I have a friend, who for decades denied she was an emotional eater until about two years ago. Most of us to some degree are emotional eaters. The issue for the ones who develop a problem with excess weight is that they spend more time in a state of emotional eating than in a state of intuitive eating. I know, I am one of those people who developed a weight problem and for decades I struggled to keep the lost weight off.

YOU MUST GAIN CLARITY ABOUT WHY

It is a fact that you cannot fix the problem if you do not know what the problem is. For decades I thought the problem was excess weight. While on the surface that is what the whole world sees, the REAL issue is deeper than the surface appearance of excess weight. For many, the real issue is deeply embedded in our subconscious, and it is intimately intertwined with our spiritual alignment. The problem is that for many people they focus on the superficial and then struggle to understand why their willpower is NOT ENOUGH. If you look at the statistics, they will tell you that the number one cause of excess weight is unhealthy lifestyle habits; however, that is just looking at the surface. To make any sustainable lifestyle change, we must gain clarity about the reasons why we have developed these unhealthy lifestyle habits.

6 REASONS FOR UNHEALTHY HABITS

• There is a lack of knowledge. Many people do not understand that the frequency of eating, the quality of foods eaten, and the quantity eaten are detrimental to their health.
• Low socioeconomic status plays a major role in creating obesity is a significant percentage of the population.
• While genetics play a role, know that genetics can be overridden with a healthy lifestyle.
• Being emotionally unhealthy, which means lacking emotional intelligence, resilience, and sobriety. Really what it boils down to is an inability to process effectively the emotions that you create.
• Problematic patterns of thinking, which cause you to either catastrophize or overgeneralize situations or events. Perhaps you think that it’s all or nothing, which leaves you on the binge-restrict-starvation cycle.
• A shaky spiritual foundation, which has thrown you out of spiritual alignment. Essentially, your beliefs are not grounded in love and biblical truths.

YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT

Unfortunately, your off switch is faulty or is no longer working at all. This is often because you have repeatedly overindulged not because of physiological hunger, but because of emotional, mental, spiritual, financial, cultural, or social hunger. When you fail to identify what you are feeling, you will often reach for what you have always reached for to soothe your feelings or change your emotional state. Hunger creates a signal in our bodies, that sends us to seek something to satisfy our urge. However, we must be mindful to differentiate between physiological hunger and all other forms of hunger.

You can have your cake and eat it too when you UNDERSTAND that your off switch needs to be repaired. One slice of cake periodically won’t cause you to gain weight; however, eating a whole cake every other day will. Recognize your patterns and then learn to interrupt them consistently.

LEARN TO INTERRUPT YOUR PATTERNS

1. For me the first step was gaining clarity about the fact that I was 100% responsible for creating my emotions and feelings.
2. Next, I had to discover my faulty belief or beliefs.
3. Then, I had to identify all the unhealthy patterns of thinking that I defaulted to and told myself I could not change.
4. Finally, learning to be mindful when I do create those not so nice emotions. Catch yourself in the moment and immediately ask, what BELIEF, THOUGHT, OR MEANING is behind that emotion. You can A.D.A.P.T. and you must A.D.A.P.T. for your total health. Here you must utilize some techniques like breathing, affirmations of biblical truths, dancing or moving, or simply be still and allow the power within to strengthen you to choose actions/behaviors that honor and glorify the temple of the Holy Spirit.