August 02, 2023

17: How to NOT Overeat Tempting Foods

25 minutes

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Couple on vacation, faced with a plethora of snacks each night. Finding themselves overeating on these foods and they couldn’t stop….

This can feel tricky; how do we get ourselves to a place where this isn’t appealing? Where i don’t want to overeat even thought I WANT TO!

What i told this couple is something you can utilize as well

So that is what we are talking about on today’s episode, what to do if you are faced with a situation where you consistently find yourself overeating and unable to get your brain to a better place- a couple strategies to deal with this

Ok so this couple is on vacation and each night there is a huge potluck with tons of food, when dinner is over, everyone keeps snacking: chips, dips, cheese and crackers, cookies, cake all the things

Everyone else is doing it, all these delectable foods right there.

You don’t want to overeat, but you also want to

I will throw out there these are new clients so they have just started using a lot of the tools I offer. Many of my longer time clients are in a place where they genuinely DON’T want to eat those things, but regardless we can all find ourselves in this place of wanting to.

so , they felt really stuck. They were making a plan, but not sticking to it when it came to those snacks foods and desire to eat to them. He said I’m pretty sure i ate to 100% satiety on chips and dip

So this is what i told them- make your plan for the day to overeat the chips and dip.

When we decide from the adult part of our brain, we are not allowing our toddler brain to get away with anything. We don’t reinforce the habit that if you throw a fit you get what you want, taht is part of why we plan in the first place.

When we use the adult part of our brain to plan, suddenly we are in a calm present state with the food. Yes, we are going to choose to eat to 100% satiety on chips and dip- we will be present and aware with them, not getting away with anything.

Suddenly….the food becomes a lot less appealing, because it’s not really about the food, its about the thoughts and emotions behind the food

Strategies

Plan to overeat:

I teach all of my clients there are two parts of our brain, the adult part of the brain that wants to lose weight, and the toddler part of our brain that just wants pleasure from food. It always gets a candy bar when you go to the grocery store, in this case it always gets all the chips and dip when you go to a potluck, and it is going to throw a fit to continue to get what it wants.

Whatever the foods are you think you will overeat, plan to overeat them. Aka eat them to a level of discomfort.

This takes the power of your toddler throwing a fit away from your toddler brain. Nope, you are not getting what you want because i already decided this is what we are doing

What this does is reinforces that the adults make the decisions, the toddler brain throwing a fit doesn’t get it what it wants. The more our brain throws a fit and we concede, the more our brain is going to throw a fit. We have to teach our brain that you can throw a fit but you will not get what you want, and guess what? It will stop throwing the fit. It is literally like training a toddler.

This also changes the emotional state, the energy state you are showing up to this event with. Showing up with a plan to overeat, knowing it is “ok”, I have planned for this, I am not getting away with anything creates calm. As opposed to showing up worrying that you will overeat, panicking about what foods will be there. Resisting the suggestions by your brain to overeat which increase desire. You create a place of control for yourself.

All of the sudden you are able to be present with the food. You are able to taste each and every bite of the chips and the dip and the cookies….and they probably aren’t as good as you thought. You probably lose the desire entirely to overeat them. Why on earth would rational me want to overeat this food that doesnt taste that good to a place where I feel sick?

Decide ahead of time how you want to feel in your body

This is huge for my clients, how do i want to feel after this meal or event? Weighed down? Bloated? Tiered? Sick? Probably not…i want to feel present in my body, grounded, energized….this helps connect you with your body

Focus on the reason you are there

The reason we are at a party is never the food….i mean maybe but really not, it’s about the people, the experience, connecting with others, spending time…one thing i ask my clients is what else is going on at this event that you want to put your focus on instead of worrying about the food? Put it in perspective, if you find your mind back in a place of worry, panic, doubt, overwhelm, readjust- i’m here for the people

I'm Hayley Sohn, Nutritionist, Weight Loss Expert and your host of Weight Loss Without Dieting.

If you are interested in working with me, I recommend you join my Waitlist and be the first to know when spots open: bit.ly/callwaitlist

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By Hayley Sohn

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