set skills,
Skills that make it possible for you to:
Notice the unhelpful thoughts as they are happening,
Redirect those thoughts to something more helpful, and
Be kind and compassionate with yourself during the process
And if you want to know more about what those skills are and how to develop them,
Make sure to join me LIVE for my free Masterclass, The Secret to Making Healthy Eating Habits Stick next Wednesday, August 7th at 6:30pm Eastern.
During this interactive event, not only will I break down the key skills you need to develop,
I'll also give you my proven 5-step system for making healthy eating an unstoppable habit even if you've tried and failed at 3 or more diets in the past.
This is the ONLY time I'll be hosting this event in the month of August,
So if you want to shift the way you think about food,
And learn how to make empowered choices that support your goals AND make you feel good,
Go HERE to save your seat!
Comentarios